Psalms 85

Psalms 85. The contents of the Psalm are made up of a prayer on the part of the people, for deliverance during long protracted misery. The prayer rises first in ver. 1-4, upon the foundation of the early grace of God; after this it is more fully developed in ver; 5-7, and thus the number seven of this first strophe is divided into a four and a three. The second strophe, which contains the promise of deliverance, consist exactly of the same length. Only there is wanting a verse at the conclusion, which, as in Psalms 81., is to be supplied from the title; and we are thus reminded of Hab 3:19, where the usual appendage borrowed from the titles of the Psalms stands at the close. It has been generally supposed that the people gives thanks in a Ven.: It is not any tents, or tents of any kind, that are understood, but rich, power- ful, glorious, and splendid tents.ver. 1-3, for restoration from captivity; and after this, in ver 7, prays to the Lord to complete the work which he had begun, to remove entirely his anger from the people, and to put them in full possession of deliverance. But the idea that vers. 1-3 refer to re- storation from captivity, depends altogether upon a wrong transla-tion of the phrase שבות שב in ver. 1. This never means to bring back the prisoners, not even, to turn the captivity, but al-ways to turn back to the prison, that is, to the misery (comp. at Psalms 14:7; and this translation is especially demanded here by the ונבוש, in ver. 4, and the תשוב, in verse 6. The clause atthe beginning “thou hast shewn thyself merciful to thy land,” is altogether against the reference to the Babylonish captivity.“These words," remarks Claus with correctness, “appear much rather to suit a time when the people dwelt in their land, and had been visited with severe punishment.” Further, the forgive-ness and the sheaving of favour in ver. 1-3, are of a universal character, just as then the wrath is completely removed, so in ver. 4-7 the people still lie completely under wrath. Ver. 1-3 cannot therefore be considered as referring to events of recent oc- currence, but to transactions of a remote age: Luther correctly gives: thou who hast been gracious in the days of old. The people cannot be considered as praying at ver. 4, &c., that the Lord would complete a work, which, according to ver. 1-3, had been begun, but that he would anew act at the present time as he had done in the the days of old.

The Psalm will not bear an historical exposition: The descrip- tion of the distress out of which the people had been delivered, is conveyed in terms which are entirely general; and in like man- ner, there are no individual references in the representation of the relations of the present. In the confident expectations en-tertained of deliverance, the prominence given to peace would seem to point to an oppression which had arisen from enemies; while, on the other hand, “the land gives it increase,” especially when viewed in, connection with the fundamental passage, Leviticus 26:4, appears to indicate that the distress had arisen from a failure of the crops. We are hence entitled to draw the conclu- sion that the Psalm was designed for the use of all times of pro- tracted distress-of all times in which men did not witness the ful-filment of the promise of Levi 26:3-13; the bringing to re-membrance of which was evidently the design of the second part. The time of composition cannot be determined; the title, “To the Chief Musician by the sons of Korah, a Psalm,” gives as little clue to this as it does to the contents of the Psalm.

Psalms 85:1-4

The introduction, ver. 1-4, is entirely similar to the introduc-tion in Psalms 9., and also in Psalms 40.: compare also Psalms 83:9-1. There cannot be given any more solid foundation for a prayer in which it is desired that God should do something, than to ap-peal to what he has already done, inasmuch as, just because he is the unchangeable God, those deeds which proceed from the ne-cessity of his being, partake of a prophetic character.-Ver. 1. Thou didst manifest thyself gracious, O Lord, to thy land. Thou didst turn back to the prison house of Jacob. Ver. 2 Thou didst take away the iniquity of thy people, thou didst cover all their sins. Selah. Ver. 3. Thou didst take away all thy wrath, thou didst cease from the fury of thine anger. Ver. 4. Turn back therefore to us, O God, our.

Saviour, and cause thy wrath against us to cease.-Every man is left at liberty to think upon one of great examples of the divine compassion in the days of old. The pause after ver. 1, pointed out by the Selah, is in-tended to bind ver. 2 and 3 closely together, and in this way to intimate that every thing said of the early grace of God was only designed to serve the object of giving a basis to the prayer for new grace. The השיב stands in ver, 3, absol. to cease from, as in Ezekiel 18:30; Ezekiel 18:32. It is evident from Ezekiel 14:6, that this usage is properly dependant upon an omission,-to turn back the face or the heart: compare on such frequent omissions of the object in Hiph. Ew. § 239: Maurer’s translation, “thou hast stilled in part thine anger,” is not only “unnatural,” but is contradicted in one breath by the Psalmist: all their sins, all thy wrath. Al-lusion is made to Exodus 32:12, where Moses says to God: turn back from the fierceness of thy wrath.

This prayer was at that time graciously heard.-The שוב, with the accusative has always the sense of to turn back: compare at Psalms 14:7. The ונמע be-longs to the verb: make it in our case to cease; compare ומעמ, from beside him, so that it is no longer near him, in Psalms 89:33. To connect the noun with the verb of indignation by the עם, is not usual.

