Heaven's Gifts for a Broken World | Psalm 85 | Trusting God's Faithfulness in Every Season

Watch This Sermon on Psalm 85

In this sermon on Psalm 85, Pastor Mark Groen invites us to reflect deeply on God's covenant faithfulness and our need for revival. As we walk through the Advent season, Psalm 85 leads us to remember God’s past restoration, cry out for present renewal, and rejoice in the peace He brings through Christ. The psalm’s closing vision of love, faithfulness, righteousness, and peace coming together reminds us that God’s gifts are not distant ideals—but heaven’s gifts for a broken world.

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Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon from First Reformed Church in Edgerton, Minnesota. Each week, we dig into God's word, trusting that the Holy Spirit will continue the good work of sanctification in us.

There's great comfort that we find in knowing that we have someone who will come through for us. Think of a friend who has rarely ever let you down or maybe they've never let you down at all. Someone whose promises are as solid as a rock, unmovable like a mountain. You don't just know that that type of a person is gonna show up and have your back. You have confidence, deep confidence that they will. You know that they will be there for you. And you don't just come to that type of feeling about someone randomly. It is because of past faithfulness that builds a confidence like that in you. It takes a history of faithfulness for you to know that this person is not going to waver, even when you're facing the most difficult of circumstances.

Well now, transfer your thoughts in the other direction. Maybe you have someone in mind who is like that for you. Think about those moments in life when you're unsure, when you don't know, when the world feels shaky and you need something or someone who is reliable to lean on. Think of how you feel when you don't have that type of person in your life. And then you think about who can come through for me in a situation like that. It is in those type of moments that you sense that there's someone who is going to be there for you.

Well, that's where the psalmist takes us in Psalm 85. The only one who truly comes through for us in all circumstances is God. He has shown steadfast faithfulness to his people, and he continues to be faithful to his people throughout all generations. So as we step into Psalm 85 together, we see the psalmist recalling God's acts of restoration and forgiveness. God's people are not grasping at blind optimism. They're standing on solid ground. They're standing on the faithfulness of God that they've experienced before. And not just the faithfulness that they have experienced, but their fathers before them, who told them the stories of God's faithfulness. And because of that, they are able to pray this Psalm with confidence. And it is a prayer for revival. It is a prayer for restoration. It is a prayer for peace.

So today, as we think about and consider the season of Advent, which as we've been talking about is a time of waiting and anticipation, the same truth speaks to you and I today. We can trust in the God who has come through for his people time and time again. And in Christ, he has given us the ultimate proof of his faithfulness. So let's open up this psalm and see how God's gifts of steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness, and peace all meet and come together to heal a broken world.

So we're going to start out considering our first point about God's past faithfulness. This inspires hope in the present. And we're going to see this as we look at verses one through three. And then we will see that revival begins with God's mercy. It's a gift from him. And we will see this in verses four through seven. And then the final point that we'll consider today, as we look at verses seven through 13, is that there is a union of these gifts of heaven that give us confidence in who God is and his faithfulness to us.

We immediately find that once again, what the psalmist is doing is he is not saying this prayer or speaking words of praise to some random deity. He is not speaking about someone who is unknown out there somewhere in the ether. This psalm starts out right away. The first word here is the covenant name of God. Remember, all caps in your Bible for the word Lord in the Old Testament is the word Yahweh, the name that God revealed to his people. So when the psalmist praises God for being favorable to his land, they know specifically who he is. This isn't some random God, some random deity out there wherever. This is the covenant God of the Hebrew people. They know him by name not because they discovered it on their own, but because he has revealed himself to his people.

When the psalmist praises God for being favorable to his land, they know that the God they're speaking about is the God of their fathers who came to Abraham. So he is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And now as they face future difficulties, as they are in times of hardship and they are being threatened, they are looking to the past, understanding the faithfulness of the covenant God, the one who has revealed himself to them. When we're up against something, we don't usually go and try and find some new person to help us navigate what we're facing in life. That's not what we do. We default to those who have come through for us in the past.

