1 Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.
“What do you think he is going to do?” my friend asked. Several of us, we were all seniors in high school at the time, were standing around my father’s blue VW Rabbit. Our eyes were focused on the right front fender which was sporting a brand-new dent. My friend had accidently struck it.
“I know what my dad would do,” chimed in another of our group. “He would erupt, and I would be forbidden to see my friends until I was 45.” (Actually, because this is a devotion and there may be children within earshot, I won’t report his exact words describing what his father would do.)
I was upset, and initially my friend’s comment made me afraid of my father’s reaction. But then I thought about it a little more. My dad was not like that. He might be angry, but most of all I figured he would be glad no one had been hurt and he would find some way to make this right. I might have to pay for it, but it would not be cataclysmic. In fact, it was not even as bad as I feared. I think my dad remembered a few times when things like this had happened to him too.
This psalm breaks into four neat little parts.
- The psalm starts (vss. 1-3) with the psalmist remembering how God covered the sins of the people in the past, forgiving them. He restored the land and withdrew from his hot anger.
- The psalmist then (vss. 4-7) asks God to do that again, forgive, restore, and turn back his anger.
- In part three (vss. 8-9), the psalmist quietly and confidently listens for God’s response.
- In part four, he rejoices. God has answered the prayer. Love and faithfulness meet, righteousness and peace kiss. His descriptions are jubilant.
We find ourselves somewhere in this four-part cycle. It is hard to be steps two or three, asking God to forgive and awaiting his response. Are you there today? Most of us spend quite a bit of time there. But look at the beginning and the end of the psalm. God is gracious. He has done this before. He will do it again. We have a merciful God.