Let us turn to God's Word. In
the Psalm that we read, Psalm 85, our text is found at verse
10. Psalm 85, verse 10, Mercy and
Truth are met together. Righteousness and Peace have
kissed each other. Like so many of the Psalms, Psalm
85 is also in the form of prayer, certainly the first seven verses
in which we see the psalmist addressing himself immediately
to the Lord his God, Lord thou hast been favourable unto thy
land, thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob that has
forgiven the iniquity of thy people that has covered all their
sins, Selah. So he comes and addresses God
in a prayer of thanksgiving and that prayer as I said runs through
from verse 1 to verse 7 and then at verse 8 and the following
verses we see that God is the one who answers prayers. He says at the beginning of verse
8, I will hear what God the Lord will speak. He has been speaking
to God himself in his prayer and now he will hear what answer
God is pleased to grant to him. He will speak peace unto his
people and to his saints but let them not turn again to follow
him. Surely when we pray to God we
should be expecting God to answer our prayers. What is the point
of prayer if we are not those who are unexpected people? If
we are not looking for the return of our prayers is it not indicative
that we have really mocked God with unbelieving prayers? where
there is that praying faith. There will be that watching and
waiting for the return of prayer. And God not only hears God answers
prayer and how God answers, He speaks peace. He speaks peace
unto His people, we read here in verse 8. And He speaks that
peace, of course, through the Lord Jesus Christ and through
that great work that Christ accomplished upon the cross at Calvary. And isn't that what we see here
in the words of our text? It's a reference, the 10th verse,
to what was accomplished upon the cross. Where God is seen
to be a holy, righteous and a just God. and yet also a God of mercy,
a loving God who deals graciously with sinners in and through the
person and work of his only begotten Son. There at the cross mercy
and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. With regards to the historical
context in which the psalm is set here in the Old Testament
it is apparent that it must have been written at the time of the
restoration of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity those
70 years that they spent in exile and they suffered of course because
of their sins because of their idolatrous ways. God dealt with
them in judgments and they were taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar
and Jerusalem was left a ruined city. Glory of the temple gone,
the temple raised to the ground, but after 70 years God said he
would restore them to that land of promise. And the psalm was
written at that time, Lord thou has been favourable unto thy
land, thou has brought back the captivity of Jacob, thou has
forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou has covered all
their sin. But then, as we have at the end
of verse 8, let them not turn again to folly. And they didn't
turn again to folly, there's no record of gross idolatry after
the 70 years in exile. It was, of course, under Cyrus,
the great Persian emperor, that the decree was passed that they
were to return, they were permitted to return to the promised land
and some 100 years previous, or more than 100 years, probably
170 years previous to the reign of Cyrus we find the prophet
Isaiah speaking of him by name. Isn't this evidence you see of the divine authority of the writings
of the Prophet at the end of Isaiah 44, that saith of Cyrus,
he is my shepherd and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying
to Jerusalem, thou shalt be built, and to the temple thy foundation
shall be laid. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden to subdue nations before
him. And I will loose the loins of
kings to open before him the two-leaf gates. And the gates
shall not be shut. I will go before thee and make
the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates
of brass and cut in slender the bars of iron. Oh, that empire
of the Persians, the Medes and the Persians did come and it
was the overthrow of the great Babylonian empire. And I say
it was some 170 years previous to those days that Isaiah can
speak of that man by name because he writes under the inspiration
of God the Holy Spirit. Now, the moderns might not like
it and they come to the book of Isaiah and they say, oh well,
there are two authors to the book of Isaiah. Isaiah might
be the author of the first part of the book, but the latter part
of the book is written by someone at a later period. Deutero-Isaiah
they called it. And they say that Cyrus is mentioned
by name because that book was not written till that later period. Now that's not what we see here
in the Word of God. Isaiah is a whole, it's a single
book. And it is not merely the writings
of a man, it is the word of the living God. And I say again that
as he writes under that inspiration of the Holy Ghost, so the Prophet
is able to name the man who passes that decree permitting the Jews
to return. And so we have the record there
in the historical book of Ezra, in the opening verses of the
book, We are told now in the first year of Cyrus, king of
Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah
might be fulfilled. The Lord stirred up the spirit
of Cyrus, king of Persia. If the Lord is able to stir up
the spirit of this man, isn't the Lord able to name the man?
