Psalms 85:3

To the chief musician. A psalm for the sons of Korah. , 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 show us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation. The church, in affliction and distress, is here, by direction from God, making her application to God. So ready is God to hear and answer the prayers of his people that by his Spirit in the word, and in the heart, he indites their petitions and puts words into their mouths. The people of God, in a very low and weak condition, are here taught how to address themselves to God. I. They are to acknowledge with thankfulness the great things God had done for them (v. 1-3): "Thou has done so and so for us and our fathers." Note, The sense of present afflictions should not drown the remembrance of former mercies; but, even when we are brought very low, we must call to remembrance past experiences of God's goodness, which we must take notice of with thankfulness, to his praise. They speak of it here with pleasure, 1.

85:1-7 The sense of present afflictions should not do away the remembrance of former mercies. The favour of God is the fountain of happiness to nations, as well as to particular persons. When God forgives sin, he covers it; and when he covers the sin of his people, he covers it all. See what the pardon of sin is. In compassion to us, when Christ our Intercessor has stood before thee, thou hast turned away thine anger. When we are reconciled to God, then, and not till then, we may expect the comfort of his being reconciled to us. He shows mercy to those to whom he grants salvation; for salvation is of mere mercy. The Lord's people may expect sharp and tedious afflictions when they commit sin; but when they return to him with humble prayer, he will make them again to rejoice in him.

Thou hast taken away all thy wrath,.... Or "gathered" (n) it; sin occasions wrath, and the people of God are as deserving of it as others; but the Lord has gathered it up, and poured it forth upon his Son, and their surety; hence nothing of this kind shall ever fall upon them, either here or hereafter; and it is taken away from them, so as to have no sense, apprehension, or conscience of it, which before the law had wrought in them, when pardon is applied unto them, which is what is here meant; see Isaiah 12:1 , thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger; the anger of God is very fierce against sin and sinners; it is poured forth like fire, and there is no abiding it; but, with respect to the Lord's people, it is pacified by the death of his Son; or he is pacified towards them for all that they have done, for the sake of his righteousness and sacrifice; and which appears to them when he manifests his love and pardoning grace to their souls; see Ezekiel 16:63. (n) "collegisti", Montanus, Gejerus, Michaelis.

Verse 3. - Thou hast taken away all thy wrath . Forgiveness of sins implies the cessation of wrath, though it does not necessarily imply the cessation of punishment. Thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. This expresses the meaning better than the marginal rendering. Psalm 85:3

Thou hast taken away all thy wrath - That is, formerly; on the occasion referred to. Thou didst so deal with thy people as to make it evident that thou didst cherish no anger or displeasure against them. Thou hast turned thyself ... - Margin, "thine anger from waxing hot." Literally, Thou didst turn from the heat of thine anger. His indignation was withdrawn, and he was again at peace with them. It is this fact, drawn from the former history of the people, which constitutes the basis of the appeal which follows.

The poet first of all looks back into the past, so rich in tokens of favour. The six perfects are a remembrance of former events, since nothing precedes to modify them. Certainly that which has just been experienced might also be intended; but then, as Hitzig supposes, Psalm 85:5-8 would be the petition that preceded it, and Psalm 85:9 would go back to the turning-point of the answering of the request - a retrograde movement which is less probable than that in shuwbeenuw, Psalm 85:5 , we have a transition to the petition for a renewal of previously manifested favour. (שׁבית) שבּ שׁבוּת, here said of a cessation of a national judgment, seems to be meant literally, not figuratively (vid., Psalm 14:7 ). רצה, with the accusative, to have and to show pleasure in any one, as in the likewise Korahitic lamentation- Psalm 44:4 , cf. Psalm 147:11 . In Psalm 85:3 sin is conceived of as a burden of the conscience; in Psalm 85:3 as a blood-stain. The music strikes up in the middle of the strophe in the sense of the "blessed" in Psalm 32:1 .

In Psalm 85:4 God's עברה (i.e., unrestrained wrath) appears as an emanation; He draws it back to Himself (אסף as in Joel 3:15 , Psalm 104:29 ; 1 Samuel 14:19 ) when He ceases to be angry; in Psalm 85:4 , on the other hand, the fierce anger is conceived of as an active manifestation on the part of God which ceases when He turns round (השׁיב, Hiph. as inwardly transitive as in Ezekiel 14:6 ; Ezekiel 39:25 ; cf. the Kal in Exodus 32:12 ), i.e., gives the opposite turn to His manifestation.

[Bible] 84:5. Convert us, O God our saviour: and turn off thy anger from us. 84:6. Wilt thou be angry with us for ever: or wilt thou extend thy wrath from generation to generation? 84:7. Thou wilt turn, O God, and bring us to life: and thy people shall rejoice in thee. 84:8. Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy; and grant us thy salvation. 84:9. I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me: for he will speak peace unto his people: And unto his saints: and unto them that are converted to the heart. 84:10. Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him: that glory may dwell in our land. 84:11. Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed. 84:12. Truth is sprung out of the earth: and justice hath looked down from heaven. 84:13. For the Lord will give goodness: and our earth shall yield her fruit. 84:14. Justice shall walk before him: and shall set his steps in the way. Psalms Chapter 85 Inclina, Domine. A prayer for God's grace to assist us to the end. 85:1. A prayer for David himself. Incline thy ear, O Lord, and hear me: for I am needy and poor. 85:2. Preserve my soul, for I am holy: save thy servant, O my God, that trusteth in thee. I am holy... I am by my office and profession dedicated to thy service. 85:3. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I have cried to thee all the day. 85:4. Give joy to the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul. 85:5. For thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild: and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon thee. 85:6. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer: and attend to the voice of my petition. 85:7. I have called upon thee in the day of my trouble: because thou hast heard me. 85:8. There is none among the gods like unto thee, O Lord: and there is none according to thy works. 85:9. All the nations thou hast made shall come and adore before thee, O Lord: and they shall glorify thy name. 85:10. For thou art great and dost wonderful things: thou art God alone.