Psalms 85:5-13

Ver. 5-7.-Ver. 5. Wilt thou then be angry with us for ever? Psalms 85. VER. 5-11. 65 prolong thine anger to all generations? Ver. 6. Wilt thou not turn back, quicken us, and shall not thy people rejoice in thee? Ver. 7. Let us behold, O Lord, thy mercy, and give us thy sal-vation.-On ver. 5, Berleb.: “The question supplicates or is put in this mournful form, with a view to move the heart of God, who, in virtue of his fatherly love, could not possibly fail to return a favourable answer.” Michaelis: “while thine anger on other occasions lasts only one moment,” Psalms 30:5 : comp. Exodus 34:3; Exodus 34:6.-The תשוב in ver. 6 cannot, from ver. 1 and 5, be con-strued as an adverb, it rather stands in immediate connection with ונייהת: on this word comp. Psalms 80:18; Deuteronomy 32:39; Hosea 6:21 The return of God is the indispensable condition and means of quickening. The “thy people” contains the basis of the prayer. To rejoice in their God (comp.

Psalms 5:11; Psalms 40:16) is essential to the being of the people of God.Ver. 8-11.-Ver. 8. I will hear what God the Lord speaks. For he speaks peace to his pious ones, only that they return not; to foolishness. Ver. 9. Truly salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Ver. 10. Mercy and truth meet each other, righteousness and peace embrace each other. Ver. 11. Truth springs from the earth, and righteous-ness looks) from heaven.-It is not the Psalmist that speaks in ver. 8, but the people, as in the fourth and following verses, and in the whole psalm; and the answer is got by the same party from whom the question and the prayer had proceeded. האל is equi-valent to “our God,” comp. Psalms 20. The “for” contains the basis of the zeal and the joy (I will hear) with which the people prepares to listen. The church has already observed, that the answer to her prayer is a favourable one.

In reference to the speeches of God, the Berleb. Bible: “Dost thou ask how this happens? Know that it happens in the simplest and surest of all ways, by his own holy and good spirit, when he imparts to the soul such good instruction and impression as that thus it learns to know his will. He speaks, therefore, nothing else than what already stands in the Bible, and only brings to remembrance what he had already said, and caused to be written. He ex-plains it, points it out, and applies it to the condition of souls and to all circumstances.” It has been already observed, that the address of God here is, in particular, nothing else than a re-66 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. petition of Lev 26:3-13. If that passage be compared, it will immediately be perceived, that by the peace nothing else is understood than protection against enemies, with which in that passage also the fertility of the land is conjoined as the second gift of a gracious God. The clause designed to be read with emphasis “to his saints,” following up the expression of a previous verse, “to his people,” and the still more definite clause, “and they may not return to foolishness,” i. e., “but that only they do not return,” indicate that as the fundamental promise, so here every thing expressly and repeatedly is made dependant on obedience to the commandments of God, and also that the promise drawn from it is throughout a conditional one, the new salvation rests throughout upon the foundation of the new obedience. Comp. Psalms 80:18. Inasmuch as this was always imperfect, the people of the Old Testament never obtained full possession of the blessings here promised.-The ך`א in ver. 9 is the particle of assurance: comp. at Psalms 58:12.–On the 10th and 11th verses many errors have been fallen into in regard to the subject matter, from not ob-serving that the language from the relation in which the passage stands to the first part cannot possibly apply to any thing else than to the gifts of God: we have there what the Lord has for-merly fulfilled and ought now to perform, and here what he is about to perform, exactly in accordance with “he speaks peace to his people,” of ver. 8, and with the fundamental passage.-The mercy in ver. 10 is the mercy of God, the truth therefore can be nothing but his truth.

For both the mercy and the truth of God occur thus bound up together, (comp. for example Psalms 25:10; Psalms 40:11; Psalms 61:7), and if the truth were to be viewed in connection with men, it would be necessary to define it more exactly.a The meeting each other, and the kissing, denote si-multaneous appearance and friendly agreement. The righteous- ness, as is evident from the parallelism with the first clause, and ver. 11, is not subjective righteousness, but righteousness as the gift of God, the matter-of-fact proclamation of righteousness; comp. at Psalms 23:3.-The righteousness springs out of the earth, ver. 11, as to its consequences, in the rich increase, which God, always consistent in word and deed, gives to the land; a Cocceius: “the former denotes paternal love and its gifts, the opposites of anger, enmity, and condemnation, the latter the exhibition and the fulfilment of the promises.” Psalms 86:67comp. “ our land gives its increase,” ver. 12, which serves as acommentary. To “the righteousness looks down from heaven,“that is, descending in blessings upon the people of God, we havethere the corresponding clause, “the Lord gives what is good."Isaiah 14:8 is parallel and probably dependent upon this passage:“drop down ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour downrighteousness, let the earth open, and let it bring forth salvation,and let it cause righteousness to spring up together.”Ver. 2, 13.-Ver. 12. The Lord also gives what is good,and our land gives it increase. Ver. 13. Righteousness goesforth before him and makes her footsteps a way.-On the secondhalf of the 12th verse comp. Psalms 67:6.

