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“Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” (Ps. 85:6). This is a plea for God to restore the joy through spiritual renewal and revival.
Ps. 85 has no attribution.  The main idea of restoration of God’s people due to the mercies of the LORD is captivating.  Renewal comes through the mercies of the LORD.  The whole Psalm heralds a greater revival under the reign of the Messiah.
Keep your eye on God.  God acts in behalf of His people and so is able to renew them in spiritual ways with His mercy, truth, righteousness and peace.  When God’s people are undone, estranged by their sins, only He can revive them.
See What God Hath Done
God has been favourable unto their land.  He has brought back the captivity of Judah.  He has forgiven the iniquity of the people.  He has covered all their sin.  He has taken away all His wrath.  He has turned from the fierceness of His anger (Ps. 85:1-3).   Revival is dependent upon the mercies of the LORD.  Where God is, there is hope.  God is everywhere at all times and so His people are never without hope.  The hopeless are Godless (destitute of God, Eph. 2:12).
The Ernest Plea of God’s People
The plea for mercy is recorded in Ps. 85:4-7.  Turn us, O God of our salvation.  God’s chastisement turns the people back to Him.  If they turn to God, God will turn away from His wrath.  Our trials frequently arise out of our own sins.  These sins are self-inflicted wounds.  However, we can change course or direction and end up at a different destination.  Movement in God’s direction brings His mercies to us.  Wilt thou be angry forever?  Is there no boundary to God’s wrath?  Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?  Wilt thou revive us again?  God will return in all of His power to save and to restore the joy.  Joy follows revival.  Joy follows repentance.  Joy follows restoration.  Revive us, O LORD, that we may rejoice in Thee!
The Goodness of God Brings Peace
In Ps. 85:8-13, God’s peace is restored.  Sin agitates the soul.  Through God’s mercy, truth and righteousness, peace can be realized.  The perfections of God act together to bless.  Mercy and truth are a powerful combination for revival.  Truth guides the soul while mercy heals it.  Righteousness and peace kiss.  This is another powerful combination.  Righteousness preserves relationship with God and prevents backsliding.  Through mercy, truth, and righteousness there is peace with God.  Peace is the cessation of enmity between humanity and God that results in the tranquility of soul that fears nothing from God, but basks in His grace.  It is contentment (I shall not want).  It is satisfaction (lying down in green pastures beside still waters).  It is the result of the pursuit of the pathway of righteousness.  It is fearlessness in the face of death because of God’s presence and power.  It is abundant provision from God in the face of the enemy. It is God’s goodness and mercy in pursuit of us for a lifetime.  It culminates in the hope that we will dwell with God forever (Ps. 23).  A beautiful metaphor captures the essence of the the spiritual realities.  The earth yielding flowers of truth.  The heavens shining with stars of holiness.  The spheres mirroring each other’s beauties.  This is the beauty of God- His mercy, truth, righteousness and peace.
First, there is trouble.  Sin interrupts and separates us from God.  Then, there is God!  See what God hath done.  The plea for mercy is answered.  When we turn away from our iniquities and God returns to us in the fullness of His glory and goodness, then, through His mercy, truth, and righteousness, we have peace.  The joy has been restored!

Michael Card wrote, Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God’s Lovingkindness. This book is an informative and inspirational study of the Hebrew word hesed (pronounced Khesed).  This word is found nearly 250 times in the Old Testament.  It is found in every division of Old Testament books including the Law, the Prophets and the Writings.  It is found more in the Psalms that any other book of the Old Testament (127 times).  This word is a “golden thread” that runs through the Old Testament.  It reveals the heart of God.  Card has produced a word study that is an effort to capture the essence of the meaning of a word that is beyond definition.  On the opening page, the author gives us 110 different words and phrases that attempt to capture its meaning.  This book is a resource of biblical information and it inspires us to imitate God’s lovingkindness to help repair the corruption that is within us and in the world.  I have uploaded a book review of this title on my Book Reviews page.

The knowledge of God is essential to peace and joy.  The knowledge of God produces fear of the Lord which is the equivalence to obedience to God’s commands.  Where there is no knowledge of God, there is no fear of the Lord.  The fear of the Lord gives hope.  “Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy. To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.  Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee” (Psa. 33:18-22).  God’s mercy and our fear of the LORD produce hope.  Without the knowledge of God, there is no hope!