Many, many years before ever he was the emperor. The Lord
stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, that he made
a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also
in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord
God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and
he hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is
in Judah. Who is there among you of all
his people? His God, be with him and let
him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and build the house
of the Lord God of Israel. He is the God which is in Jerusalem. And I say that the psalmist is
from that particular period of Israel's history. We refer to
Isaiah's prophecy and how he makes mention of Cyrus, calls
him by name there, the end of chapter 44 and in chapter 45. And it's not only in that chapter,
in other parts of the book of Isaiah we have mention of the
restoration spoken of, for example, previously in chapter 35 and the modern critics they say
well the first 35 chapters were written by Isaiah it's the later
chapters that they say were written at some later period but see
there's a wholeness to the book even in chapter 35 this man Isaiah
speaks of the restoration of the Jews In verses 8, following,
he says, and the highway shall be there, and the way shall be
called, the way of holiness, the unclean shall not pass over
it, but it shall be for those The wayfaring men, no fool shall
not err therein, no lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast
shall go up thereon. It shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord
shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy
upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and solace shall flee away." He is speaking about God
was pleased to make a way. and highway whereby the remnant
that were there in captivity in Babylon might be able to return
in safety to that land and to engage in that work of the rebuilding
of the Temple of the Lord as they did in the days of Ezra.
They shall return and come to Zion. God makes a way for them
even through the wilderness. But we see here in chapter 35
quite clearly that that restoration, God's dealings with the Jews
at that time is typical and it is a type of God's dealings with
his people in the Gospel. It directs us ultimately to the
Lord Jesus Christ himself. Look at what we read previously
in chapter 35. He reads there at the end of
the chapter 8, 9 and 10, and clearly that's speaking of the
restoration of the Jews. But verses 5 and 6 we read, The
eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall
be unstopped. Then shall the lame and lepers
and heart and the tongue of the dumb sing. For in the wilderness
shall waters break out and streams in the desert. Now those words
are to be found also In the New Testament, when John the Baptist
sends his disciples, he seems to be in some doubt as to whether
or not Jesus of Nazareth is really the promised Messiah. And he
sends some of his disciples. He's in
prison, of course, and it's not surprising really that he might
be in some doubt, some uncertainty. And so he sent some of his disciples
to the Lord to ask the question, are they here that should come
or do we look for another? And Jesus answered and said unto
them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear
and see. The blind receive their sight,
and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,
the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached
to them and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in answering
them. The Lord actually refers to these
words of Isaiah 35. How those words ultimately have
their fulfilment you see, in Christ and the restoration of
the Jews from captivity. is but a type of that greater
work that the Lord came to accomplish when he would redeem his people
from the captivity and the bondage of their sins. So whilst in its
historical context Psalm 85 is to be seen rooted in the time
of the return of the Jews from Babylon, yet like Isaiah, Like
all the Old Testament, it testifies of Christ. Search the scripture,
says the Lord. These are they that testify of
me. And so, when we come to the words
of our text tonight, mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness
and peace have kissed each other. Where do we see this word fulfilled? It is in Christ. And in Christ,
what do we witness? we see the harmony of all the
divine attributes, all the attributes of God. When we think of God
and his attributes, he's holy, righteous, just, good, gracious,
merciful. And these attributes, they don't
jar, but they all come together. in that great work that the Lord
Jesus Christ accomplished upon the cross. Well, let us turn
then to these words. Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the
earth and righteousness shall look down from heaven. There is here a reference to
God's revealing himself. God reveals himself. And as God
reveals himself, he reveals himself here in his word, but he also
reveals himself in his works, his works of creation and of
