Third Sunday in Advent, 2002
Psalm 85

Many college students dedicate too much time to parties, drugs and excessive alcohol. Among my former circle of friends smoking marijuana was a normal part of life. Sometimes even cocaine and acid were brought into the mix. Five wasted years. Instead of growing in maturity and responsibility during that period, the drug use withered up our souls and throttled our joy. Slowly this reality began to settle in and convict me. The Holy Spirit was working in my life. Thanks to God's grace I finally surrendered my life to the Lord and retired from the party scene. Worship, studying God's Word, prayer, and fellowship took the place of a drug-centered social life. I was spending time with a different set of people.

One day after that, an old friend invited me to a jazz concert. It was a good band that I had long wanted to hear live and they were playing at a small club. So we went. The music was enjoyable. We were having fun. At the intermission my friend suggested, "Let's go out to my car. I have some good stuff." At that point I should have been brave and halted things; I should have said no. Nearly three months had passed since I last smoked dope. But for some reason I consented. We walked out to his car in the parking lot, got in, sparked up a joint, and started smoking. The lit-up joint glowed orange in the darkness. A black and white police vehicle turned into the parking lot and stopped behind us. The officer got out and came up to the window. To shorten the story he searched the car and found four ounces of marijuana under the front seat. Another police car arrived. They handcuffed us and took us to the county jail.

We eventually found ourselves in a large cell with about thirty other men. I'll never forget how terribly foolish I felt as I lay in my bunk that night. "Lord, forgive me for my stupidity." Then the timing of the arrest bewildered me. "Lord, I played around with illegal drugs five hundred times over the last five years without once getting caught. Just when I quit the habit and am turning to You I get imprisoned." It seems that God wanted to teach me a lesson.

A similar sequence of events occurred to the nation of Israel. After a long period of disobedience and punishment they were restored, but then they fell again. We read of it in Psalm 85.

The Psalmist begins his song by praising God for returning the people to their land. This Psalm of the sons of Korah is composed probably around 500 B.C. The armies of Babylon had defeated Israel, shackled the survivors together, and marched them over the scorching desert to the region of the Euphrates. For 70 years the people languished in Babylon. Then, God caused the Persian armies to defeat the Babylonians. The new Persian leader, King Cyrus was more sympathetic to the Hebrews, and permitted them to go back to Judea and rebuild Jerusalem. They returned. The Psalmist sings out, "Lord, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob. You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin. You have taken away all Your wrath; You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger" (Psalm 85:1-3).

What a joy to return at last to Jerusalem. What a blessing! God had graciously covered their sins, forgiven their iniquity and saved them from His wrath. It was a dream-come-true. The future looked rosy. They would rebuild the city of Jerusalem and construct houses. At the end of the workday, each husband and wife would sit under their fig tree and look out on the golden fields of grain. Children would learn the law, then run and play innocently. But something happened along the way. The glorious vision did not materialize. The next verses show Israel in a very different light. The people are in distress. The Psalmist laments, "Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease. Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your mercy, Lord, And grant us Your salvation" (Psalm 85:4-7).

What had happened? No sooner had God revived them, they fell again. The Minor Prophets Haggai and Malachi mention some of their specific sins. What were they? The returnees from captivity failed to adequately rebuild the Temple. The priesthood was corrupt, persons habitually brought the priests flawed animals for sacrifice, divorce became rampant, and merchants practiced various types of cheating and oppression. In effect, Israel had been restored but they soon found themselves again in need of restoration. What is the lesson? It is a warning against backsliding. Once God has been merciful to you, you can't return to your former sinful lifestyle. Sin is serious. It provokes God's just anger. After having tasted the sweetness of salvation, if you return to sin and folly, He will send much harsher judgments.

The rest of Psalm 85 is a striking portrayal of God's promise of peace and salvation. Verse ten paints a picture of the future salvation: "Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed." This verse produced some charming images in past centuries. Artists of old personified the virtues of mercy and truth, righteousness and peace as angels of God. In mosaics and frescoes the four angels are depicted kissing each other.

There are some memorable kisses in The Brothers Karamazov . Ivan and Alyosha, two of the Karamazov brothers, meet in a restaurant to discuss religion. Ivan is the atheist; Alyosha the monk from the monastery. In an attempt to caricature Christianity, and bolster his case for atheism, Ivan writes a long poem. Sitting at their booth he tells it to Alyosha. In the poem the Church is represented as a ghastly figure, the Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition. He is an old man, almost ninety, tall and erect, with a withered face and sunken eyes. He is the one who gives the nod of approval to burn the enemies of the Roman Catholic Church.

Then one day Jesus comes to the city. The Grand Inquisitor is enraged. He has Jesus arrested and thrown in prison. The Inquisitor visits the Prisoner and starts talking. The speech turns into a long rant that justifies the conduct of the Grand Inquisitor and condemns the actions of Jesus. Ivan's poem finishes with these words: "The Prisoner had listened to the old man intently all the time, looking gently in his face The old man longed for Him to say something, however bitter and terrible. But Jesus suddenly approached the old man in silence and softly kissed him on bloodless aged lips. That was all his answer. The old man shuddered, opened the prison door, "Go, and come no more come not at all, never, never!" The Prisoner went away.

