BIBLE CHAPTER STUDY
Psalms 85 — Mercy and Truth Meet Together
The sons of Korah recall Jehovah's prior forgiveness of Israel's iniquity, petition Him to end His anger and revive His people, and rejoice as covenant attributes — mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace — unite to bless the land.
Scripture
1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm for the sons of Korah. Jehovah, thou hast been favorable unto thy land; Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people; Thou hast covered all their sin. Selah
3Thou hast taken away all thy wrath; Thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.
4Turn us, O God of our salvation, And cause thine indignation toward us to cease.
5Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
6Wilt thou not quicken us again, That thy people may rejoice in thee?
7Show us thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, And grant us thy salvation.
8I will hear what God Jehovah will speak; For he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: But let them not turn again to folly.
9Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him, That glory may dwell in our land.
10Mercy and truth are met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11Truth springeth out of the earth; And righteousness hath looked down from heaven.
12Yea, Jehovah will give that which is good; And our land shall yield its increase.
13Righteousness shall go before him, And shall make his footsteps a way to walk in.
What this passage means
Verses 1–3 open by remembering what God has already done for the land of Jacob: He has shown favor, returned the exiles, lifted away the people's iniquity, covered all their sin, and withdrawn His burning anger. The Selah after verse 2 marks a reflective pause, letting the congregation dwell on the completed act of forgiveness before any request is voiced. The psalm is built, therefore, not on presumption but on remembrance of grace.
Verses 4–7 shift from recital to petition. Having remembered past restoration, the psalmist asks God to 'turn' His people (a request for inner renewal), to remove indignation, and — most pointedly — to 'quicken' or revive them again so that the people may rejoice in Him. The questions in verses 5–6 press the urgency: will anger last forever, and will God withhold the life that alone produces gladness?
Verses 8–13 answer the petition with a prophetic oracle: God will speak peace to His saints, salvation is near the fearers of His name, and the divine attributes themselves — mercy (lovingkindness) and truth, righteousness and peace — are personified as meeting and kissing (v. 10). Truth springs from the earth, righteousness looks down from heaven, Jehovah gives good gifts so the land yields its increase, and righteousness itself prepares the way for His coming.
Context
The chapter is framed as a liturgical piece of the sons of Korah, directed by the Chief Musician. Verses 1–3 look backward to a prior return from exile and the covering of sin; verses 4–7 voice a present plea for revival; verses 8–13 proclaim the resulting peace. The Selah after verse 2 signals the kind of sung, paused worship in which this psalm was used.
Several supplied cross references reinforce the psalm's themes: a plea for revival in the midst of years (Habakkuk 3:2), the request that God not let His people go back from Him (Psalms 80:18), God's promise of grace and glory to the upright (Psalms 84:11), the call to bind kindness and truth upon the heart (Proverbs 3:3), and the longing that salvation come out of Zion and that Jacob rejoice (Psalms 14:7). The chapter note identifies this psalm as part of the backfilled coverage of Psalms outside the highest priority lists.
Key words in the original
- H5375 The Hebrew root נָשָׂא (nāśāʾ) is the same verb used for 'lifting' or 'bearing' a burden. In verse 3 it is rendered 'forgave' the iniquity of His people, presenting the removal of sin as God lifting the weight off them.
- H3680 The verb כָּסָה (kissiyṯā) in verse 3 means 'covered.' Together with the 'lifting' of verse 3 it expresses the double image of forgiveness: sin is taken away and its stain is hidden from sight.
- H5542 סֶלָה (selâ) after verse 2 marks a liturgical pause — a suspension of music or recitation — inviting the congregation to weigh what has just been said about God's prior forgiveness before moving to the petition in verse 4.
Related verses
- Habakkuk 3:2 Both Psalms 85 and Habakkuk 3:2 plead for revival 'in the midst of the years' and ask the Lord to remember mercy in the context of wrath — matching this psalm's tension between past anger removed (vv. 1–3) and present petition for renewed life (vv. 4–7).
- Psalms 80:18 'Quicken thou us, and we will call upon thy name' parallels Psalms 85:6 — 'Wilt thou not quicken us again.' Both psalms refuse the possibility of God's people turning back from Him and ground worship in divine restoration.
- Psalms 14:7 Psalms 14:7 longs for 'the salvation of Israel' to come out of Zion so that Jacob may rejoice — the same hope voiced in Psalms 85:1 ('thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob') and 85:6 (revived people rejoicing in the Lord).
Common questions
Why does the psalm move from declaring forgiveness in verses 1–3 to asking for revival in verses 4–7?
Verses 1–3 remember a completed past act — God showed favor, returned the exiles, forgave iniquity, covered sin, and withdrew wrath. Verses 4–7 then ask that the same God continue that work in the present: turn the people's hearts, end any remaining indignation, and revive them so that joy in the Lord is restored. The structure is remember → ask → receive (vv. 8–13).
What is the significance of 'Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other' (verse 10)?
Verse 10 personifies four covenant attributes — mercy (lovingkindness), truth, righteousness, and peace — as meeting and embracing. The psalm's own context frames this as the fruit of God's speaking peace to His people (v. 8) and the ground for His good gift making the land fruitful (vv. 11–13). In the chapter's own terms, it is the moment when forgiveness (vv. 1–3) and the plea for revival (vv. 4–7) come together in answered blessing.
How should the Selah after verse 2 be understood?
Selah is a liturgical notation indicating a pause in the music or recitation. In the context of Psalms 85 it sits exactly at the transition between the report of what God has done (vv. 1–2) and the Selah itself, inviting the worshipping congregation to weigh the completed forgiveness before the petition in verse 4 begins.