Love

Good morning,

Let us open with a word of Prayer.

Pray 3+

As Marc read, this week’s theme is love. Our main text today will be Psalm 85 and we will be looking at the whole chapter. In this passage we will see a Hebrew word that appears some 250 times in the Old Testament. In our passage today, we will see the Hebrew word Hesed. This word is one of the fundamental characteristics of God and who He is. We will see this word in both verse 7 and verse 10, but before we can get there we have to look at the rest of the passage to understand a bit of the true depth of this word.

But because of the length of the passage we will work through it in smaller bits. If you are there follow along with me as I read verses 1-6

Psalm 85:1–6 TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF THE SONS OF KORAH.

I don’t know how many of you read the superscription before the Psalms and investigate them, but it is interesting to look at who the authors of this Psalm are and some of their background. In our superscription, we see that this Psalm was written by the sons of Korah, this should raise a question that we should want to look at before we get into the main part of the Psalm.

Who were the sons of Korah and what does this tell us?

We have to first see who Korah was to understand who they are. If you could turn with me to Numbers 16 we will see who Korah was.

Numbers 16:1–3 “1 Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. 2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. 3 They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?””

We see in verse one that Korah was the son of Izhar and he was the son of Kohath. Kohath had 5 sons but the only other one we will look at now is Amram. Amram is the father of Moses and Aaron and Korah is their cousin. Here in Numbers 16, Korah was no longer satisfied with his assigned position. Korah gathers himself a crowd of men to rebel against in their eyes against Moses and Aaron. So Moses challenges Korah and his followers to a test, Moses tells Korah and his followers to get censers and they would light incense in their censers and Aaron would light incense in his own censer. The Lord then tells Moses to tell the congregation to get away from these men’s tents. Moses tells the crowd that if the men die naturally God did not send Moses, but if God does something new God did send Moses. Then in verse 32 it reads...

Numbers 16:32–34 “32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!””

Numbers 16:35 ESV

35 And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.

We see though that Korah’s sons seem to have separated themselves from their father’s rebellion. We do not know if they were old enough to distance themselves or if they were too young. These sons are not the sons who wrote the Psalm, but their descendants would ultimately serve as as doorkeepers and soldiers. It is Korah’s descendants who would have 11 of the Psalms attributed to them. Their Psalms contain a longing for God and their deep devotion to Him, they show their great gratitude and their submission to a mighty God.

We will see that gratitude and their devotion to Him, it is this love for Him, who despite the fact that they were family to the man who had rebelled against God, gave them this position of prominence. It is these men who penned the Psalm we are in today, these men who understand, how this word Hesed that we will see later is the only reason they have their positions and they did not perish with their rebellious father. And starting in verse 1 they write.

Psalm 85:1–7 “1 Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 2 You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. Selah 3 You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger. 4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us! 5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations? 6 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? 7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.”

We are not given the historical context of the Psalm, but we can see that this is at a time when God has shown His displeasure with His people and their unfaithfulness. They are looking back at what God has done for His people in the past and appealing to that in this current situation. This is a Jad paraphrase, but essentially what they are saying is, “God you forgive those you love and you cover their sin, and because of this your wrath is not upon them forever.” They then plead with Him to do this again starting in verse 4. They are pleading based on the character of God to again do what He has done in the past. Will you not revive us again as you have so many times in the past, just as He did every time the nation grumbled against Him in the wilderness. Just as He has done to the sons of Korah after his rebellion. Then in verse 7 they ask God to show them His steadfast love and grant them His salvation. It is these two words here translated as steadfast love that come from the one Hebrew word hesed. It is appears again in verse 10, but this is a very interesting word because it doesn’t really have a good English word to translate it into.

Depending on what Bible translation you have in front of you this word might be translated one of several different ways. Here in the ESV it is steadfast love, in the NASB it is mercy, in a few translations it is unfailing love or loyal love. In different passages it might be translated as compassion, faithfulness, or grace. These are all a part of this word but these do not give us a complete picture because the word Hesed involves more than just feelings. It describes a love or compassion that compels one to action. It is a love that makes one want to act for the benefit of another. It is the same love that Jesus describes in the parable of the good Samaritan, where the Samaritan acts for the good of another and expects nothing in return. The man on the side of the road who was robbed and beaten could not serve or give to the Samaritan but the Samaritan still takes effort to care for this man. He even puts him on his own donkey and takes him to an inn and pays to let this man rest there. The Samaritan had mercy and compassion and loved this individual despite the fact that he could do nothing in return, but then he acted upon those feelings.

