Psalm 85:11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
We are primarily interested in the first half of this verse: Truth shall spring out of the earth. That is a strange statement, unless you understand what is meant by the words “truth” and “earth.” “Truth” is another name for Jesus Christ in the Scriptures. Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. John 14:6. Jesus is the “Truth.” So now we see that Jesus Christ is going to spring out of the earth. And He literally did spring out of the earth at the time of His resurrection. His resurrection was a fulfillment of the prophecy in Psalm 85:11 – Truth shall spring out of the earth.
The Word of God is eternal. So it cannot be limited to one fulfillment; that is, one fulfillment cannot exhaust the prophecy. The word “earth” in the Scriptures, many times, is referring to God’s people. We were made from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7). Jeremiah uses the potter making earthen vessels at the potter’s wheel as an example of the Lord forming His people into the kind of earthen vessels that He wants them to be (Jeremiah 18:1-6). We are the earth of greatest interest to the Lord.
We see the word “earth” used in this way in the Lord’s Prayer. Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9-10. I have no doubt that God wants His Kingdom to come forth on the earth; and we should believe for that to happen. But His Kingdom must first come forth in us – His earthen vessels. Now let’s apply this concept to Psalm 85:11 – Truth shall spring out of the earth.
Jesus Christ sprang forth out of the earth at His resurrection, and He will spring forth from the earth when He springs forth out of the Body of Christ. For the earnest expectation of the creature (creation) waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. Romans 8:19. The manifestation of the sons of God will be the manifestation of the Son in the sons: Truth shall spring out of the earth.
Matthew 12:38-40 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master,
we would see a sign from Thee.
39 But He
answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous
generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no
sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as
Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of
man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
This passage of Scripture is usually referred to the time when Jesus was in the tomb between His death and resurrection. This would appear to be a valid interpretation, seeing that He arose on the third day (Luke 24:46). Nevertheless, there will also be a fulfillment with the Body of Christ. The three days and three nights that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the heart of the earth is that period of time when He is in His many-membered Body, but is not recognized by the world or other Christians. When Truth springs forth out of the earth, then every eye shall see Him (Revelation 1:7), and He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (II Thessalonians 1:10).
Copyright © 1996 by Henry DuBose