Psalm 85
Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you pardoned all their sin.
You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you pardoned all their sin.
You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation towards us.
Will you be angry with us for ever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
so that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.
Apparently kissing is not something that all cultures engage in - some in fact, think it is unclean or gross. Many cultures that are more private with signs of affection, do not engage in PDA (you know that embarrassing to watch public display of affection that makes you hurriedly look away or shield your small child's eyes). For those of us who live in cultures where kissing is commonplace, we know there are a variety of kisses and each one means something a little bit different.
Think about each of these and the feelings they evoke with you:
* kissing a newborn baby's head
* kissing a person you've fallen in love with
* kissing someone on the forehead who is dying
* kissing a friend on the cheek when you meet
* a kiss of gratitude
* a kiss of joy
* a kiss of pride over another's accomplishment
* a kiss of peace amongst fellow Christians in worship
Kisses in the bible go all the way back to Genesis as Isaac, in his old age, asks his son (who he thought was Esau but really the tricky Jacob) to come near him and kiss him. It is a blessing of sorts to offer a kiss to another person.
The psalmist wrote: Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. A kiss is a sign of affection, to be sure, but it is also a symbol of reverence and submission to another. In God's kingdom, the psalmist proclaimed, there will be steadfast, constant, abiding love and faithfulness coupled together; in that union righteousness and peace will coexist. What a future glory that awaits us - a kingdom filled with love, faithfulness, peace and holiness? I don't know about you, but I look forward to that kingdom - especially in times of stress, trial, and dismay. We cannot lose heart! This is the promise of God!
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