providence, as well as the great work of redemption, These all
manifest something of the glories that belong unto God. Look at these words in verses
11 and 12. Truth shall spring out of the
earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the
Lord shall give that which is good, and our land shall yield
her increase. In a sense it reminds us of another
of the Psalms. At the end of the 65th Psalm
we have the selfsame truths declared in some detail. Psalm 65 verse
9, Thou visitest the earth and waterest it, Thou greatly enrichest
it with the river of God which is full of water, Thou preparest
them corn when Thou hast so provided for it, Thou waterest the ridges
thereof abundantly, Thou settlest the furrows thereof, Thou makest
it soft with showers, Thou blessest the springing thereof, Thou crownest
the year with Thy goodness, And Thy paths drop fatness, They
drop upon the pastures of the wilderness, And the little hills
rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with
flocks, The valleys also are covered over with corn, They
shout for joy, they also sing. Now it speaks there, you see,
of an abundant harvest and great provision. And this is what God
does, is it not? We are at that season really
now, the season of harvest, the in-gathering. And again, we only
have to look at the fields to see that God has granted us that
gracious provision, how God is faithful as He reveals Himself. in his providence, how he supplies
the needs of men, how in spite of our many and grievous national
sins he still grants to us as a nation a great harvest. He has said in his word, while
the earth remaineth, sea time and harvest, cold and heat, summer
and winter, day and night, shall not cease as we come now to the
night season. Isn't that evidence of God's
faithfulness? He said day and night shall not cease. Presently
when we leave the chapel and return to our homes and take
to our beds and lay our heads upon the pillow and hopefully
enjoy a blessed night of rest we will anticipate the dawning
of another day. The faithfulness of God. He has
said it. He reveals himself there. in
his works, his work of providence. And the psalmist here in Psalm
85 is acknowledging that truth shall spring out of the earth,
righteousness shall look down from heaven, or the truth of
righteousness of God who has promised these things. Yea, the
Lord shall give that which is good, and our land shall yield
of increase. This is the God with whom we
have to deal then, a God who reveals himself in his works,
in his providential works, his government over all things. How
God is ruling and reigning. And he has revealed himself of
course in his great work of creation. Again we are reminded of that
truth. in the opening verses of the
19th Psalm and there David speaks about creation as a voice, creation
speaks, the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament
show us his handiwork, day unto day utter of speech And night
unto night showeth knowledge there is no speech nor language
where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through
all the earth and their words to the end of the world. All men you see are able to witness the blessed truth that God is
because creation and providence has a voice and men are without
any excuse as Paul says in the opening chapter of Romans the
invisible things of him from the creation of the earth are
clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even
his eternal power and Godhead so they are without excuse though
they have not the word of God they are without excuse because
God has revealed himself to all people by that general revelation
in his works, his works of creation and his works of providence. But ultimately, God reveals himself
here in his Word. It's here in the Scriptures that
we have that special revelation of God. And we see it in the
law. We think of God's word in terms
of those two parts, it's law and it's gospel. Is there not
a revelation of God in his holy law? That law which is holy and
that commandment which is holy and just and good, to use the
language of Paul to the Romans. The law tells us something of
the character of God. Who was it who spoke the ten
words, the ten commandments? It was God. And it's God, as
it were, declaring himself, revealing himself. The opening words there
of Exodus 20, and God spoke all these words saying, I am the
Lord thy God, which hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee
any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven
above, or that is in earth beneath, or that is in the water under
the earth and so on. In the Ten Commandments God is
declaring something of his own character. There we see quite
clearly that He is the Holy One of Israel. And again, as we see
Him there as the Holy One. So again, in Deuteronomy chapter
5, there is a repetition of the Ten Commandments. In Deuteronomy 5, here they are
now after 40 years in the wilderness. on the borders of the promised
land, Moses recounts to them that covenant that God had entered
into with their fathers all those years previously at Mount Sinai.
