Psalm 85 is a communal lament.
Introduction
The main theme is communal restoration through divine mercy, forgiveness, peace, and righteousness. I present Psalm 85 as a prayer from a troubled community seeking renewal after judgment, likely in an exilic or postexilic context. It emphasizes that restoration is not merely political or economic but deeply moral and spiritual.
Key thematic threads include:
- Memory of past restoration: The people recall earlier acts of divine favor as a basis for present hope.
- Forgiveness as the foundation of renewal: Restoration depends on God pardoning sin and turning again toward the people.
- Peace as wholeness: The discussion of shalom expands peace beyond social harmony to include salvation, well-being, and being “at home” with God.
- The return motif: The Hebrew root shuv ties together God’s turning toward the people and the people’s turning back to God.
- Righteousness and peace as divine gifts and human virtues: The poetic image of steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness, and peace meeting or kissing presents restoration as a harmonious moral order.
The psalm would seem to be exilic or postexilic, praying for the restoration of Israel to its land. At the festival worship, this would have been part of the service of supplication. The psalmist sings this psalm during a troubled time. The hope is for a moral and prosperous society.
Verse-by-verse study
The inscription is To the leader. Of the Korahites, who descended from Levi. II Chronicles 20:19 offers a positive reference. They have an association with Psalms 42, 44-49, and 87-88. It describes it as A Psalm.
In Psalm 85: 1-3, we find a praise hymn, reminding the Lord that of previous times when the Lord had forgiven the people of the Lord and had done wonderful things for them. The people look to the past to gain firm support now. 1 Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored [shuv] the fortunes of Jacob. In this case, “shuv” refers to the actions of God that result in the turning of the people. The phrase is common for the return from exile (Jeremiah 30:3, 18, Amos 9:14). 2 You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. The people of the Lord attribute their current situation to the anger of the Lord at them, an idea we find in Psalm 30:5, where the anger of the Lord is for a moment, while the favor of the Lord is for a lifetime. They long for restoration of a past condition when God had restored the people of God in the past. Some scholars think of this passage as reflecting similar themes to those of Isaiah 40:1-11, and thus from close to the time of the return of the exiles to their land in 538. Forgiveness of sin is a necessary condition for the longed for restoration.
In Psalm 85: 8-13, in the fashion of a prophetic announcement, the psalm offers God's promised assurance of this good outcome. The promise is in the form of a vision of the peaceable kingdom. 8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace (shalom appears in vv. 8 and 10) to his people. Shalom is salvation. It can refer to individual well-being and thus does not refer only to social relations. As such, salvation refers not merely to the process of saving but also to the result, to the saved and newly regained life. The wholeness of life that a word like “salvation” denotes is not something one can achieve in the process of time. One may even feel its absence, threatened in the march of history, and with no final security. The salvation of human life depends on the future.[1] II Isaiah declares that persons are beautiful who announce peace and salvation (Isaiah 52:7). Jesus blessed those who make peace, for they are children of God (Matthew 5:9). Paul will emphasize the encouraging nature of this peace in his letter to the Romans. We have peace with God through Jesus Christ (5:1). The rule of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (14:17). His prayer is that the God of hope fill the readers with joy and peace (15:13). So many people want to have peace. The experience of alienation and estrangement that is so much part of life impels us to value such peace when it comes all too rarely and briefly. We want to be at home again. The scripture witness is that God has already turned toward us. Peace is a deepening of the present. If we do not find it here, in this moment, in this time and place, we will never find it.[2] The psalm further identifies Israel as to his faithful [hasidim], to those who turn [shuv] to him in their hearts. The Hebrew verbal root shuv appears five times in this psalm. 9 Surely his salvation [‘yesha salvation/deliverance (yesha' appears in vv. 4, 7 and 9)] is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. As the psalmist continues, the focus shifts to the spiritual powers of love and faithfulness, righteousness and peace, as they become messengers of God. Verses 10-11, instead of focusing on material blessing, the poet first focuses on the spiritual powers of love and faithfulness, righteousness and peace, the messengers of God. 10 Steadfast love (mercy, covenant loyalty) and faithfulness will meet. The Psalms regularly extol such kindness and faithfulness, by which we can understand theologically as an expression of the love of God toward humanity.[3] Righteousness (tsedeq) and peace (shalom) will kiss each other. 11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness (tsedeq) will look down from the sky. 12 The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Rain will be plentiful, as in Leviticus 26:1-6, Deuteronomy 28:12, Psalm 67:6. 13 Righteousness (tsedeq) will go before him, and will make a path for his steps. The characteristics of God celebrated here are virtues that human beings can embrace and bring delight to the Lord.
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