An Old Testament Precept
“They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy” (Jonah 2:8).  Lying vanities are idols.  When we give up our knowledge of God, we are subject to idolatry.  Idols are lifeless, powerless, vain, and ultimately nothing (I Cor. 8:4).  To trust in idols is to abandon God. God is merciful, good, slow to anger, and gracious. When we abandon God, we forsake our own mercy because mercy comes from God.
New Testament Application
In Rom. 1:28-32, Paul shows some of the consequences of abandoning God.  “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient.”
The first consequence that follows abandoning God is that evil abounds.  A reprobate mind is one that cannot stand the test of righteousness that comes from God.  Thus, it fails and is rejected by God.  But, such a mind produces all manner of evil.  The five verses that follow v. 28 contain 23 sins named by Paul.  When men abandon God, they abandon all restraint from sin.  Instead, they indulge in sin and take pleasure in them that commit sin (Rom. 1:32).  Hosea declares, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee…” (Hosea 4:1-6).  Sin is always destructive.  Here is the list of sins enumerated by Paul:  filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, and unmerciful.  While this list is not exhaustive of every sin, it is representative of all types of unrighteousness.  When we abandon God, evil abounds.
The second consequence of abandoning God is impenitence.  Paul states, “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasures up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom. 2:4-5).  The human heart, hardened by sin, manifests unbelief.  Consider these words of inspiration, “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13).  Sin hardens the human heart against the goodness of God.  No wonder Jonah said, “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.”  Unbelief produces impenitence.  The human heart will not turn away from sin.  Impenitence results in being unforgiven.  When we abandon God, we forsake mercy.
A third consequence of abandoning God is condemnation.  Paul writes, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18).  To “hold the truth” is to suppress the truth.  When we abandon God, truth is suppressed and lies abound. When we abandon God, we abandon truth.  “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (II Thess. 2:10-12).  When we abandon the truth, our unbelief will result in condemnation before God. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16).  Our unbelief is a self-inflicted wound that will lead to self-destruction.  When we abandon God, we are hopeless!
When we abandon God, evil abounds, we are unforgiven, and without hope.  “Those that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy!”

Some of the essential elements involved in sustaining physical, human life are:  food, fresh water, air, sunlight and soil.  Without these, we simply could not live.  Have you ever considered the spiritual essentials to life?  Hosea reveals three spiritual essentials to life (both physical and spiritual) in Hosea 4:1, “Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, no mercy, and no knowledge of God in the land.”  What would it mean to live in a world without truth, mercy, and the knowledge of God?  Consider the following questions.  Aren’t many attempting to create a world without truth, mercy and the knowledge of God?  When we abandon God, we are creating such a world.  Are we more concerned about the physical environment than we are about the spiritual environment that we are creating?
No Truth
Without the truth, we would be in darkness.  We would be ignorant.  In order for a belief to be considered knowledge, it has to be true.  If it is information that is not true, it is a lie and not worthy of belief.  Without truth, we would be living in the vanity of the mind.  Paul said, “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.  Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Eph. 4:17-19).  Truth may be defined as that which conforms to reality as God defines reality.  God’s Word is truth (John 17:17).  Truth is the basis for morality.  Without truth, there would be no morality.  There would be no standard of righteousness whereby we could discern between truth and error or right and wrong.  The consequence would be that anything and everything would be permitted.  Truth is the basis for justice.  If there is no truth, there is no justice.  The word just refers to that which is right according to the righteous standard that God has given to us through His revealed word.  A world without justice means that no one would be guilty.  There would be no restraint against the lusts of the flesh.  Lawlessness would result. Truth is the basis for freedom.  If there weren’t any truth, there would be no freedom.  The alternative to freedom is slavery.  Slavery to sin is the worst form of slavery (John 8:31-34).  Wouldn’t the absence of truth result in self-destruction?