As the psalmist is doing this, he points us to a really impressive list of reasons that the people of God can look to God in hope. He says that he was favorable to his land. He restored the fortunes of Jacob. In other words, he has brought them back from trouble before. They have been restored. The psalmist then reminds us of God's greatest sign of faithfulness to us as the people of God. He forgave the iniquity of his people and he covered all their sin. Take a moment and think about all of the sin and all of the rebellion that we see in the pages of scripture from Genesis three, where we fell into sin at the fall. The pages of scripture are littered with sin and rebellion. Yet, God made a promise to send a savior when the fall happened in Genesis three. And despite all that rebellion and sin, God was faithful to that promise. Even though the people strayed from the commands of God and participated in all kinds of sin and false worship, God kept his promise to his people.

And notice the detail of what it says here. He forgave the iniquity and covered their sin. The sins of the people are not just pushed aside. God doesn't say to his people, It's alright. We're good. I know you feel bad. No. When God forgives his people, he covers their sin. He takes care of the problem. It is atoned for. And notice here in the text that we have the word right there. It's right after this idea of God covering the sin of his people. Well, we don't know 100% what selah means. When you read through the Psalms, it's all over the place. But what we're pretty sure that it was most likely used for was that it was an instruction to the people who were reading it, a signal as it were, maybe for a musical interlude, but most likely, it was an indication that there was to be a pause. And maybe it was for a musical interlude, but maybe that musical interlude was a time to think as well.

So as we find ourselves here in this third Sunday in Advent and in this time of reflection and repentance, as we remember that just as the Lord Jesus Christ came the first time, he will come again at the end of history to judge the living and the dead, this statement, Selah, by the psalmist, is a good time for us to pause and reflect about what comes before it. You forgave the iniquity of your people and you covered all their sin. This call for selah, for a pause, isn't just for the original audience. It's for us too because it isn't just in the stories of the Bible that we see sin. It isn't just in the stories from the Bible that we see rebellion and false worship. That's our story as well. Sin, rebellion, false worship—we do it too. We are prone to rebel against our maker. We doubt the faithfulness of God, and we place all sorts of things above him.

But yet, God has been favorable to us. He has restored us. Through the proclamation of the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit, he took our hearts of stone, he gave us hearts of flesh, he forgave our sins, and he covered them. He didn't just push them aside. He covered them with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, let us Selah. Let us pause on this idea in the season of Advent, the season of repentance, because there is no better news for us. Just as God forgave and covered the sin and idolatry in the stories of the Old Testament, when you and I come to him in repentance and faith, he does the same thing for us. And he will continue to do so because he is the God who is faithful to his people. He withdrew his wrath from us by pouring it out on the Messiah. The hot anger of God towards our sin was turned aside by Jesus suffering and dying for us.

And as we reflect on our lives in repentance, we don't do so in despair. It's important that we remember that when we think of this idea of repentance. We don't despair when we're convicted of our sin. We come and we repent saying these words along with the psalmist. These are our prayers as well. In Christ, God has been favorable to you, brothers and sisters in Jesus. And you can live confident that he will continue to be favorable to you. Why? Because you have been united to Jesus by faith. His faithfulness is now your faithfulness. And so you can be confident when you come to him in repentance.

And so the psalmist doesn't stop in this psalm by just recalling the past faithfulness of God. What does he do? He moves forward. He looks forward. He acknowledges the pressing need of the present as well. There's a confidence here in God's mercy and it fuels a heartfelt cry for revival. It fuels restoration. It shows us that past faithfulness is not a reason for complacency. Instead, it's a call to action. So as we look at verses four through seven, we see a desperate plea for God to renew his people, a plea rooted in hope and charged with a sense of urgency.