And it's interesting what he says having repeated the commandments
in the former part of Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 24 we read this,
he said Behold, the Lord our God hath showed us his glory
and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst
of the fire. We have seen this day that God
doth talk with man, and he liveth. That was their response when
the law was first given. But what do they say concerning
that voice that they heard there at Mount Sinai? God hath showed
us his glory and His greatness. You see, the law, it reveals
God to us and it tells us that He is a great God and He is a
holy God and a righteous God and a just God. These are the
attributes that shine forth so conspicuously in that law of
God. But we see God, of course, fully
and finally not in the law. We see him in the gospel, do
we not? For the law was given by Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at
any time. The only begotten Son which is
in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. John 1 verses
17 and 18. Oh, that's the gospel you see.
Christ has come to declare something else with regards to the very
character of God. Yes, God spoke in ancient times. He revealed himself to Israel
by and through the ministry of the prophets. For the Hebrews,
Paul says, God who at sundry times and in diverse manner spake
in time passed on to the fathers by the prophets, hath in these
last days. The last days. There is no revelation
after this revelation. This is the fall, the final revealing
of God. The last days. And so we say,
you see, that the prophet of the Hamilgon is a false prophet. because God has spoken in these
last days, and now has He spoken by His Son, whom He hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds, who being
the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. All Paul tells us in writing
to the Colossians concerning Christ that He is the image of
the invisible God. What a revelation we have when
we consider Christ is coming into the world. The record that
we have there in the fourfold gospel. He's coming, He's birthed. The ministry that He exercises,
His teachings. After His preaching there upon
the mount, When Jesus had finished these sayings we are told how
the people were astonished because he spoke with authority and not
as a scribe. They were astonished, the common
people, at the content of his ministry, his preaching and the
authority with which he was able to declare these things, so different
to their leaders. His ministry, you see, he is
the last of the prophets, the greatest of the prophets. His miracles also are a revelation
of God, are they not? When we read of that miracle
that he performs in Cana of Galilee in John 2, we are told his beginning
of miracles did Jesus and manifested forth his glory, and his disciples
believed on him. When he performs the miracles,
he's revealing something, he's manifesting something of his
glory, his deity, his God. This is the great mystery, is
it not, of the incarnation. God appears as a man, a real
man. Had God contracted to a span
incomprehensibly made man? Or the ministry of Christ, the
miracles of Christ, what a revelation this is of God and the character
of God. And the life that he lives, the
life that he lives, he is holy, he is harmless, he is undefiled,
he is separate from sinner. In Acts chapter 10, what does
Peter say concerning Him? Who went about doing good? That's what the Lord Jesus did.
He went about, be it in Galilee or be it in Jerusalem, He went
about doing good. He was a good man. And in that
we have such a revelation of the character of God, because
God is good. And God does what is good. And
this is the only good man, truly good man that has lived. Although
Adam and Eve of course were good, God pronounced the work of creation
a good work. But alas, how Adam and Eve transgressed,
they became sinners. But Christ is the sinless one.
He is a good man. We have that revelation then
of God in the life that he lives. And also in the death that he
dies, the obedience of Christ, he became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. In his dying, in his dying, does
he not reveal to us the great mercy of God? That God is pleased
to save sinners. And how does he save sinners?
by visiting the punishment of their sins upon the person of
his only begotten Son. And how the Son of God so willingly
goes that way of the cross! Such is the greatness of His
love to those that the Father had given to Him in the eternal
covenant, having loved His own which were in the world. We really
love them unto the end. or there in his dying person. We see the wonder of God's mercy
and God's love and God's grace towards sinners. Now remember
that the Lord Jesus Christ in the course of his earthly ministry
says to the Jews, search the scriptures. In them ye think
that ye have eternal life and these are they that testify of
mercy. He's speaking of the Old Testament
Scriptures. That's what they had to search. And as they search
into the Old Testament Scriptures, this is what they will discover. By the gracious ministry of the
Holy Spirit that all of Scripture testifies of Christ. It shouldn't
surprise us. What is the Bible? It's the Word of God. It's the Word of God inscripturated. And who is the Lord Jesus Christ?
