Love (Week 2 Advent)

INTRO:

Love

Psalm 85:1–13 (ESV)

Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. Selah

You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.

Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!

Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?

Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;

but let them not turn back to folly. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,

that glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;

righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs up from the ground,

and righteousness looks down from the sky. Yes, the Lord will give what is good,

and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him

and make his footsteps a way.

In the N.T we find two words that are translated for the word “LOVE.” (These two are the most common)

Phil - “Brotherly Love”

Agape - “Godly Love”

In the O.T. (specifically in this Psalm) we find a word that translates into the English phrase “Steadfast Love”

HESED

(ḥesed). n. masc. steadfast love, kindness, faithfulness, loyalty.

The core idea of this term relates to loyalty within a relationship.

In relation to the concept of love, it denotes God’s faithfulness to his people.

O.T. Usage

The O.T. frequently uses the term ḥesed to denote an aspect of God’s character as it relates to his covenant with his people.

Perhaps the most well-known use of ḥesed is found in Psalm 136, where the term is used 26 times as part of the refrain, “for his loyal love (ḥesed) endures forever.”

In this passage the psalmist applies the term ḥesed to God’s work in creation (Psa 136:4–9), his reign in heaven (Psa 136:26), and his military victories (Psa 136:17–22).

Elsewhere in the O.T. God’s ḥesed is manifested by his ......

....... acts of redemption (e.g., Exodus 15:13 ““You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.”),

....... mercy and forgiveness (e.g., Numbers 14:19 “Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.””),

........ and his faithfulness to the covenant with this people (e.g., Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,”).

In addition to the O.T’s emphasis on God’s ḥesed, people can also display ḥesed, both to another person and to God.

God expected Israel to show to him ḥesed, but the people often failed because of their iniquities (see Jeremiah 2:2 ““Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.”).

What is most common in the understanding of Hesed is that it is seen as a Covenant between God and Abraham.

a. In Genesis 15, God established a covenant with Abraham (who was still Abram at this point) by having Abraham cut animals in half down the middle.

i. This practice was known as “cutting a covenant,” and it sealed the agreement between two parties. Typically, both parties walked between the animals in order to cement the covenant, symbolizing the idea that the party who broke the covenant would be like the animals split in half.

ii. In Genesis 15, instead of both God and Abraham walking between the animals, only God (in the form of a smoking pot and flaming torch) performed this act, symbolizing that God was taking on both sides of responsibility for faithfulness to the covenant.

b. In Genesis 17, God reiterated the covenant by establishing circumcision as the sign that Abraham and his descendants would keep the covenant to be faithful to God.

c. This covenant was for Abraham and all his descendants, and it revealed the steadfast love of God because of God’s demonstration of taking both sides of responsibility for the covenant.

At the same time, God’s people were still expected to maintain their faithfulness to God.

BODY:

What we are looking at today is Psalm 85 which is a lament (a passionate expression of grief or sorrow).

This lament is focused on Faithfulness (God’s Faithfulness)

In verses 1–3, the people remember and proclaim the faithfulness of God. Psalm 85:1–3 “Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. Selah You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.”

Verses 4–6 focus on repentance and lament: Psalm 85:4–6 “Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us! Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations? Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?”

Will God be angry with them forever? Will the people be revived?

Verse 7 Psalm 85:7 “Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.”

This is a cry for God’s unfailing love to be present once again.

This is the word hesed: “steadfast love.”

This declaration implores God to remember their covenant, but it also indicates that the people know they are loved in spite of their failings.

They are asking God to be faithful in spite of their unfaithfulness.

God is always faithful; people aren’t always faithful.

We must stop gaging God’s faithfulness by mans faithfulness.

Verses 8–9 focus on the promises of God: Psalm 85:8–9 “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.”

God promises peace to a faithful people and salvation to those who follow God.

Verses 10–13 connect all of these themes. (Psalm 85:10–13 “Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky. Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.”)

i. Faithfulness and love are connected. This is covenant language again: when we truly love with the love of God, we are faithful.

God has a steadfast love and is faithful because God loves us.

ii. Righteousness and peace kiss. There is a deep connection between righteousness—doing the right things for the right reasons—and peace.

When we seek righteousness, peace will come with it.

iii. Faithfulness and righteousness are viewed as abundance from God.

We see this illustrated through the image of land yielding a harvest.

There is abundance when we are in right relationship (covenant) with God.

God’s steadfast love is present for us as well.

a. It is important for us to remember the steadfast love and faithfulness of God in the past:

i. Through the stories we are given in Scripture: Where do we see God at work? Where does God illustrate God’s steadfast love?

ii. Through the stories of church history: When has God’s steadfast love been apparent in the church?

iii. Through the stories of our friends and family: What stories from those around us illustrate the steadfast love of God?

iv. Through stories from our own past: Where have we seen God’s steadfast love in our lives?

b. We also ought to lament the broken covenants we have seen around us.

i. It’s important to remember that it is not God’s desire for anyone to be abused. Abuse breaks a covenant; leaving an abusive situation is a valid choice following the breaking of a covenant.

ii. Because we have watched relationships disregard steadfast love, it is sometimes challenging for us to accept the steadfast love of God. We can, and often do, project upon God the human experiences we have had. We also can project feelings of our own unworthiness.

iii. Advent is a good season to reflect on what causes us to feel unworthy or unlovable. How can we remind ourselves that we are loved? Do we need to process with a therapist, a spiritual director, a friend, or a pastor?

c. After we lament, we repent the ways we have been unfaithful to God, all the while knowing that God still loves us.

i. Where do we need to repent? This could be corporate or social sins or personal failings.

ii. We don’t need to fear that God will lash out when we are honest.

Honesty before God and one another leads to hopeful transformation in our lives.

CONCLUSION:

When we remember God’s steadfast love from the past, lament our broken covenants, and repent of our failings, we can then celebrate God’s steadfast love for us now.

i. We do this in a big way at Christmas when we celebrate God’s love that was so immense God became human to dwell among us.

ii. We can do it throughout the year and not just at Christmas, through songs, prayers, sharing with others, and more.

iii. Celebrating the steadfast love of God reminds us we are loved, reminds others of the faithfulness of God, and gives us a moment to look back on later when we need to remember the love of God.

We are loved!

This truth is at the heart of the Christmas story.

God’s love is abiding and faithful.

We can trust that God’s love is expansive and present for us, even if others have failed around us and even if we ourselves have failed.

We can trust that God loves us, and we can remember where God has been faithful in the past, and we can celebrate where God reveals God’s steadfast love to us now.