Psalm 85:1-3 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 85:1-7

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 (Ps. 85:1-3): ?Thou has done so and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 85:1

Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land ,.... The land of Canaan, which the Lord chose for the people of Israel, and put them into the possession of it; and where he himself chose to dwell, and had a sanctuary built for him; and therefore though the whole earth is his, yet this was his land and inheritance in a peculiar manner, as it is called, Jeremiah 16:18 , the inhabitants of it are meant, to whom the Lord was favourable, or whom he graciously accepted, and was well pleased with... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 85:2

Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people ,.... Took it from them, and laid it on Christ, who has bore it, and took it away, so as it shall never return more to their destruction; and by the application of his blood it is taken away from their own consciences; for this denotes the manifestation and discovery of forgiveness to themselves; it is a branch of redemption, and is in consequence of it; and is a fruit of the free favour and good will of God through Christ; and it only belongs to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 85:3

Thou hast taken away all thy wrath ,.... Or "gathered" F14 אספת "collegisti", Montanus, Gejerus, Michaelis. 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,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 85:1

Lord, thou hast been favorable - Literally, Thou hast been well pleased with thy land. Thou hast brought back the captivity - This seems to fix the time of the Psalm to be after the return of the Jews from Babylon. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 85:2

Thou hast forgiven the iniquity - עון נשאת nasatha avon , Thou hast borne, or carried away, the iniquity. An allusion to the ceremony of the scapegoat. Thou hast covered all their sin - As thou hast freely forgiven it, its offensiveness and abominable nature no longer appear. The whole is put out of sight; and, as we are restored from our captivity, the consequences no longer appear. Selah - This is true. Our return to our own land is the full proof. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 85:3

Thou hast taken away - אספת asaphta , "Thou hast gathered up all thy wrath." This carries on the metaphor in the second verse: "Thou hast collected all thy wrath, and carried it away with all our iniquities." read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 85:1

Verse 1 1O Jehovah! thou hast been favorable to thy land. Those who translate these words in the future tense, in my opinion, mar their meaning. This psalm, it is probable, was endited to be sung by the people when they were persecuted by the cruel tyranny of Antiochus; and from the deliverance wrought for them in the past, they were encouraged to expect in the future, fresh and continued tokens of the divine favor, — God having thereby testified, that their sins, however numerous and... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 85:2

Verse 2 2Thou hast taken away the iniquity of thy people. It was very natural for the faithful to feel alarmed and perplexed on account of their sins, and therefore the prophet removes all ground for overwhelming apprehension, by showing them, that God, in delivering his people, had given an irrefragable proof of free forgiveness. He had before traced this deliverance to the mere good pleasure and free grace of God as its source; but after it was wrought, the iniquities of the people having... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 85:1

Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land; or, "thou art become gracious" (Kay, Cheyne)—a preceding time during which God was not gracious is implied (comp. Psalms 77:7-9 ). Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. It is most natural to understand this of the return from the Babylonian captivity; but possible that some lighter affliction may be intended, since שׁבות is used, metaphorically, for calamities short of actual captivity (see the comment on Job 42:10 ). read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 85:1-7

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 85:1

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 85:2

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 85:3

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 85:1

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 85:2

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 85:3

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 85:1

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 85:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 85:1

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