Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 (NRSV)

To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.

¹ Lord, you were favorable to your land;

you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

² You forgave the iniquity of your people;

you pardoned all their sin.      Selah

⁸ Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,

for he will speak peace to his people,

to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.

⁹ Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,

that his glory may dwell in our land. 

¹⁰ Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;

righteousness and peace will kiss each other.

¹¹ Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,

and righteousness will look down from the sky.

¹² The Lord will give what is good,

and our land will yield its increase.

¹³ Righteousness will go before him,

and will make a path for his steps.

Psalm 85 is a communal lament. At the festival worship, this would have been part of the service of supplication. The psalmist sings this psalm during a troubled time. 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: 1-2, a segment that extends to verse 3, we find a praise hymn, reminding the Lord that he had previously forgiven his people 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. ² You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin.  Selah  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.

In Psalm 85: 8-13, in the fashion of a prophetic announcement, the psalm offers God's promised assurance of this good outcome. 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. So many people want to have peace with God. We can feel alienation and estrangement from God and from people. We want to be at home again. God has already turned toward us. We simply need to turn toward God. Yet, peace is not something we must hope to have in the future. Rather, 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.[1] 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.[2] 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). 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. The psalm does not focus on material blessing. Verses 10-11, instead of focusing on the 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) andpeace (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. ¹³ Righteousness (tsedeq) will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.

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[1] Inspired by Thomas Merton.

[2] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 399, referring to G. von Rad article on shalom in TDNT.

[3] Systematic Theology Volume 1, 436.