No Mercy
Mercy is compassion for the human predicament that is expressed by lovingkindness, empathy, and tenderheartedness.  If there were no mercy, there would be no love of neighbor.  There would be only hatred and violence.  There would not be any hospitals or people to work in them.  Judgment without mercy would mean that there would be no mercy from God.  We would be left to face the wrath of God.  The absence of mercy would corrupt the human heart and set it on fire with wicked imaginations that would reach new heights of cruelty to others.
No Knowledge of God
Without the knowledge of God, we would be left with godlessness.  Evil would abound unchecked by anything good.  Every sexual perversion would be permissible.  Idolatry and Satanism would abound.  If there were no knowledge of God, then, there would be no good (Mark 10:18, God is Good).  There would be no life (John 1:1-5, God is Life).  There would be no Light (I John 1:5, God is light).  There would be no Love (I John 4:8,16, God is love).
The results of no truth, no mercy, and no knowledge of God would be:  chaos, self-destruction, corruption, violence, and every evil thing (the absolute control of the world by Satan without the possibility of redemption).  Such a spiritual state would result in the destruction of much of human life.  Would it be possible to live under such spiritual conditions?  If we abandon God, we will have no truth, no mercy and no knowledge of God producing the fear of the LORD which provides the restraint from the absolute indulgence of the flesh.  Without God, we would be miserable and hopeless.  Perhaps with this brief consideration of what life without God would be like, we can accept with complete gratitude what God has done for us through the revelation of His love in the unspeakable gift of His Son–Jesus Christ! “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). There is hope because there is a redeemer.  Jesus Christ is the hope of the world because He is the savior of the world (John 4:42, I John 4:14). There is hope for each of us because there is truth, mercy, and the knowledge of God!

James writes, “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”  Three times the word “mercy” is found in this passage.  The word is a translation of the Greek word eleos. Eleos is God’s attitude toward those who are in distress.  It is the outward manifestation of pity.  Eleos tempers the justice of God by providing a remedy for sin.  The word mercy captures the essence of its meaning.
Getting In Over My Head
The phrase, “getting in over my head” is an idiom.  The phrase means, “to become too deeply involved in or with a difficult situation, beyond the point of being able to control or cope with things any longer.”  The following examples illustrate its meaning.  “I’ve gotten in way over my head with this money laundering scheme.”  Now the mob is threatening my family if I try to back out.”  And, “I think I’m getting in over my head with Amy.  She wants marriage, kids, and a house, and I’m just not ready for any of that” (idioms.thefreedictionary.com).  Every person who sins, “gets in over his/her head” and encounters a situation that he/she is powerless to do anything about.  Only God can forgive sins.  However, God is merciful and has provided a remedy for sin through His Son– Jesus Christ.
Judgment Without Mercy
The greatest fear of any person is to face the justice of God without mercy.  Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:16).  Damnation is the result of unbelief.  Unbelief causes us to face the full weight of the judgment of God.  Through faith and baptism we can obtain the forgiveness of God and be saved from the eternal consequences of sin.  Judgment without mercy is applied by James to those who show no mercy.  Jesus said, “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:15).  Jesus also told the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matt. 18:32-35) in which He taught that the unmerciful will not receive mercy.  Every Christian should imitate the heart of God by showing mercy to his neighbor.
Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment
God’s mercy provides a remedy for sin.  When we transgress God’s law, we sin (I John 3:4). We cannot escape this sinful state by our own power.  The remedy for sin is supplied by God through justification.  Justification is acquittal from sin.  “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).  “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Rom. 5:8-9).  When we are justified by God through Jesus Christ, we are pronounced “not guilty” because we have been forgiven.  Forgiveness is based upon the sacrificial death of Jesus in our behalf.  Jesus provides atonement for sin.  Forgiveness from God is conditional.  The conditions that must be met by us are: faith (Heb. 11:6); love (Matt. 22:36-39; Mark 12:29-31); Repentance (Acts 17:30); Confession (Rom. 10:9-10); and baptism (immersion in water) (Rom. 6:3-4).  These commands constitute obedience to the gospel of Christ (II Thess. 1:7-9; Acts 2:38; Heb. 5:8-9; Rom. 10:16). When we obey the gospel of Christ, we are justified before God.  Mercy triumphs over judgment!
