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Psalm 85

Psalm 85 moves from remembered forgiveness through renewed distress to confidence that God’s peace and righteousness will fill the land.

A community recalls how God restored Jacob’s fortunes, forgave his people, and turned away his wrath, yet now asks him to end his anger and revive them again. The heading attributes the psalm to the sons of Korah; the occasion is uncertain. At verse 8, a single speaker listens for God’s word of peace, with a warning against returning to folly. The closing lines picture mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace meeting as God brings good to the land.

feeling distant from Godwaiting
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1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. LORD, you have been favorable to your land. You have restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2You have forgiven the iniquity of your people. You have covered all their sin. Selah.
3You have taken away all your wrath. You have turned from the fierceness of your anger.
4Turn us, God of our salvation, and cause your indignation toward us to cease.
5Will you be angry with us forever? Will you draw out your anger to all generations?
6Won’t you revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
7Show us your loving kindness, LORD. Grant us your salvation.
8I will hear what God, the LORD, will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, his saints; but let them not turn again to folly.
9Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
10Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11Truth springs out of the earth. Righteousness has looked down from heaven.
12Yes, the LORD will give that which is good. Our land will yield its increase.
13Righteousness goes before him, and prepares the way for his steps.
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Key verses
Psalm 85:1God’s past favor toward his land and people supplies the ground for their plea for restoration again.
Psalm 85:8The shift from pleading to listening joins God’s promise of peace with a warning against returning to folly.
Psalm 85:9Salvation is near those who fear God, and its horizon includes his glory dwelling in the land.
Where this chapter reaches

Isaiah shares Psalm 85’s pairing of righteousness and peace and its hope for a restored land; Habakkuk shares its plea for God to renew his work among his people. John shares the theme of God-given peace through Jesus’ promise of peace to his disciples.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What past mercy comes to mind as you read the community’s plea for God to revive them again?

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How does the warning against returning to folly shape your understanding of the peace promised here?

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Questions people ask about Psalm 85

Who wrote Psalm 85, and when was it written?

The heading attributes Psalm 85 to the sons of Korah and addresses it to the Chief Musician. It names no individual author or date. The restored fortunes of Jacob have led some readers to place it after the return from exile, but the psalm does not identify that event.

What does “revive us again” mean in Psalm 85?

The people ask God to renew their life together so they may rejoice in him. The surrounding verses connect this plea with an end to God’s anger and the gift of salvation. The closing picture includes God’s presence and fruitful land, so the request reaches beyond a change in feelings.

What does “Righteousness and peace have kissed each other” mean?

The psalm pictures righteousness and peace as persons greeting each other with a kiss. Alongside mercy meeting truth, the image portrays harmony among these gifts of God’s restoration. The following verses extend that picture across earth and heaven, ending with fruitful land and righteousness preparing the way for God.

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Psalms · 150 chapters
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What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about patience →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).