1LORD, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 2You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. Selah
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. 9Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. 10Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. 11Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. 12The LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. 13Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps. Psalms 85:1 – 2, 8 – 13 (NRSVA)
So many stories that involve kissing; where do I start? George Brett was a great baseball player who was incredibly obsessive about winning; he was quoted as saying: If a tie is like kissing your sister, losing is like kissing your grandmother with her teeth out. [1]
Then we have the story about when they were young… Bette Davis once had a date with Henry Fonda. At the end of their evening together, Fonda kissed her and they parted. A few days later, Bette wrote Henry a note which read, in part: I’ve told Mother about our lovely experience in the moonlight. She will announce our engagement when we get home. Fonda moved, and did not leave a forwarding address. [2]
Dick Gregory tells the story of a black man who, back in the 60s, walked into a restaurant in Mississippi. He sat down, studied the menu and ordered the fried chicken. A couple of local good-ole-boys started giving him a hard time. The first redneck yelled across the room, Hey, boy, we don’t serve Negroes here. The man smiled politely and said, That’s all right, I don’t eat Negroes anywhere. When the waitress finally brought the chicken, the second bigot sauntered over and, in a menacing manner, said, I’m warning you, boy; whatever you do to that chicken, we’re gonna do to you. The black man paused, thought it over for a second and put down his knife and fork. Y’all line up, he said. Then he kissed the chicken. [3]
The whole idea of romantic kisses is very far from what the Psalmist portrays. The word picture of a “kiss” in the language of the Old Testament Scriptures, means something that touches, with the intention of fastening together. Granted – the Hollywood version of the lip-lock may come close to that. But the story of our “Biblical kiss” goes back to the 6th Century before the birth of Jesus.
50 Years Without a Kiss
Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon (modern-day Iraq) had invaded the Southern kingdom of Judah. They conquered and carried-off many tens of thousands of Jews into captivity. God’s people knew they were under the judgment of Jehovah, and they suffered there for fifty years until Cyrus the Great began to allow them to migrate back to Israel.
Our text (as is Isaiah 40 ) is after the exile. The people have been released from captivity and now they’re wondering what’s next on the horizon…what will happen, how shall they live. Most of them have never known the “kiss” of their God. It’s like a blind date for the prom…will I be accepted?
Advent Song
Verses 1 and 2 of our text show that the Israelites returning home are indeed thankful. They’re thankful the captivity is over…thankful they’re going to the dance; but what now? How do you do this dance with a God you’ve never known? They made a good first step in the dance with verses 8 through 13; it’s like a “song of Advent”.
Like Isaiah the Psalmist says the Lord will speak comforting words of peace. Verse 10 is a form of parallelism in Hebrew poetry where one thought builds upon another. Let’s climb Advent’s ladder with this song.
Mercy and Truth
10Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; Psalm 85:10a (NRSVA)
God’s “steadfast love” is His covenant mercy, that which corresponds to the concept of grace in the New Testament. It is the kindness with which a loving Father forgives. Faithfulness is God’s own nature which is summed-up in the word “truth”. Truth is the word held in the strong hand of the judge who will hold the sinner accountable for transgressions. Mercy is in the heart of the loving parent. It is eternal truth that the mercy of God which forgives, met the truth of God, the wages of sin is death – it was a cataclysmic meeting at Calvary. Both won! Truth was satisfied in the sacrifice of blood for sin; Mercy triumphed in that the blood was not shed by the ones who deserved the punishment (you and me), but by Jesus, Holy Lamb of God!
This song of Advent:
• first verse – Truth said “there must be blood”
• refrain – Mercy said “Here am I”.
Obedience and Peace
…righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Psalm 85:10b (NRSVA)
The parallel thoughts step up the ladder with verse #2. We have changed focus from heaven to earth; the characteristics we see are those of men. “Obedience” to God’s ways is the characteristic that, when it is extant, brings peace – a calm heart that is able to minister healing to every part of life. It has been described as “tranquility” – a combination of quiet harmony or serenity which allows one to enjoy life confidently.
The “kiss” or interlocking/fastening-up of righteousness and peace happens in the second verse…but it is a product of the first verse. When we accept what has happened at the cross, God’s truth about sin – blood must be shed…our blood, the penalty for sin. And yet, God has already paid the penalty! Our obedience, or the right response of holy living before God becomes possible…it brings peace. In particular it brings the peace that passes all understanding. It brings the calmness of a heart which has been cleansed of all the stain and penalty of sin.
• Second verse – righteousness, my response to love
• Refrain – peace like a river
Increase and Impact
The parallelism continues to build in verses 11-13:
11Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. 12The LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. 13Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps. Psalms 85: 11 – 13 (NRSVA)
If you read these few verses, with an eye on where they’re happening, your head will bob up and down from earth to heaven and back, like watching the needle on an electric sewing machine. This last verse and refrain of the Advent song is the worldwide result of revival.
Faithfulness springing up from the ground is a metaphor for the birth of right living, holiness before God. It is when the bars and brothels go out of business, and integrity in business doesn’t need a $700,000,000,000 bailout. It is where neighbor does unto neighbor as he would to himself. It is national and personal holiness….not contrived or pressured. It is where the legislation is written on hearts of flesh, not broken by hearts of stone. It springs up in our hearts and society like a tender new shoot of grain.
But then, (the sewing machine needle jerks our eyes upward again) where righteousness looks down from the heavens; this is God’s faithful obedience to do what He has always promised, and what He always does – when we begin to live right, the Lord gives what is good…increase in the land. The word “increase” is applied in many ways in Hebrew, but in this context it means “that which carries you along”. The application is simple…as we live right before the Lord, He will provide everything we need.
Suddenly the needle drops again – faithfulness sprouted, God gives increase, and, back on earth the right response of holy living is again in focus – this time preparing the way of the Lord; we make a path for His steps.
The word “steps” gives the word picture of an impression – the impact a foot leaves when a person walks on the ground.
I see two very important principles contained here:
Impact of our Preparation
Making straight the way of the Lord…that’s what Isaiah said, and John the Baptist preached it in the wilderness. Let’s face it, there are rough spots in all our lives. Clearing the pathway is an impression or impact that invites the second coming of our Lord Jesus. But there is more:
Impact of His Pathway
Scripture tells us that when Jesus returns he will stand with one foot on sea, the other on land. Certainly it’s a metaphorical description of Christ’s taking his appropriate position as Lord/ruler over all. But words are carefully chosen. It is His foot…the one with nail scars. The foot that submitted to the cross is the foot that will stand over all throughout eternity. And the most incredible part of that reality is that we have been invited to help; we have the opportunity to prepare the way for those nail-impacted, resurrected feet! We get to be the welcoming party!
We get to respond in love to the Master who has called us to walk His pathway and clear away the stones of sin, the rocks of rebellion. We get to live for Him, Who died for us. We who are profane, sinful and forgiven get to stand in the path for the Savior’s coming.
Like little, insignificant Bethlehem, we are invited to be host to the King of Kings, born in our hearts. Now THAT’s an Advent Song!
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ENDNOTES
1] Homiletics, ©Communication Resources 2005
2] Homiletics, ©Communication Resources 2005
3] Homiletics, ©Communication Resources 2005
