Psalms 85
Psalms 85:1-13 (NLT)
1 For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah. LORD, you poured out blessings on your land! You restored the fortunes of Israel.
2 You forgave the guilt of your people—yes, you covered all their sins. Interlude
3 You held back your fury. You kept back your blazing anger.
4 Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. Put aside your anger against us once more.
5 Will you be angry with us always? Will you prolong your wrath to all generations?
6 Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you?
7 Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.
8 I listen carefully to what God the LORD is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people. But let them not return to their foolish ways.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, so our land will be filled with his glory.
10 Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!
11 Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven.
12 Yes, the LORD pours down his blessings. Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.
13 Righteousness goes as a herald before him, preparing the way for his steps.
The movements of God in the showing of His glory, in the pouring out of His Spirit on those held in the grasp of the oppressor they’ve chosen, are faithful as they have been through the ages of time. That He will save and deliver is without question. What determines who will experience His display of overwhelming glory, though, is the choice of Him in the fixation of the heart guided by the praises of the mouth. His Spirit will overtake and completely engulf the place that is beneath and open to His flowing, just as the torrential river that discovers its path in the lowlands receptive to it. Praise vacates and removes the high places of enemy strongholds that would impede this flowing. It elevates the reality of what has been there all along, ready to immerse every space with His goodness. Somewhat like the mountain of Mark 11 that is carried away to the sea, praise will be the shouting of “Grace” that will overpower any obstacle that would inhibit the occupation of the Great I Am. It’s the simple, fervent response of a heart that has become cognizant of a truth far greater than any facade it has previously chosen. In the declaration of God’s irrefutable greatness is the opening of floodgates that will usher in yet another testimony of His faithfulness in power demonstrations of saving and delivering force. So much more than the mere thrill of a song well composed and performed, it is the release of timeless, barrier-removing glory that has found, again, a habitation for God’s fulfilled passion.