Psalms 85

¹To 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.

Captivity - The captives.

⁴Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.

Turn us - Restore us to our former tranquillity, and free us from the troubles which we yet groan under.

⁶Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

Revive us - Give us a second reviving in bringing home the rest of our brethren, and in restraining our enemies.

⁸I 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.

Will hear - Diligently observe. Will speak - What answer God will give to my prayers. Peace - He will give an answer of peace. Saints - Not to all that are called God’s people, but only to those who are truly such.

⁹Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

His salvation - That compleat salvation for which all the Israel of God wait; even the redemption by the Messiah; of which not only Christian, but even Jewish writers understand this place; and to which the following passages properly belong. And the psalmist might well say this salvation was nigh, because the seventy weeks determined by Daniel were begun. Glory - The glorious presence of God, and the God of glory himself, even Christ, who is the brightness of his father’s glory.

¹⁰Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Kissed - That great work of redemption by Christ, shall clearly manifest God’s mercy in redeeming his people Israel, and in the conversion of the Gentiles; his truth in fulfilling that great promise of sending his son, his righteousness in punishing sin, on his son, and in conferring righteousness upon guilty and lost creatures; and his peace or reconciliation to sinners, and that peace of conscience which attends upon it.

¹¹Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

Truth - Truth among men. Righteousness - And God’s justice shall be satisfied: he shall look down upon sinful men with a smiling countenance.

¹³Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

Before him - As his harbinger. He shall fulfil all righteousness, he shall satisfy the righteousness of God, and shall advance righteousness and holiness among men. Set us - Shall cause us to walk in those righteous ways wherein he walketh.