Psalm 85:3-13

3 You ¹withdrew all Your fury; You ²turned away from Your burning anger.

4 ³Restore us, O God of our salvation, And ⁴cause Your indignation toward us to cease.

5 Will ⁵You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?

6 Will You not Yourself ⁶revive us again, That Your people may ⁷rejoice in You?

7 Show us Your lovingkindness, O LORD, And ⁸grant us Your salvation.

8 I will hear what God the LORD will say; For He will ⁹speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; But let them not ¹⁰turn back to folly.

9 Surely ¹¹His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That ¹²glory may dwell in our land.

10 ¹³Lovingkindness and truth have met together; ¹⁴Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth ¹⁵springs from the earth, And righteousness looks down from heaven.

12 Indeed, ¹⁶the LORD will give what is good, And our ¹⁷land will yield its produce.

13 ¹⁸Righteousness will go before Him And will make His footsteps into a way.

Psalm 85:3-13 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. This psalm is generally thought to have been composed after the return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon; and yet when they were in some distress from their neighbours, either in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, or in the times of Antiochus; but then this deliverance from captivity must be considered as typical of redemption by Christ; for as the title of the Syriac version is, "it is a prophecy concerning Christ;" it speaks of his dwelling in the land, of his salvation being near, and of the glory of the divine perfections as displayed in it; and perhaps some parts of it may respect the conversion of the Jews in the latter day; and Aben Ezra and Kimchi say, it is concerning the captivity of Babylon, yet also of their present captivity.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 78:38; Psalms 106:23
• 2. Exodus 32:12; Deuteronomy 13:17; Psalms 106:23; Jonah 3:9
• 3. Psalms 80:3,7
• 4. Daniel 9:16
• 5. Psalms 74:1; Psalms 79:5; Psalms 80:4
• 6. Psalms 71:20; Psalms 80:18
• 7. Psalms 33:1; Psalms 90:14; Psalms 149:2
• 8. Psalms 106:4
• 9. Psalms 29:11; Haggai 2:9; Zechariah 9:10
• 10. Psalms 78:57; 2 Peter 2:21
• 11. Psalms 34:18; Isaiah 46:13
• 12. Psalms 84:11; Haggai 2:7; Zechariah 2:5; John 1:14
• 13. Psalms 25:10; Psalms 89:14; Proverbs 3:3
• 14. Psalms 72:3; Isaiah 32:17
• 15. Isaiah 45:8
• 16. Psalms 84:11; James 1:17
• 17. Leviticus 26:4; Psalms 67:6; Ezekiel 34:27; Zechariah 8:12
• 18. Psalms 89:14

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "generation and generation"
• [b] Or "bring to life"
• [c] Or "Let me hear"
• [d] Lit "even to"
• [e] Or "stupidity"
• [f] Or "reverence"
• [g] Or "faithfulness"
• [h] Or "Faithfulness"