Psalm 85 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 85 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
Verse 2You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. Selah
Verse 3You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
Verse 4Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us.
Verse 5Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
Verse 6Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice in you?
Verse 7Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.
Verse 8Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
Verse 9Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
Verse 10Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Verse 11Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
Verse 12The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
Verse 13Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.
Devotion
As a kid, I hated to admit I’d done something wrong. (Okay, I still do). It was so much easier to come up with explanations and excuses. But even though my words often got me off the hook, the truth would sit like a stone in my stomach until I came clean.
Owning up to wrongdoing isn’t easy. Even when people claim to forgive, they don’t always forget … and they don’t let you forget, either. That’s why the time of confession and absolution in worship is so powerful. We can come before God and name – aloud or simply in our hearts – those things that we’ve done wrong confident that God already knows them, and loves us anyway. We can ask God for mercy trusting that God doesn’t keep score. He simply says, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ And in that instant, a little bit of heaven breaks in.
The Psalmist asks God’s forgiveness on behalf of not only himself, but the whole community. If a little bit of heaven breaks in for one person, imagine the unbelievable bliss that fills the world when the whole community is restored. Better yet, read about it in this Psalm.
Prayer
Lord, thank you for your gift of forgiveness. Amen.