The Triumph of Mercy
Mercy boasts against judgment.  Mercy triumphs over judgment only through the atoning power of the blood of Christ.  If we do not obtain mercy from God, then, we will face His judgment without mercy!  When we sin against God, we “get in over our head”, but, through God’s mercy we can be justified before Him.

The friendship of David and Jonathan is one of the purest in the entire Bible.  Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection.  Friendship is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than either acquaintance or co-worker.  Jeremy Taylor defines friendship in the following manner, “By friendship you mean the greatest love, the greatest usefulness, the most open communication, the noblest sufferings, the severest truth, the heartiest counsel, and the greatest union of minds of which brave men and women are capable.”
The Relationship Between David and Jonathan
In I Samuel 13:3; and 14:1-14, there is a depiction of the heroism of Jonathan and his armor bearer.  Together, they destroyed a Philistine garrison of twenty men.  Before Jonathan approaches the Philistines, he establishes a sign that would indicate that God would deliver the enemy into their hands.  When the sign was confirmed, Jonathan and his armor bearer fought and won the battle.  David demonstrates his fearless fighting ability by fighting the giant Goliath and killing him (I Samuel 17).  David and Jonathan were both fearless warriors.  Both men loved each other as friends.  Both men respected each other and trusted each other.  Both men had a strong faith in God.  This spiritual bond played a significant role in their relationship.
The Covenant of Mercy
In I Samuel 20:8 and 14-17, David and Jonathan express a covenant of mercy between them.  David sought the preservation of his life from Saul, Jonathan’s father.  Jonathan sought David’s goodwill toward himself and his descendants.  Jonathan remained loyal to David even as David rose in prominence.  Jonathan should rightly have become king.  But Jonathan accepts God’s choice of David to be the next king in Israel.  Consequently, he does not envy David nor become a rival to him as Saul had done.  Jonathan seeks to preserve David’s life and so preserve David’s place in Israel’s history.  Giving place to David is an act of lovingkindness or hesed on Jonathan’s part.  David and Jonathan have internalized God’s mercy in their own lives.  Both had been the recipients of God’s mercy and now they have internalized it in their own relationship with each other.  Hesed has been defined as, “when the person from whom I have no right to expect anything, gives me everything” (Michael Card).  Hesed is grace, mercy, lovingkindness.  When this principle functions in a relationship and is motivated by love, it unleashes a powerful bond that will last a lifetime and beyond.  This is the key to lifetime friendship.
The Covenant of Mercy and Reciprocity
Once a covenant of mercy is established between two people on the basis of love, there is mutuality.  The one who is initially shown hesed naturally demonstrates hesed in return.  This is not a legal expectation.  It is based upon love which acts freely.  Reciprocity is an indication that both parties in a friendship have internalized the truth of hesed.  Hesed is relational.  Its power in a relationship is increased when it is reciprocated.  It becomes the principle upon which the friendship functions.  If hesed is not returned by you in gratitude, you have not understood the nature of hesed shown to you in the first place.  The failure to reciprocate hesed disappoints the person who has shown hesed.  When mutual reciprocity of hesed is active in a relationship, the relationship endures all the ups and downs and good times and bad times presented by external circumstances.  Even after Jonathan died in battle at the same time as his father, Saul, David continued to show mercy to his descendants.  This demonstrates the power of the covenant of mercy between David and Jonathan (see Michael Card, Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God’s Lovingkindness).
Hesed and You
When hesed is experienced in our relationship with God, we taste of the heavenly gifts of mercy and grace (Heb. 6:4).  We have no right to expect anything from God, but He gives us everything!  Motivated by love, God gives us every spiritual blessing through His Son, Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:3).  We become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:16-17). We receive the forgiveness of our sins when we obey the gospel (Acts 2:38, Rom. 6:4 and 17).  We become the children of God (Gal. 3:26-27).  Truly, God is rich in grace and mercy toward us (Eph. 1:7, 2:4). When we internalize God’s mercy and imitate Him in manifesting hesed, we display the divine nature in our relationships with others.  We unleash the power of love and mercy in all of our relationships and we have the potential to form bonds that will last a lifetime and beyond!