“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 11. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. 12. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good and our land shall yield her increase. 13. Righteousness shall go before Him, and shall set us in the way of his steps.”
These verses contain the components of true revival. We can take these promises that were given to Israel and apply them to our need for revival. We need to understand that for us to have true revival we will need God’s mercy and truth. They are tied together in this text to show us that we need to experience both. We need God’s mercy because we are sinners in need of God’s mercy, which He gives abundantly. But with God’s mercy comes His truth. We cannot fully appreciate God’s abundant mercy if we do not also appreciate His truth. We have an answer for mercy and truth through Jesus, who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Jesus is ready and willing to supply His mercy and truth for us. We cannot deny our need for Christ’s mercy and we cannot deny His truth in our lives. The promise that Jesus gave to the church in Laodicea is also given to us: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with me.” The psalmist tied righteousness and peace together. He wrote that they have “kissed each other.” The Hebrew word for “kissed” means to “kiss repeatedly and intensely.” (Key Word Study Bible) We are reminded, as we were with mercy and truth, that we cannot have peace without righteousness. Revival will mean that we have surrendered to living righteously and in the process have peace. We cannot have one without the other. Often we try to attain, and maintain, peace in our churches without also living in God’s righteousness. Of course our commitment to biblical truth is important in our experiencing the revival that is promised in this text. Finally we are promised that when we receive God’s mercy and truth, and when righteousness and truth have “kissed each other,” we will realize the blessings of the Lord in our churches. Read verses 11-13 in the text printed above. It is important to see the concluding words in the text: “and (He) shall set us in the way of His steps.” God-sent revival makes a difference in our fellowship and in our personal commitment to following in the steps of Jesus. Are we ready for this kind of revival in our lives and in our churches? Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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