Here as there thewords are from Leviticus 26:4.-The way to the right interpreta-tion of the second half of ver. 13 has been obstructed by per-versely interpreting righteousness in a moral sense. Righteous-ness makes her footsteps for a way (comp, Isaiah 51:10), and thuswe are enabled to walk in the ways of righteousness and salva-tion, comp. at Psalms 23:3.

Psalms 85:8-11

Ver. 8. I will hear what God the Lord speaks. For he speaks peace to his pious ones, only that they return not; to foolishness. Ver. 9. Truly salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Ver. 10. Mercy and truth meet each other, righteousness and peace embrace each other. Ver. 11. Truth springs from the earth, and righteousness looks from heaven. It is not the Psalmist that speaks in Psalms 85:8, but the people, as in the fourth and following verses, and in the whole psalm; and the answer is got by the same party from whom the question and the prayer had proceeded. äàì is equivalent to “our God,” comp. Psalms 20. The “for” contains the basis of the zeal and the joy (I will hear) with which the people prepares to listen. The church has already observed, that the answer to her prayer is a favourable one. In reference to the speeches of God, the Berleb. Bible: “Dost thou ask how this happens?

Know that it happens in the simplest and surest of all ways, by his own holy and good spirit, when he imparts to the soul such good instruction and impression as that thus it learns to know his will. He speaks, therefore, nothing else than what already stands in the Bible, and only brings to remembrance what he had already said, and caused to be written.

He explains it, points it out, and applies it to the condition of souls and to all circumstances.” It has been already observed, that the address of God here is, in particular, nothing else than a repetition of Lev 26:3-13. If that passage be compared, it will immediately be perceived, that by the peace nothing else is understood than protection against enemies, with which in that passage also the fertility of the land is conjoined as the second gift of a gracious God. The clause designed to be read with emphasis “to his saints,” following up the expression of a previous verse, “to his people,” and the still more definite clause, “and they may not return to foolishness,” i.e., “but that only they do not return,” indicate that as the fundamental promise, so here everything expressly and repeatedly is made dependant on obedience to the commandments of God, and also that the promise drawn from it is throughout a conditional one, the new salvation rests throughout upon the foundation of the new obedience. Comp. Psalms 80:18. Inasmuch as this was always imperfect, the people of the Old Testament never obtained full possession of the blessings here promised. The àê in Psalms 85:9 is the particle of assurance: comp. at Ps. 58:12. On the (Psalms 85:10-11) 10th and 11th verses many errors have been fallen into in regard to the subject matter, from not observing that the language from the relation in which the passage stands to the first part cannot possibly apply to anything else than to the gifts of God: we have there what the Lord has formerly fulfilled and ought now to perform, and here what he is about to perform, exactly in accordance with “he speaks peace to his people,” of Psalms 85:8, and with the fundamental passage. The mercy in Psalms 85:10 is the mercy of God, the truth therefore can be nothing but his truth. For both the mercy and the truth of God occur thus bound up together, (comp. for example Psalms 25:10; Psalms 40:11; Psalms 61:7), and if the truth were to be viewed in connection with men, it would be necessary to define it more exactly. [Note: Cocceius: “the former denotes paternal love and its gifts, the opposites of anger, enmity, and condemnation, the latter the exhibition and the fulfilment of the promises.”] The meeting each other, and the kissing, denote simultaneous appearance and friendly agreement. The righteousness, as is evident from the parallelism with the first clause, and Psalms 85:11, is not subjective righteousness, but righteousness as the gift of God, the matter-of-fact proclamation of righteousness; comp. at Psalms 23:3. The righteousness springs out of the earth, Psalms 85:11, as to its consequences, in the rich increase, which God, always consistent in word and deed, gives to the land; comp. “our land gives its increase,” Psalms 85:12, which serves as a commentary. To “the righteousness looks down from heaven,” that is, descending in blessings upon the people of God, we have there the corresponding clause, “the Lord gives what is good.” Isaiah 45:8 is parallel and probably dependent upon this passage: “Drop down ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness, let the earth open, and let it bring forth salvation, and let it cause righteousness to spring up together.”

Psalms 85:12-13

Ver. 12. The Lord also gives what is good, and our land gives it increase. Ver. 13. Righteousness goes forth before him and makes her footsteps a way. On the second half of the (Psalms 85:12) 12th verse comp. Psalms 67:6. Here as there the words are from Leviticus 26:4. The way to the right interpretation of the second half of Psa 85:13 has been obstructed by perversely interpreting righteousness in a moral sense. Righteousness makes her footsteps for a way (comp, Isaiah 51:10), and thus we are enabled to walk in the ways of righteousness and salvation, comp. at Psalms 23:3.