He is the Word of God, incarnate. In the beginning was the Word,
says John. And the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him. And without Him was not
anything made that was made. And He tells us the Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father. full of grace
and truth. He is the Word incarnate. This
is the Word in Scripture, I think. And so it shouldn't surprise
us that He is here, everywhere. He is in the Bible, from Genesis
to Revelation, the Scriptures and the Lords. They warrant tremendous
name, the written and incarnate Word in all things are the same. And so Surely we're not to be
surprised to find Christ here in Psalm 85. We're not to be
surprised that this text that we've announced tonight speaks
to us of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Oh how glad you see deals so
graciously with sinners. How God forgives sinners, grants
pardon, blesses with salvation. Look at verses 2 and 3. Thou
hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people. Thou hast covered
all their sins, Elah. Thou hast taken away all thy
wrath. that was turned thyself from
the fierceness of thine anger. Turn us, O God, of our salvation,
and cause thine anger toward us to cease." He says what God
has done there in verse 3, and then he pleads in the light of
what God has done, that God would cause his anger to cease. For this is the character of
God. He is a sin-pardoning God. And yet, though here we see the
greatness of God's mercy to sinners, God must be true to Himself. And God must be true to His own
character. When we think of those attributes
that are revealed to us in His holy law, He's a just God, He's
a righteous God. He cannot therefore wink at sins. What does he say to Moses? There in Exodus 34 where Moses
desires the gracious manifestation of God and the Lord comes and reveals
himself to him. This is after the children of
Israel sinned against God in the matter of the golden calf,
whilst Moses was there in the mount. Moses, remember, had come
down from the mount and he'd broken the tables of the commandments
at the foot of the mount. They transgressed and God will
disinherit them. And God will take of Moses, take
of people unto himself, but Moses pleads for the children of Israel God is pleased to hear his prayer
as he mediates on their behalf. And so Moses used two tables
of stone like unto the first and rises up early in the morning
and goes up into the mount. We're told there in chapter 34
of Exodus, verse 5, the Lord descended in the cloud and stood
with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. That's
what he'd done at Mount Sinai. He proclaimed his name, I am
the Lord thy God. And he proclaims his name again. And the Lord passed by before
him and proclaimed the Lord. The Lord God merciful and gracious,
long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy
for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin and
that will by no means clear the guilt. Visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children and upon the children's children
unto the third and to the fourth generation. Moses made haste
and bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped. All God
reveals himself. Yes, he's a merciful God. He is a long-suffering God, but
he is also a God who is righteous and just, and he cannot ignore
sin or wink at sin. That will by no means clear the
guilty, it says, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children and upon the children's children. God must be true to
himself and his righteous character. He is a holy being and it is
in the cross of course, it is in the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ that we see God as one who is true to himself and at
the same time he is gracious to sinners. Mercy and truth are
met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. All God is a just God and he
is the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. That sinner who believes in Jesus
is justified. Though he be a sinner in himself,
in the Lord Jesus Christ he is accounted a righteous man. And
God is just. What a meeting we have here then.
