Psalm 85:1

Psalm 85:1

A plea for restoration

Another offering from the sons of Korah and a Psalm that speaks about “the land”; it talks about God showing favour to the land (v1), His glory returning to the land (v9), His faithfulness springing from the earth (v10) and the land yielding its harvest (v12). This suggests that there had either been a drought or some natural misfortune or, it was written at a time when the nation was returning from exile and the land had become arid and desolate. That was the state of the area called Palestine before the Jews returned in the mid 20th Century and the Lord has restored their land in miraculous ways since then! Psalm 85 has been re-fulfilled in our lifetime!

 

V1        It's not a bad idea, when pleading with the Lord for restoration, to remind Him of past blessings. In Israel’s case they could clearly refer back to historic mercies and how the Lord had rebuilt and re-established the nation. “Jacob’s fortunes” were like the tide of the sea, ever ebbing and flowing as the people returned to the Lord and then rebelled against Him, time and again. 

It would be churlish of us to point the finger, for we too are guilty of similar vicissitudes, our spiritual journeys propel us to mountain tops where we celebrate the joy of being close to the Lord, only to inexplicably fall away and tread the depths of the darkest valleys. An elderly Christian friend of mine once commented that he still fluctuates wildly in his spiritual journey, but he was pleased to report that as he grows older, the heights and the troughs are much closer together! Let’s take time today to stop and remember past glories and to remind ourselves that the good times with the Lord must also be accompanied by low times for we learn more about Him in both. 

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