And so this call for revival here is seen in these words of the psalmist, calling out to be restored, a desire for restoration. The opening three verses of this psalm showed us the past faithfulness, and now we're getting a plea for that to be repeated. We see this expressed in a few different ways by this restatement of a need of restoration. The psalmist tells us something has gone wrong. They need to be restored and God has indignation toward them. They see what is happening and it's God's judgment against them. Now it's interesting. What question follows here by the psalmist? He asks, Will you be angry forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

Now, the psalmist knows the answers to his own questions. But these are natural questions. These questions happen in our hearts when we face difficulties, don't they? Even when we intellectually know that God is faithful, and that God keeps his promises to us, that message doesn't make it down to our hearts sometimes. We doubt the faithfulness of God because we know that our sin causes the problems that we're experiencing. And this feeling within us that we're having. And so we don't feel the confidence of salvation within us. Like the psalmist, we wonder if the period of darkness we're facing in our life will just go on and on. Will we be forgotten forever?

But like I said, the psalmist knows the answer to his own questions. If he didn't, do you think he would have started this psalm out the way that he did? And so these rhetorical questions here about the faithfulness of God lead the psalmist to ask another question. Will you not revive us again? And the psalmist understands that restoration and revival come from God. Now, while it requires the people to respond, it requires the people to change their lives, it is something that comes from God.

And we need to remember this. We continue to wonder why we aren't growing, why we aren't feeling restored in our faith. Could it be that the primary reason we feel that way is because we ignore the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives? We walk about looking for some sign from God. The truth is, that God the Holy Spirit is continually at work in us through his word. And if you want a sign that God the Holy Spirit is at work in you, look to the conviction of sin that you feel. We like visual things. And so we go about looking for any type of sign or wonder for proof that God is working. We want something pow. But the greatest sign that God is at work is the conviction of sin.

The greatest work of the Holy Spirit is in us, longing to be revived, longing to conform our lives to his word, and acknowledging that we need him. That is where we see the Holy Spirit at work in our rebel hearts because we would not come to God on our own. When we feel conviction of sin, we know that the Holy Spirit is working because he's calling us to repentance. I think the reason we struggle with that is because it's painful. It's hard, isn't it? We don't want to give up on our sin. We like our sin. We want to keep it. The conviction of sin that you feel, in all seriousness, it is a reason for great rejoicing. It is a sign that God is at work because you would not be convicted of sin on your own. Like I said before, we like our sin too much.

And sitting here today, I ask you to take these words to heart and make them your prayer. Change these words and pray them. Revive me again, God of my salvation. Cause me to turn to you in repentance and faith and do so for all your people that we may be revived and rejoice in you. For you have shown us great and steadfast love in Christ because he is our salvation. Praying a prayer like that is a prayer of confidence. And we don't do so boasting in ourselves. That comes from the Holy Spirit. That comes from a confidence in the work of Jesus.

And like I said before, the questions in this section of this psalm are rhetorical because the psalmist knows the answers. And we see that he is fully aware of this because of his calling back to the steadfast love of God. And what is being expressed here is the idea of God's covenant, faithfulness, and love, more than just a strong feeling that the God of heaven has for us. It is the faithfulness that he has always had and always will have for his people. And before I transition to the third point, I would remind you that what I've just said isn't just about the people that the psalmist was writing to back when this was written. This psalm is about you. This is a song of all God's covenant people. And that is us. The steadfast covenant faithfulness of God is for you too. You need to take hold of that and believe it.

Because of the work of Jesus, we are the covenant people of God just as much as the people of Israel back in the Old Testament. We are the covenant people of God. And so we are able to pray and call out for revival in hopeful expectation, trusting that this is what the God of our salvation does for us as his people. We need to believe that. And so I want to challenge you then. Pray for revival. Not just in the culture at large, not just for revival in the church, but passionately pray for revival in your own heart because that's where revival begins. We view revival as a movement of a lot of people. It's embedded in our history as a nation. You were not taught much religious stuff in school, but you've all heard about the first and second great awakening. Right? Revivals are a huge part of our nation's history. And so we view them as a big movement of people. And we expect it to happen out there. But revival starts here. It starts here. So take the psalm to heart and pray it for yourself, trusting that the Holy Spirit will do that good work in you.

