10 Kindness and truth have met, Righteousness and peace have kissed,
The mountains bear peace to the people, And the heights by righteousness.
Righteousness and judgment `Are' the fixed place of Thy throne, Kindness and truth go before Thy face.
and Jehovah passeth over before his face, and calleth: `Jehovah, Jehovah God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness and truth, keeping kindness for thousands, taking away iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and not entirely acquitting, charging iniquity of fathers on children, and on children's children, on a third `generation', and on a fourth.'
For good `is' Jehovah, to the age His kindness, And to generation and generation His faithfulness!
Let not kindness and truth forsake thee, Bind them on thy neck, Write them on the tablet of thy heart,
And dwelt in the wilderness hath judgment, And righteousness in the fruitful field remaineth. And a work of the righteousness hath been peace, And a service of the righteousness -- Keeping quiet and confidence unto the age. And dwelt hath My people in a peaceful habitation, And in stedfast tabernacles, And in quiet resting-places.
Only in Jehovah, said hath one, Have I righteousness and strength, Unto Him he cometh in, And ashamed are all those displeased with Him.
He received again Israel His servant, To remember kindness, As He spake unto our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed -- to the age.'
Lo, days are coming -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have raised to David a righteous shoot, And a king hath reigned and acted wisely, And done judgment and righteousness in the earth. In his days is Judah saved, and Israel dwelleth confidently, And this his name that Jehovah proclaimeth him, `Our Righteousness.'
Thou givest truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham, That thou hast sworn to our fathers, from the days of antiquity!
`Glory in the highest to God, and upon earth peace, among men -- good will.'
whom God did set forth a mercy seat, through the faith in his blood, for the shewing forth of His righteousness, because of the passing over of the bygone sins in the forbearance of God -- for the shewing forth of His righteousness in the present time, for His being righteous, and declaring him righteous who `is' of the faith of Jesus.
Having been declared righteous, then, by faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 85
Commentary on Psalms 85 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 85
Interpreters are generally of the opinion that this psalm was penned after the return of the Jews out of their captivity in Babylon, when they still remained under some tokens of God's displeasure, which they here pray for the removal of. And nothing appears to the contrary, but that it might be penned then, as well as Ps. 137. They are the public interests that lie near the psalmist's heart here, and the psalm is penned for the great congregation. The church was here in a deluge; above were clouds, below were waves; every thing was dark and dismal. The church is like Noah in the ark, between life and death, between hope and fear; being so,
In singing this psalm we may be assisted in our prayers to God both for his church in general and for the land of our nativity in particular. The former part will be of use to direct our desires, the latter to encourage our faith and hope in those prayers.
To the chief musician. A psalm for the sons of Korah.
Psa 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.
Psa 85:8-13
We have here an answer to the prayers and expostulations in the foregoing verses.