Psalm 85 comments

 

Psalm 85:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.» LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. 2  Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah. 3  Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. 4  Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. 5  Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? 6  Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? 7  Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.

 

Here is a plea for God’s mercy and deliverance and also that His anger will be withdrawn from His people. Some Jewish writers, according to John Gill, said that this Psalm was written about the Babylonian Captivity while others suggested that it foretold of the Jews’ suffering in the two thousand years after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple by the Romans. Of course, it could be both. Bible verses, prophecies in particular have multiple applications; for immediate context and for future prophecy. This brilliant pattern by God keeps the Bible from being thousands of volumes as opposed to the not much over a thousand pages it is.

 

The Psalmist refers to the land belonging to God. Now we know that the whole earth belongs to God.

 

Exodus 19:5  Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

 

But God claims the area of Israel as His particular inheritance.

 

Jeremiah 16:18  And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.

 

He brought the captives of Jacob out of Egypt, out of Babylon, and particularly out of Satan’s control and of sin. He took them from the Gentile world, who are under Satan’s captivity.

 

2Timothy 2:26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

 

2Corinthians 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

 

Then, see;

 

Psalm 32:1 ¶  «A Psalm of David, Maschil.» Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

 

The psalmist in this passage is declaring the mercy and forgiveness of God, which we know more fully through Christ, and pleading that God’s anger will not abide on His people for all time.

 

1Thessalonians 2:16  Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

 

The psalmist pleads for revival which clearly shows that we don’t “have a revival” as revival can only come from God. I call so-called “revival meetings” as “hopeful revival meetings.” We, as they did, need God’s mercy and God’s salvation, which in this context might be saving from temporal, earthly distress but, in our case, can be thought of as the salvation that leads to eternal life with our Creator.

 

We should pray this Psalm often as it applies so well to our current state. God has had mercy on us in saving us and we pray for God to continue to have mercy on us in our pathetic, sinful behavior and thought processes.

 

John 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

 

1John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

I pray for God’s mercy every day in this perilous time of life that I live. I hope you will too as God’s grace, His mercy, and His salvation is abundantly poured on us, if we are saved.

 

Psalm 85:8 ¶  I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. 9  Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. 10  Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 11  Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. 12  Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. 13  Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

 

We can let God speak to us through His words in the Bible, through our experiences judged by His word, and He will save us from our sins. Let me repeat;

 

1John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

Apparently, this requires a relationship as God takes the desire to commit our preferred sins away or perhaps makes the consequences, if we persist in doing them anyway, unpleasant. God’s word is designed to always produce peace between Himself and His saints. Here in verse 8 we see that His people and His saints are synonymous. A saint is not some glorified spiritual “medal of honor” winner who performed some outrageous miracle and were deified by church elders. They are simply God’s sanctified ones, who belong to Him.

 

John 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

 

For the Israelites the fear of the Lord would protect them and God’s glory would cover the land if they were obedient. We are not promised a painless existence if we obey but we are promised God’s strength and that He will stand with us in our trials.

 

2Corinthians 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 

Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

 

Mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace are personified here. These are things we should seek, that which is good. In doing so, God will establish us in His ways and we shall be, of all people, most blessed. He will walk with us. I find that a very comforting thought and very frustrating in that I did not seek those things in my heart before I was a Christian and for long after as well.

 

God has forgiven us through our receiving Christ as our Saviour and His anger and wrath no longer rest on us.

 

John 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.