Buoyant joy or decline

Buoyant joy or decline

Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed! – Psalms 85:10

Psalms 32:1-5

 1 Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!

 2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!

 3 When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.

 4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.

 5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.”

“An Affair to Remember” is a classic American romance film from 1957 starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. According to the American Film Institute, this timeless movie is considered one of the most romantic films ever.

The story follows Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant) and Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr), who meet aboard the transatlantic ocean liner SS Constitution en route from Europe to New York. They fall in love and agree to reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in six months.

However, tragedy strikes when Terry is hit by a car on her way to the rendezvous, leaving her gravely injured and unable to walk. Unaware of the accident, Nickie waits for her at the observation deck until midnight, believing she has rejected him.

Months later, they unexpectedly run into each other at the ballet. Nickie discovers Terry’s address and pays her a surprise visit on Christmas Eve. He mentions a painting he had been working on when they first met. He had since given it to a woman in a wheelchair who liked it but had no money. To his surprise, Nickie finds the painting hanging on Terry’s wall. The movie ends with the two in a tight embrace.

The Scriptures are replete with love affairs. One of the lesser-known ones is in Psalm 85. But this affair does not involve people. Instead, it is about the delightful qualities of unfailing love and truth and righteousness and peace.

Psalms 85:10 Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!

These four qualities are attributes of the Father and are personified as delightful couples engaged in a love affair. Steadfast love and faithfulness are partners, just as righteousness and peace are. These pairs meet, embrace, and kiss each other. Can you imagine the beautiful sight of love and faithfulness embracing or righteousness and peace sharing a kiss?

“Four of the most significant words in Hebrew are combined in verses 10 and 11, like jewels in a crown. Their totality of meaning embraces in large measure the fullness of the Old Testament concept of the relationship between God and his people when harmony has been established” (Tesh and Zorn).

These terms encompass a continuum of meanings that a single English word cannot fully express. The Hebrew word hesed is translated as love. Hesed has the connotation of loyal love. It is also translated as steadfast love, mercy, kindness, lovingkindness, or loyalty. It connotes love, vital for balanced relationships between individuals, such as spouses, parents and children, or close friends.  

Truth is often interpreted as faithfulness. Its core idea is being steadfast, reliable, and dependable. It involves the notions of loyalty, truth, trustworthiness, and reliability.

Righteousness is living in a morally right and just manner, per the Father’s standards. It is being fair and free from guilt.

Peace(shalom) denotes a state of tranquility or quietness, but it goes beyond the absence of conflict or war. Shalom refers to a complete, holistic sense of well-being and harmony within and among individuals. It’s a state where everything is as it should be – nothing is missing or broken. Shalom is characteristic a right relationship with God.

Shalom is realized when righteousness and peace meet and metaphorically embrace each other, akin to the warm embraces shared by people in the Middle East.

When in love, we are inspired to be our best and do our best for our beloved. Similarly, the Father’s love for us has given birth to redemption and the forgiveness of sins. These blessings are the offspring of the Father’s love for us, the children of the King.

REFLECT & PRAY

Psalms 85:10 highlights the profound importance of love, faithfulness, righteousness, and peace within the bond between God and the children of the King. 

Father You have invited us into a love affair, a love affair with You! May we feel Your embrace and enjoy Your kiss.

INSIGHT

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a widely accepted concept in psychology, proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Maslow’s five-tier model of human needs is physiological (food and clothing), safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

What produces joy in your life? What puts a smile on your face? Everyone enjoys different things, from personal achievements to natural beauty. One of our basic needs is to feel loved and to have a sense of belonging and well-being.  

For King David, however, his journey to discover love and joy took a different path. David found himself engulfed in despair and confusion. He was overwhelmed and lost after enduring humiliation, shame, and reproach due to his explicit, nefarious transgressions. This was new territory for David. He was uncertain how to proceed. How so? Heretofore, his life had been exemplary.

1 Kings 15:5 For David had done what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight and had obeyed the LORD’s commands throughout his life, except in the affair concerning Uriah the Hittite.

He turned to prayer to seek guidance and relief. He acknowledged his despondent and depleted condition. The Father acted immediately and took away his guilt and shame. He was magnificently and thoroughly forgiven.

Psalm 32:3-5

 3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from groaning all day.

 4 For day and night, Your hand was heavy on me; my strength was drained as in the summer’s heat.

 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You took away the guilt of my sin.

Romans 4:8 Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin.

The Father is always willing to forgive and cleanse us of our impurities. We need only to ask. David learned this when he stopped hiding and pretending and confessed his wrongdoing to God. His loving, devoted Father gently lifted the heavy burden from David’s shoulders, exchanging it for joy.

Psalm 32:1-2

 1 How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven; whose sin is covered!

 2 How joyful is the man the LORD does not charge with sin and in whose spirit is no deceit!

 3 When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.

 5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.

David’s emotional and physical unrest made him a physical and mental wreck. But now he experiences something unbelievably magnificent: all his torment has been exchanged for exuberant joy. His joy bursts forth into praise and worship. He wants everyone to hear and know what the Father has done for him. What a relief, what a release. It is senseless to attempt to hide and cover up our shortcomings, considering God is all-knowing. Such foolhardy efforts only hurt us.

David had played the fool by trying to hide and cover his sins. He had become physically and emotionally drained. “God does not permit his children to sin successfully” (Spurgeon). Sin leads to misery, while forgiveness and cleansing lead to joy.

Again, David shows the way and provides sagacious advice.

Psalms 32:9-11

 9 Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

 10 Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the LORD.

 11 So rejoice in the LORD and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all of you whose hearts are pure!

Buoyant joy or decline, the choice is yours.

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© Dr. H 2023