Hearts Seeking Restoration and Mercy from God

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: Psalms 85-86

 

Psalm 85:13

Righteousness will go before Him,
And shall make His footsteps our pathway.

(NKJV)

 

The Psalms are the songbook of the Bible and represent an emotional seeking of God with one’s whole heart. The authors of the Psalms are being real and honest with God, opening their hearts to Him, seeking His restoration, mercy, and salvation. The Psalms of this text should challenge us to search our hearts to see if they are hearts that seek God and his restoration, mercy, and salvation through grace.

 

Psalm 85 begins with praise to God for His favorability to the land, bringing Jacob back from captivity, forgiving the iniquity of His people, and covering their sin (Psalm 85:1-2). God has also taken away His wrath and turned from His fierce anger (Psalm 85:3). The psalmist then asks for God’s restoration and for his anger to cease, asking if the Lord will be angry forever, with His anger prolonging to all generations (Psalm 85:4-5). He then asks if the Lord will not revive them again so they can rejoice in the Lord, showing them His mercy and granting them His salvation (Psalm 85:6-7).

 

The psalmist vows to hear what God will speak because God will speak peace to His people and to His saints, but does not want the people to turn back to their folly (Psalm 85:8). Salvation is near to those who fear God, so that His glory may dwell in their land (Psalm 85:9). God’s mercy and truth have met together, and righteousness and peace have kissed with truth springing out of the earth and righteousness looking down from heaven (Psalm 85:10-11). The Lord will give what is good, and the land will yield its increase, with righteousness going before Him, making His footsteps the people’s pathway (Psalm 85:12-13).

 

Psalm 86, a psalm of David, begins with David asking the Lord to hear him because he is poor and needy, asking Him to preserve his life because he is holy and He is God, saving his servant trusting in Him (Psalm 86:1-2). He cries all day long for the Lord to be merciful to him, asking Him to rejoice his soul, for it is to God that he lifts his soul, knowing the Lord is good and ready to forgive, with abundant mercy to all calling upon Him (Psalm 86:3-5). He asks the Lord to hear his prayer and attend to his supplications, for on the day of trouble he calls upon the Lord, knowing He will answer (Psalm 86:6-7). There is no god like the Lord and no works like His works (Psalm 86:8). Because the Lord alone is God and great, doing wondrous things, all the nations He has made will come and worship Him, giving glory to His name (Psalm 86:9-10).

 

David asks the Lord to teach him His way so he can walk in truth, uniting his heart to fear the name of the Lord (Psalm 86:11). David vows to praise the Lord with all his heart and to glorify His name forevermore, for the Lord is great in mercy toward him and has delivered his soul from the depths of Sheol (Psalm 86:12-13). The proud have risen against David with a mob of violent men seeking his life who have not set the Lord before them, but the Lord God is full of compassion, gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in mercy and truth (Psalm 86:14-15). David asks the Lord to turn to him and have mercy on him, giving him his strength and saving him (Psalm 86:16). David asks the Lord for a sign for good so that those hating him may see it and be ashamed, because the Lord has helped and comforted him (Psalm 86:17).

 

Psalm 85 and Psalm 86 give us a glimpse into the hearts of the sons of Korah and David. The hearts of the sons of Korah seek restoration, while the heart of David seeks mercy. David was the one spoken of by Samual to Saul as a man after God’s own heart, who would be king and command His people. The sons of Korah were among the gatekeepers who saw how Israel had fallen from the Lord's favor, seeking with all their hearts to see the nation restored (1 Chronicles 26:19). Both men knew the answer to the problems in Israel was God and seeking Him.

 

These psalms challenge us to search our hearts, seeking whether our hearts seek restoration from the Lord, His mercy, and to meditate on the excellencies of the Lord. How will we respond to this challenge? Will we cower in fear and remain silent about the evil in our world, or worse yet, will we compromise with the evil in our world? An evil world in chaos that is full of vile hatred needs disciples of Christ to boldly declare truth, boldly like the Samaritan woman, who did not lead a righteous life, but upon meeting her Messiah could not remain silent, going and telling everyone (John 4:1-42). Will we have transformed hearts that transform from opponents to God and into the proponents of God like Paul (Acts 9:1-9)? Romans 12:2 tells us to lose conformity with the world and be transformed by the renewing of our minds. I pray those reading this post will search their hearts and allow the Lord to transform them into hearts that are zealous for the Lord.

 

If you are reading this and have never prayed to have the Lord forgive you of your sins and to make Him the Lord of your life, I invite you to pray with me now.

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9). I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

If you meant what you just prayed, know that God has forgiven all your sins and that you now have a relationship with God and are a child of God (Romans 8:16). Like any relationship, it grows as we get to know each other. While God already knows all about us, we must study the Bible, the word of God, to learn more about Him. If you just prayed, I encourage you to find a Church that teaches the truth of the Bible so you can learn more about the Lord. May God convict, challenge, and bless everyone reading this post.