Psalm, Chapter 85
Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
85 O Lord, You showed favor to Your land;
You [a]restored the captivity of Jacob.
- The title of this message is prayer for God's mercy upon the nation
- we should all pray for God's mercy (mercy means not getting what you deserve)
- we certainly need to pray for our nation so that it does not get what it deserves
- this is for the choir director
o this means it was meant to be a song again that would be taught in practice and repeated so that nobody would forget this lesson
- A Psalm of the sons of Korah
o we know the sons of korah we're super grateful because they came from an evil family who were swallowed up in the earth by God but a few young boys survived in seven generations later they found themselves in charge of the worship in the temple (you can imagine how grateful they felt; so they sing a little louder and with a little more zeal than some others may)
- now we get to verse one
o O Lord, You showed favor to Your land; You restored the captivity of Jacob
o God showed favor to the promised land
§ the land became barren and unfruitful and home to jackals
§ all of these things happen because God's people sinned greatly
§ Israel was invaded and the Israelites were taken captive in Egypt
§ they remain there for 400 years until God set them free by bringing 10 plagues upon Egypt until pharaoh finally let his people go
§ the Israelites then left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea and then wandered in the desert for 40 years because of their unbelief until God led the remnant and their children into the promised land
§ the promised land was then restored and became prosperous and populous with God's children who repented from their sins and we're trying to follow God (not perfectly but forgiven)
2 You forgave the iniquity of Your people;
You covered all their sin. [b]Selah.
- the story begins when God forgave the iniquity of His people
o never forget that restoration is always proceeded by forgiveness
o you must ask God to forgive you for your sins and then He will be faithful to do it
- You covered all their sin. Selah (it was covered by the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross)
o if your sin is covered then it is no longer visible from above
o when God looks down upon you from his high place in heaven he sees the righteousness of Christ in you the hope of glory
o Selah means think about this over and over
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