Ivan asks Alyosha, "What do you think of my poem? Doesn't it ring true?" Alyosha responds, "If your philosophy is correct, everything is lawful. If God does not exist, then all things are relative, there is no right and wrong, everything is permissible." Ivan smiled, "Yes, if you like, everything is lawful. I won't deny it. Is there no place for me even in your heart, my dear hermit? The formula, "all is lawful," I won't renounce ­ will you renounce me for that, yes?"

Alyosha got up, went to him and softly kissed him on the lips.

"That's plagiarism," cried Ivan, highly delighted. "You stole that from my poem. Thank you though. Get up, Alyosha, it's time we were going, both of us."

Our verse says, "Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed." King James I appointed John Boys Dean of Canterbury in 1608. He was an outstanding preacher and theologian. Boys believed that the "righteousness" spoken by the Psalmist represented the law, whereas "mercy and peace" were symbols for the gospel. It is remarkable how much meaning those old preachers could pull out of one phrase. If Boys is correct, this verse brings together two major biblical themes ­ the law and gospel. We'll consider first the law. One purpose of the law is to show us what is right and what is wrong. The law reveals the way of holy conduct. It sets the standard for righteousness in society. But for those who break the law it is a stern schoolmaster. For those who proudly persist in their rebellion, the law is a Balrog. The tentacles of the law wrap themselves around the soul and drag it down to death. Why does the law kill? It kills because it reveals man's sin. It exposes our vile condition and terrifies us. Our natural tendency to hate God and our neighbor collides head on with the law that orders us to love God and neighbor.

Before the standard of God's law the sinner will always stand condemned. Moreover, the law never was intended to gain a person's atonement with God or personal justification. Nor could the law break the stranglehold and power of sin in one's life (Gal. 2:16; Romans 3:20). The demand of the law reflects the holiness of God.

The Gospel on the other hand is a gentle lamb. The Gospel displays mercy and peace. Who will deliver us from the wrath of God? Who will save us from the power of sin? God's gracious answer is Jesus Christ. The law demonstrates our desperate need; the gospel offers the remedy (Gal. 3:23-24).

What is the Gospel? Christ was born in Bethlehem and lived a life of perfect obedience to God's law. Jesus suffered death on the cross on behalf of God's people. He is the righteous One whom God accepts. If you believe in Jesus, God accepts you too. Jesus is the One who gave His life for you. He is the One that God raised from the dead. He is the One who ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.

When you believe in Christ, by grace, His righteousness becomes your righteousness, His law-keeping becomes your law-keeping, His punishment on the Cross takes away your punishment in Hell. God declares you righteous, and in His eyes you truly are righteous because you are united to His Son Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit fills you. You are now a child of your Heavenly Father. The Church is your mother. That is the Gospel. That is what reconciles you to a Holy God. That is the truth that breaks the power of sin in your life and sets you free. It is a message of peace and mercy.

How do we make sense of the New Testament's tendency to cast both a negative and a positive light on the law? The key to answering that question is found in the distinction between ethics and salvation. When the Bible speaks positively of the law it has to do with ethics, and living the Christian life. The law tells God's children what will, and will not, please their Heavenly Father. When the New Testament speaks negatively of the law it has to do with salvation, or justification. Law-keeping as a way to earn salvation is anathema to the gospel. The law tells us we stand condemned before a Holy Judge. The only solution is the Gospel of Christ. But after having been saved by God's grace in Christ, and delivered from the curse of the law, the gospel leads us back to the law for righteous living. In Christ, these two, Law and Gospel kiss each other. And let's not drive these lovers apart. They belong together. Their love is true. Their kisses are frequent. For the law leads us to the gospel, and the gospel leads us back to the law, because the gospel deals with justification, and the law deals with sanctification. They are permanent sweethearts because they answer distinct, though related, questions.

Psalm 85:11 says, "Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven." It was on the basis of this verse that Psalm 85 was sung on Christmas Day. How did the saints of old find a Christmas theme here? It was easy for their pre-modern minds. Christ was understood as Truth Incarnate. Jesus, the very Truth, the Son of God, sprang out of the earth born of His mother the Virgin Mary. "Righteousness looked down from heaven" they interpreted as the Son of God coming down from Heaven to take on human flesh. The Eternal Word stooped from His throne of glory and united Himself in hypostatic union to the nature of man.

Two thousand years ago the Law and Gospel met together in Christ. Righteousness and peace kissed each other on Christmas Day. Psalm 85 is a prophecy of Jesus. It is incomplete without the incarnate Christ. Have you experienced the mercy and peace of the gospel? If not, believe in Jesus today. Believe that He offers to save you from God's wrath. Believe that Jesus is Lord. Believe that God raised Him from the dead. Do you already believe the gospel? Believe it more. Practice the gospel too (which includes the law), and proclaim it.

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