Indeed, the Lord will give what is good

Psalm 85 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.

O Lord, You showed favor to Your land;
You restored the captivity of Jacob.
² You forgave the iniquity of Your people;
You covered all their sin. Selah.
³ You withdrew all Your fury;
You turned away from Your burning anger.

⁴ Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your indignation toward us to cease.
⁵ Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
⁶ Will You not Yourself revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
⁷ Show us Your lovingkindness, O Lord,
And grant us Your salvation.

⁸ I will hear what God the Lord will say;
For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
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 Lovingkindness and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
¹¹  Truth springs from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
¹² Indeed, the Lord will give what is good,
And our land will yield its produce.
¹³ Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way.

The psalmist, living under the old covenant, sought these things from God. He says: “You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin… Will You not Yourself revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? ⁷ Show us Your lovingkindness, O Lord, And grant us Your salvation.” Forgiveness and the covering of sin was a temporary thing. Salvation from God was also a thing to be desired and hoped for.

We now, under the new covenant established by in and through Christ, know that these are not merely things to be obtained, but rather forgiveness, revival, lovingkindness and salvation are all given not simply as things but they are in Christ. All of the expressions of the character of God are ours in Christ. Unlike the old covenant where these things were conditional and temporary, in Christ we have obtained eternal salvation. When we know Christ we no longer seek after these things, we are changed into His image and likeness.  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Romans 13:14 says we actually, “put on the Lord Jesus Christ”

The psalmist says:  righteousness looks down from heaven.  Indeed, the Lord will give what is good. Indeed God gave us what is good.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16) In Christ we have all the things that the psalmist sought so that we should no longer seek after and strive for things. Yet so many today will still try to obtain these things from God through their own works. They try to earn the temporary favor of God by doing good. Ephesians 2:8-9 says: by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Why should we struggle for what is temporal when we have what is eternal?

Because we have all in the person of Christ, we should also no longer seek the things of this world. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says:  while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Having Christ we should no longer need or want things. Jesus Himself says:  Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ ³² For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33)

 Even David, who did live under the old covenant saw the new covenant promises by faith. He says:  Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. (Psalm 37:3-5) When we know Christ as Lord we know no other need.

Throughout the gospel of John there are statements, declarations by Jesus that He is I Am.

John 6: 35, 48 - I am the bread of life

John 8: 12, 9:5 - I am the light of the world

John 8: 58 - Before Abraham was, I am

John 10:9 - I am the door

John 10:11 - I am the good shepherd

John 11:25 - I am the resurrection and the life

John 14:6 - I am the way, the truth, and the life

John 15:1 - I am the true vine

I Am is all we could ever need. I want to share this poem with you today in hope that you know I Am, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I was regretting the past, fearing
the future. Suddenly my Lord was
speaking.

MY NAME IS,, I AM

He paused , I waited

When you live in the past,
with its mistakes and regrets,
it is difficult. I was not there.

MY NAME IS NOT,, I WAS

When you live in the future,
with its problems and fears,
it is difficult, I am not there

MY NAME IS NOT,, I WILL BE

When you live in the moment,
it is not difficult. I am there

MY NAME IS ,, I AM

Author Unknown  

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, precious Holy Spirit, I pray that You will reveal Yourself today as I Am, that You will be everything that is needed to each one who receives You, Lord Jesus.   Amen.