Speak Peace to the People

Preaching Notes

Focus Text: Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

The traditional Advent theme sequence – hope, peace, joy, and love - isn’t carved in stone. It is not a theological or historical requirement. Yet, like so many traditions in this season, there is weight in maintaining the system. Surprisingly, attention to the psalms chosen for this liturgical year reveals these common themes. Or maybe it is the lens through which we have come to approach Advent, and so we see them everywhere. Last week, hope hovered underneath the call to restoration. And this week, peace is grounded in the song that is sung. It is there in the song that is heard, or that we long to hear –

“Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts” (Ps. 85:8 NRSV).

We want to hear peace spoken. If it isn’t spoken by the leaders of our nation or by the leaders of our churches, maybe we can hear it from God, if we listen carefully enough. Maybe we don’t deserve it. Plug back in the verses the lectionary leaves out. They speak of forgiveness and restoration. But that was in the past; we need to hear it again, the psalmist pleads. We need God to come back and speak to us again. Maybe God has wandered off, or maybe we did. Maybe we stopped listening. We got distracted by getting by and thinking we didn’t need to listen to the voice of God speaking peace into our lives anymore. We were doing okay, we thought. But now we are sagging; now we are hurting and afraid, and we wonder who will speak for us or to us in a difficult time.

The superscription to this psalm is interesting Preaching from the superscription is not really advised. But there is something odd about this one. It is one of those that doesn’t say, “Of David.” Most scholars don’t believe that David wrote all the psalms that say “of David” on them anyway, and that “of David” really came to mean “in the style of David,” or “kinda like the ones David used to write,” or they were done by the King David Tribute band or something. But Psalm 85 says something different. It has three different statements: “To the leader.” “Of the Korahites.” “A Psalm.” You’d think that “A Psalm” would be a bit unnecessary, but then I guess some folks need to be reminded. “To the leader” might mean that this psalm was a commissioned work, that it was dedicated to a leader who had served well or who exemplified the kind of faithfulness that Psalm 85 calls for. The truth is, we don’t know.

But it is the middle statement that is the most interesting: “Of the Korahites.” We could spend a lot of time tracing the biblical history of this family, but it wouldn’t really help us wrap our arms around Psalm 85. Suffice it to say that the Korahites have a checkered history in the Old Testament. Korah was from the line of Levites, servants of the priests and of the holy, but was among those who decided they could do better. He was among those who rebelled against Moses and his leadership. (See Numbers 26 for more.)

Yet somehow his children survived, escaping the punishment that befell Korah. They became known as warriors, fighting alongside David when he was swept to power as Israel’s greatest king. These Korahites, or Sons of Korah as they became known, were not remembered because of their skill with swords or bows, however. They were like David in another way, not just able fighting men. They were also musicians of the highest caliber. David appointed them as leaders of worship for the people of God. They were singers, instrumentalists, and truth-tellers. A psalm, you see—not just music, not just words, but a psalm, an act of praise but also a declaration of faith, a claim to the traditions of the people, but also, a pointer into the future, a word of hope in dark times.

That may mean that the first superscription - To the leader - might not be a dedication to the leader but an instruction to the singers, to the congregation. Maybe it means, “Look to the leaders!” Look to those who go before; look to those whose history might not be perfect, who had to climb out of some difficult times. Look to those who might have known the anger of the Lord they served and who might have known what it was like to feel abandoned. Look to those who know what it is to be revived. Look to those who lead the singing.

That’s our story, isn’t it? That’s the song we sing: of being restored and then losing it, of being revived and full of life and then being drained and dead on our feet. That’s our pattern too, not just the people of the Old Testament, but us, right here, right now. Don’t we cry out for restoration again and again? Don’t we bump up against the walls of our own making, the walls of our own doubting, our own wandering? Don’t we get lost in the maze of trying to walk each day and satisfy all the hungers within us?

So, how do we climb out of those pits? How do we turn around from the wrong paths? From the desperation of the everyday?

By remembering. That’s why we follow the leader; that’s why we sing the songs of faith. “Morning by morning, new mercies I see, all I have needed thy hand hath provided, great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.” We sing those songs because they were true, because they are true, and because they will be true. And the great joy of Psalm 85 is that because they were true and because they will be true, they are true.

Compare English translations of Psalm 85. You’ll find that the NRSV says “will” – He will speak peace ... Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet ... righteousness and peace will kiss each other ... Faithfulness will spring up from the ground ... righteousness will look down from the sky ... The LORD will give ... our land will yield ... Righteousness will go before ... and will make a path. It is a hope, a promise, a not yet in a world of striving and often failing, a world of conflict and brokenness, a world of division and hatred. Kissing seems out of the question. Singing seems out of the question.

And yet, I’ve been kissed before. I have sung the songs of faith. You have too. There is connection already. Other translations make use the present tense. From the NIV^[1]: “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.” From the New King James Version^[2]: “Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.” From the New Living Translation^[3]: “Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!”

Why the confusion? Because we can’t always tell. Because, even though it seems absent, this righteousness and faithfulness of God also seem really present. It is in the air around us, coming up from the ground beneath us—if we look; if we pay attention; if we live in hope and confidence; if we attempt to be as faithful as the one who shows us faithfulness every single day, every morning, then we will be restored; then we will be alive, even as we walk in darkness. Even when we feel that we have failed the one who loves us more than we can imagine. The very essence of God - steadfast love and faithfulness, righteousness and peace - will seep into our bones and become the aspects of love that can define us. It will become a song on our lips and in our hearts. Look to the leaders, the singers of songs, and be revived; be restored.

And we who are broken can get up and walk along the path of righteousness. Because in listening to the leaders, in listening for the voice of God, peace is spoken into our lives once more. That is our earnest desire. That is our strong hope. We live for the day. Sing it again. Once more with feeling.

Rev. Dr. Derek Weber, Director of Preaching Ministries, served churches in Indiana, Arkansas, and the British Methodist Church. His PhD in preaching and media is from the University of Edinburgh. He has taught preaching in seminary and conference settings for more than twenty years.