Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: Psalm 85

‘Revive Us Again’

‘Revive Us Again’

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‘Revive Us Again’

Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

Psalm 85:6

We would love to be able to say that we are always in a warm and vital spiritual condition.  Unpleasantly, that is not so.  Various influences cool our ardor for spiritual things.  The wearing influences of the world, the flesh, and the devil conspire to cause us to become lukewarm or perhaps even cold toward God and the things of God.  How can we go on in this condition if we are the ‘heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ?’  Can we some how stir up devotion from ourselves, or drum up better faith and greater adherence, to the commands of God?  We confess that it is not within us to do so.  As in all other spiritual things, we must look to God to ‘revive us again.’  This is the Psalmist’s earnest plea.  It becomes our plea as well. How will God revive us?  According to the next verse, He will ‘show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.’  This must inevitably lead us to the Person and Work of Christ.  The remainder of the Psalm is replete with references to God’s salvation, His righteousness, and His mercy, all of which bring us to Christ.  God will revive us by showing us Christ.  The sight of Christ warms our hearts.  The sight of Christ increases our fervency and our devotion.  When we pray for God to revive us, we are praying for more of Christ.

Our Gracious, Reviving God,
we rejoice that You are able to lift us up,
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We pray that You will, by Your Spirit, ever show us more of Christ.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
From Earth and Heaven

From Earth and Heaven

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From Earth and Heaven

Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

Psalm 85:11

All the ancient Scriptures are full of the signposts which point us to Christ.  As we have considered the previous verse for the past few days we have seen Christ.  There we have found that, ‘Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.’  Our text for today is the logical follow-on of that verse.  What are we to make of the statement that, ‘truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven?’  To understand it, we may consider, ‘For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:  he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.’  If we take these words and look at our text for today, we may see that Christ is the ‘Truth’ which shall ‘spring out of the earth.’  Because He does so, and stands as the Representative of His people, therefore ‘righteousness shall look down from heaven.’  God, being righteous, cannot look upon unrighteousness with complacency.  The only way that He can look upon us with acceptance is as we are in Christ.  Therefore, because Christ is the perfect man, He alone can gain us acceptance in the eyes of this Holy God.  Because Christ has ‘sprung out of the earth,’ God can, in His righteousness, ‘look down from heaven.’  This harmonizes with Christ’s statement, ‘Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’  Our meditation’s upon the Scriptures, whether they be in the Old Testament or the New, must inevitably lead us to Christ.  All our hope of a relationship with God lies in Him.  He has achieved for us what no one else could achieve.  He has ‘sprung out of the earth,’ therefore, ‘righteousness looks down from heaven.’

Our Wise and Holy God,
we rejoice that Christ has come in the flesh.
We praise You that all that He has accomplished,
has secured our acceptance with You.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
‘Met Together’

‘Met Together’

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‘Met Together’

Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Psalm 85:10

We end where we began several days ago as we consider the text before us.  We said that Christ is the reflection of the whole Character of God.  We observe this in His incarnation.  He declared that He did not come to destroy the Law of God, but to fulfill it.  On every occasion and in every way, by words and works,  Christ upheld the righteousness of God.  Having said that, the whole of Christ’s work was a mission of mercy.  He went about ‘doing good.’  He had the Holy Spirit without measure and ‘the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.’  These qualities all speak of ‘mercy’ and ‘peace.’ Therefore it is impossible to overestimate the virtue and value of Christ.  If we would see God, we must see Him in the Face of Jesus Christ.  If we, who are unrighteous would enter into a relationship with this Holy God, then we must do so through Christ, Who is the physical demonstration of the mercy of God.  We can in no way succeed in keeping the commandments of God.  Christ has kept them for us, and God has imputed His righteousness to us.  It is only in Christ that we ever succeed spiritually.  It is for this reason that we continually make much of Christ, for in Him, ‘Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.’

Our Wise and Wonderful God,
We rejoice in the Person of Christ.
We praise You that In Him, we are able to see
the demonstration of all Your Holy Character.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Preparing for Worship

Preparing for Worship

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9:30 am Worship Service

10900 Huron Street

Northglenn, CO

Scripture:  Psalm 85

Lord, thou hast been favorable unto thy land:  thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.  Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people. thou hast covered all their sin.  Selah. Thou hast taken away all thy wrath:  thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.  Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.  Wilt thou be angry with us for ever?  wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?  Wilt thou not revive us again:  that thy people may rejoice in thee?  Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.  I will hear what God the Lord will speak:  for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.  Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may swell in our land.  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.  Yea, the Lord shall give that wish is good; and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

Sermon:  ‘Mercy and Truth’ – Tomm Tice

  1. God is the God of truth and righteousness.
  2. God is the God of mercy and peace.
  3. All of these qualities converge in Christ.

Catechism:  Westminster Shorter Catechism Question #38

What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?

At the resurrection, believers, being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.

1 1 Corinthians 15:42-43. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
2 Matthew 25:33-34, 46. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
3 Romans 8:29. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 1 John 3:2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
4 Psalm 16:11. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Worship:

All Hail the Power of Jesus Name

All I Have is Christ

Immortal Invisible
‘Mercy’ and ‘Peace’

‘Mercy’ and ‘Peace’

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‘Mercy’ and ‘Peace’

Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Psalm 85:10

As we continue to meditate upon the fullness of the Character of God from this text, we come to consider that which the Scripture sets forth in contrast to ‘truth’ and ‘righteousness.’  If we are to accurately portray God as He is, we must include all that He evidences as the elements of His Character.  As we considered yesterday, He is the God of ‘truth’ and ‘righteousness.’  He is also the God of ‘mercy’ and ‘peace.’  Psalm 103 makes much of this quality, ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.  He will not always chide:  neither will he keep his anger forever.’  That same Psalm goes on to say, ‘the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.’  These are two references of an abundance of statements, all of which show that He is the God of ‘mercy’ and ‘peace.’  We see these pillars of God’s Character rising before our eyes and causing us to marvel at the whole of Who and what He is.  We want such a God as this.  We rejoice that He is full of ‘truth’ and ‘righteousness.’  We rejoice even more greatly that He is full of ‘mercy’ and ‘peace.’  Where this comes home to us in a practical way is when we come to consider how we, who are sinners by nature and by choice, can have a relationship with this Holy and Righteous God.  We know that He is merciful, but how will He demonstrate that mercy to us?  The answer to that will lead us to the Person and Work of Christ.

Our Merciful and Gracious God,
we praise You for the whole of who You are.
We rejoice that we have redemption because
of Your Mercy and Peace which You extend unto us.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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