Psalms 85 (ASV)

Chapter Text

85:1 Jehovah, thou hast been favorable unto thy land; Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

85:2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people; Thou hast covered all their sin. Selah

85:3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath; Thou hast turned [thyself] from the fierceness of thine anger.

85:4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, And cause thine indignation toward us to cease.

85:5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?

85:6 Wilt thou not quicken us again, That thy people may rejoice in thee?

85:7 Show us thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, And grant us thy salvation.

85:8 I will hear what God Jehovah will speak; For he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: But let them not turn again to folly.

85:9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him, That glory may dwell in our land.

85:10 Mercy and truth are met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

85:11 Truth springeth out of the earth; And righteousness hath looked down from heaven.

85:12 Yea, Jehovah will give that which is good; And our land shall yield its increase.

85:13 Righteousness shall go before him, And shall make his footsteps a way [to walk in]. Psalm 86 A Prayer of David

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "jehovah", "thou", "hast", "been", "favorable", and "land". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "jehovah", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local ASV text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "mercy" and "jehovah" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "mercy" and "jehovah" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.