11Faithfulness sprouts from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12The LORD will indeed provide what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
13Righteousness will go before Him to prepare the way for His steps.
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Righteousness will go before Him to prepare the way for His steps. Psalm 85:13 · Berean Standard Bible
Righteousness will go ahead of the LORD like a herald, preparing the way and clearing obstacles, so His steps can follow.
Picture this: righteousness moves ahead, doing the preparation work, removing obstacles, making the path ready. Then God Himself walks that path into the land. His righteousness isn't just an abstract quality; it's the active force that prepares the way for His presence to dwell with His people.
The psalmist, ending the vision with this image of preparation and coming.
This language of 'preparing the way' echoes in Isaiah and appears again with John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus. It's the pattern of God's redemptive work: righteousness always precedes and prepares for God's full presence.
Righteousness goes before the Lord as His harbinger, preparing the path for His steps—depicting divine justice as the active agent of restoration.
The image of righteousness preceding God (yidroḵ—treading/walking) as His 'harbinger' or 'forerunner' personifies ṣedeq as an active, preparatory force. This concludes the vision sequence begun in verse 10: righteousness is not merely a divine attribute but an active agent transforming reality in preparation for God's coming judgment and restoration. The verb yērakkēn (prepare) suggests leveling obstacles, making the path smooth.
The psalmist, bringing the visionary sequence to its culmination in an image of divine movement through the transformed world.
This image of righteousness preparing the way would resonate in Christian tradition through John the Baptist's ministry ('prepare the way of the Lord' in all four Gospels), establishing righteousness as the necessary prerequisite for God's redemptive work.
11Faithfulness sprouts from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12The LORD will indeed provide what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
13Righteousness will go before Him to prepare the way for His steps.
Read all of Psalm 85 — Love and faithfulness meet. Righteousness and peace kiss. A psalm that imagines a future so good it reads like a dream.
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