And so having looked back on God's faithfulness and having cried out for his renewing work, we see what happens when God answers prayers like this. This isn't just about restoration. It's about gifts from heaven that transform God's people and heal them. And as we turn to verses eight through 13, we see a beautiful picture painted for us of God's steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness, and peace coming together in perfect harmony, revealing to us the fullness of God's salvation.

So when the people of God turn to him, he does not speak in wrath or in anger. He speaks peace to his people. In human relationships, we tend to assume that our wrongdoing being exposed is going to cause wrath. Right? We're afraid to admit our failures because it exposes us. People are going to see who we really are, or they're going to know how we've let them down. When our failures, our sins are exposed in our human relationships, we expect wrath. But when we turn to God in repentance and in faith, it actually gives him cause to speak peace. And that word that he speaks to us, that word of peace is forgiveness. It is mercy.

And so the psalmist prays that the people will not turn back to their folly when they hear God speaking this word of peace and forgiveness to them, that they will remain faithful to him. And what we've been seeing here is that all of this is a gift from heaven. God does these things in the lives of his people. Surely, the salvation of God is near to those who fear him, and he is the one who calls them to repentance. He is the one that causes them to fear. He is the one who works in them and brings the revival that is needed in the hearts of his people.

And this truth is celebrated in the last few verses of Psalm 85 in a beautiful way. These words are well known. It's some beautiful language here in the psalter. Steadfast love and faithfulness meet and righteousness and peace kiss each other. God brings all these things together. He gives righteousness to his people. He gives us peace. Take a second and breathe that in. God gives these gifts. Are you struggling with sin? Are you exhausted? Are you feeling nearly every emotion in your life right now except peace? God is calling you right now in the midst of this busy and tumultuous season to remember that Christ is the Prince of Peace. His steadfast love and faithfulness have been shown to you in Jesus. He has given you the gift of his perfect righteousness. And so turn to him and know that peace.

And as I've said many times, this is from God. These things that he gives to us are礼物 from heaven. And notice what it says here. Faithfulness springs up from the ground. Righteousness looks down from the sky. The love and mercy of God are all around us from below. It's from above. It is everywhere. This righteousness from God causes faithfulness to spring up from his people. And it is the Lord, our covenant God of steadfast love and faithfulness who gives this to us. He bestows the gifts of heaven upon his people.

And here the psalmist looks to the land yielding an increase as a proof of this. But we know that the gifts of God are more than a plentiful earthly harvest. The gifts of God for his people are life, salvation, hope, joy, peace, and righteousness. And it is that attribute of God, righteousness, that closes up this psalm. And there's a bit of a personification going on here. Righteousness, a herald declaring what is to be, the path that the people of God are to take.

So as we close up this psalm, I want to encourage us to follow that herald. This is a message for all of us. There's great comfort in knowing someone who will come through for you. That's how I opened up this morning, talking about the importance of having those people in your life. And Psalm 85 reminds us that there's no one more faithful than God. God has come through for us and he will do so for eternity. His faithful faithfulness assures us that we can trust him now. It assures us that we can trust him into the future even into eternity. Just as he forgave and restored his people before, he continues to do so through Christ whose steadfast love and faithfulness meet our deepest needs.

The gifts of heaven, love, faithfulness, righteousness, and peace, those are not distant ideals. They are present realities for those who belong to him. So this Advent, as you reflect on your own life, and as you long for revival, know that the same God who has been faithful in the past, he is working in you right now. He will continue to do so. Trust him. Lean into his promises, and let his peace guide your heart and guide your steps as you walk the path of righteousness that he lays before his people. Amen.

Let us pray. Gracious God, we are so blessed that you are the God who speaks peace to his people. And we pray that we would have a great confidence that we are your people because we are united to Christ. And so we pray that during this holiday season, you would remind us of your love and your faithfulness, and the salvation that we have in Christ would give us great peace, that we might be a witness to a world that is in disorder, that the peace that we have in Jesus would be seen, and that others would desire to know the truth of the salvation that the child in the manger brings. It is in his name that we pray. Amen.

Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon. For more information about First Reformed Church, head to our Facebook page or website edgertonfrc.org.

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