The harmonizing of these divine attributes in God. Mercy. and truth meeting together, righteousness
and peace kissing each other. In a sense we might say, to use
an expression that we find in Ralph Erskine, that this is a
strange meeting in God. It's a strange meeting. We know
that there is a perfect harmony in God, in the Godhead, Here
in Israel the Lord our God is one Lord. There is but one God. But in that one God there are
three persons subsisting, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. But the three are one and the
one is three. That is the mystery which is
God. The perfect harmony. And we might say here that It's
not strange that mercy and peace should meet and agree in favour
to say. There's nothing strange about
that, mercy and peace meeting together and agreeing to say. Nor is it strange that truth
and righteousness should meet together and agree in justice
to destroy. And we think of these different
attributes in God, you see. His mercy, His peace, why that
will bring peace, favour, blessing to sinners. His truth, His righteousness,
that must agree in justice to destroy sinners. But what we
have in the text, in a sense, is this opposite. meeting together,
harmonising together, mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness
and peace kiss each other. It reminds us, does it not, of
the wonder of that great work that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished
upon the cross at Calvary. All that great work when Christ
satisfied all the divine justice. When he suffered, that punishment
was the desert of the sinner, the soul that sins, it shall
die. That's the wages, the wages of
sin, death. And the Lord Jesus Christ has
satisfied the divine justice, he's born in His holy person
the just wrath of God against the sins of His people. And so at the same time that
we see God is a just God, we also learn that He is a Saviour
God. Because in punishing Christ He
pardons the sinner. He deals so graciously with that
sinner who was deserving to suffer and yet the Lord has suffered
in His room And in his death, oh what a fullness of revelation
we see in the work that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplishes by
that obedience unto death, even the death of the cross. What
a revelation this is of God. All the divine attributes coming
together, all the divine attributes meeting there upon the cross,
harmonising. And so In strict justice, God
can forgive sinners. If we confess our sins, John
says, He is righteous and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. John might have said, if we confess
our sins, He is merciful and gracious. That is a blessed truth.
God is merciful, God is gracious, if He forgives our sins. But
in Christ, you see, even God's justice and God's righteousness
is on the sinner's side. Oh, what a meeting it is then,
when all these attributes centre in Christ and His blessed work,
the great work of salvation. And so what do we have? We also
here might say that we have the sinner meeting with God. In the next verse, truth shall
spring out of the earth and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Now, as I said just now, we understand
verses 11 and 12, of course, in terms of that revelation that
God has given us in His work of providence, the way in which
He clothes the fields with corn grants that food that is necessary
for man's sustenance. But can we not understand these
words also in a spiritual sense? The meeting of heaven and earth
here. Truth shall spring out of the
earth. Righteousness shall look down from heaven. The sinner
of the earth reconciled to God in heaven. And it reminds one
of another verse that we have there in that 45th chapter of
Isaiah that we referred to earlier, verse 8. Drop down ye heavens
from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness, let
the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let
righteousness spring up together. I the Lord have created it. That
great work of redemption, that work of the Lord Jesus Christ,
it's God's work, it's not man's work. Salvation is clearly of
the Lord. I, the Lord, have created it. Mercy and truth are met together. Now, this word that we have,
the noun truth, is derived from the verb to trust. We could, in a sense, render
the verse somewhat differently. We could render it like this.
Mercy and trust are met together. And what is trust isn't trust
but another name for faith. Mercy and faith are met together. This is how heaven meets the
earth, how earth meets heaven. This is how the sinner comes
to God, is it not? By faith. Mercy and trust, or
mercy and faith are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. How is the believer justified
before God in his soul's experience? Is it not by faith? This is the
preaching of the apostles. Paul in Acts chapter 13, preaching
at Antioch in Pisidia, tells the congregation concerning the
Lord Jesus Christ, by Him all that believe are justified. By
Christ all that believe are justified from all things that they could
not be justified from by the deeds of the law. Paul himself
knew it. What was his desire? To be found
in Christ, to be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ. the righteousness which is of God by faith. This is how we come to repentance.
Mercy and trust meet together. All we have to trust in God's
mercy. We have to look to the person and work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We have to believe in Him as
the Lord's, our righteousness, and seek that peace that comes
through the blood of His cross. mercy and truth are met together,
righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Here we have
the gospel, here we have the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ
and all that God accomplished there. Verse 6, wilt thou not
revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? Show us
thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us Thy salvation. Can we not take these words of
the Psalmist and make them our own and plead these words, plead
them in our own prayers that God would indeed come and revive
us, that we might truly be those who are rejoicing in Him. Show us Thy mercy, O Lord, and
grant us Thy salvation. Amen. and mercy meet together, righteousness
and peace embrace. Each perfection of Jehovah meets
and shines in Jesus' face. Here the Father can be just and
saved by grace.