This is what they are asking for in verse 7 of our passage. Show us your hesed and grant us your salvation.

Then in verse 8 it reads.

Psalm 85:8 “8 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.”

Here they are asking to hear what God will speak, because he WILL speak peace to his people. We see a couple of things here the first is a desire to hear from God and the second is a promise that he will speak peace to his people, to his saints. I have to ask then...

Do we hear from God?

We see first there has to be a desire to hear from Him. Do we desire that? If we desire that, if you and I desire to hear from the living God and creator of the universe, He will speak to us, He will speak peace into our lives. While I don’t always agree with him, here Justin Peters has an amazing how to on this subject.

If you want to hear God speak, read your Bible. If you want to hear God speak audibly, read your Bible out loud. Justin Peters.

Too often we forget that what we hold in our hands is the very word of God in their original autographs. We look at the authors like they are the sole creators of the 66 books contained in the Bible. But 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us

2 Timothy 3:16–17 “16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

and we see this is confirmed in 2 Peter

2 Peter 1:20–21 “20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

We must be looking to the Bible if we want to hear the words of God, that is where they are recorded. And yes the Holy Spirit will bring stuff to your attention but it is most often going to be by bringing up scripture or a spiritual song. However we see a warning at the end of verse 8, Let them not turn back to their folly. This is so easy to do if we are not spending time in God’s Word. If we are not in His word we are going to turn back to our folly we are not looking at the truth of scripture, we are not seeing the love of God. Just as when Peter stepped out of the boat and was walking to Jesus, he looked away and the fears of the world and self dependence took away the peace and he began to sink

If you look back to our passage we will continue in verse 9 and read to the end.

Psalm 85:9–13 “9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. 10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. 11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky. 12 Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. 13 Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.”

We see a several connected ideas here but I want to look at verse 11 to build on, but...

How does faithfulness spring up from the ground and righteousness look down from the sky?

The author here is looking to a salvation he hoped would come in his life time, but he alludes to the future salvation to come to all men. We see here a personification of these attributes of God that are always perfectly displayed. Attributes that as men and women are often displayed disjointedly in God never leave one another. Yet here we are painted this picture that steadfast love and faithfulness are meeting; righteousness and peace are greeting one another with a kiss. But we are given a key to these ideas in verse 11, faithfulness springs up from the ground and righteousness looks down from the sky.

Turn to Matthew 3. In this passage we have the account of Jesus Baptism

Matthew 3:13–17“13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.””

We see in this passage the Father looking down from heaven upon the Son and telling the world that this is His beloved Son with whom he is well pleased. Now look at Matthew 26:39 “39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”” Matthew 26:42 “42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

We see a desire in Jesus’s humanity a desire to let the cup of the Father’s wrath pass from Him, but because he is faithful in a way we are not Jesus lays aside His own will and accepts the Father’s. It is because of this faithfulness that Jesus lived out the Law perfectly for us until it was time for Him to lay down His life for us. It is because of His faithfulness He ultimately does lay down His life for us. He was beaten and whipped for our sakes. Isaiah 52:14 tells us “14 As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—” He was not even recognizable as a man he was beaten and whipped so badly. Afterwards he was hung on a cross and died. But turn with me to Matthew 28 now and we will see something .

Matthew 28:1–9 “1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.”

We saw God’s righteousness looking down from heaven and now we see Jesus faithfully laying down His life, being buried, then taking His life up again and springing forth from the ground. It is at the cross and in Jesus resurrection that all of these characteristics talked about in our passage meet. Where this steadfast love of God, comes together with His faithfulness to provide a way of salvation to men. Where His righteousness and peace greet one another with a kiss and we are offered both. We find our salvation there and are given what is good and we might begins to produce the fruit of the Spirit.

It is Jesus, the righteous son of God, who not only not only made a way but is Himself the Way to come to the Father. This is this love we remember today, this Hesed, merciful, unfailing, steadfast, love that caused God to act on our behalf.

It is for this love that we will celebrate Christmas tomorrow, because he the creator of the universe chose to be born of a virgin and live among men. He lived out the law perfectly where we never could and was crucified in our place and rose again that we might have life.

We are offered this gift freely; we don’t have to do anything for it, it cannot be earned. It comes by faith in Jesus.

Let us close in prayer.