Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. (Psalm 85:10)
Just a few thoughts on the second half of this verse:
I can see how steadfast love and faithfulness would complement one another. But how do righteousness and peace relate?
We have all seen examples of righteousness without peace. People obsessed with righteousness, who have no commitment to peace, can become poisoned with hatred. I think Jesus exposed that empty, pseudo-righteousness in his ministry.
Also, peace without some kind of standards or moral truth is a false peace. (Later on I’ll link to a great article about this.)
I suppose righteousness and peace can tug at one another too: it may be hard to keep the peace when you need to call someone out for a less-than-righteous action.
So I guess we have to keep making sure those two are on kissing terms. Not divorced from one another, but able to meet in the middle so that God’s steadfast love will shine through.
Pastor2K 