Psalms 85: Mercy and Truth Meet
A communal prayer for revival that beholds the day when love and faithfulness, righteousness and peace, embrace in the land.
Psalms 85 (WEB)
1 Yahweh, you have been favorable to your land. You have restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You have forgiven the iniquity of your people. You have covered all their sin. Selah.
3 You have taken away all your wrath. You have turned from the fierceness of your anger.
4 Turn us, God of our salvation, and cause your indignation toward us to cease.
5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you draw out your anger to all generations?
6 Won’t you revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your loving kindness, Yahweh. Grant us your salvation.
8 I will hear what God, Yahweh, will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, his saints; but let them not turn again to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth springs out of the earth. Righteousness has looked down from heaven.
12 Yes, Yahweh will give that which is good. Our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness goes before him, And prepares the way for his steps.
Psalms 85 (KJV)
1 Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.
3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.
4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
7 Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.
8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.
Psalms 85 (ASV)
1 Jehovah, thou hast been favorable unto thy land; Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people; Thou hast covered all their sin. [Selah
3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath; Thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.
4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, And cause thine indignation toward us to cease.
5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
6 Wilt thou not quicken us again, That thy people may rejoice in thee?
7 Show us thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, And grant us thy salvation.
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.
9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him, That glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth are met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth springeth out of the earth; And righteousness hath looked down from heaven.
12 Yea, Jehovah will give that which is good; And our land shall yield its increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him, And shall make his footsteps a way to walk in.
Summary
This psalm of the sons of Korah is a communal prayer that moves from remembered grace to renewed pleading to radiant hope. It opens by recalling how God has been favorable to his land, restoring the fortunes of Jacob, forgiving the iniquity of his people, and covering all their sin. Yet the community still feels the weight of God's displeasure and prays, "Will you be angry with us forever?" They plead for God to turn them, to revive them again, so that his people may rejoice in him, and to show them his loving kindness and grant his salvation. Then the psalmist falls quiet to listen for God's word, confident that the Lord will speak peace to his people. The closing verses rise to one of the most beautiful visions in the Psalter: mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other, truth springs up from the earth while righteousness looks down from heaven, and the Lord gives what is good as righteousness goes before him to prepare his way. Christians see this hope fulfilled in Jesus, in whom God's justice and mercy embrace, and through whom heaven's righteousness and earth's need are reconciled in lasting peace.
Voices
- The forgiven yet longing people — The community that recalls God's past favor, still feels his displeasure, and pleads for full revival and salvation.
- Yahweh who speaks peace — The God who has forgiven and restored, who promises to speak peace to his saints and grant his salvation.
- Mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace — The personified virtues that meet and embrace in God's coming salvation, fulfilled in Christ.
Key Verse
Psalm 85:10 (WEB)
Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Lessons Learned
- Remembering God's past forgiveness gives us courage to ask for present revival.
- It is fitting to pray for joy—that God's people may rejoice in him again.
- We should pause to listen for God's word, expecting him to speak peace.
- In God's salvation, mercy and justice are not at war but embrace, supremely at the cross.
- Past grace fuels present prayer. "Yahweh, you have been favorable to your land. You have restored the fortunes of Jacob" (Psalm 85:1, WEB). Remembering forgiveness emboldens us to seek more grace.
- Revival is something we ask for. "Won’t you revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?" (Psalm 85:6, WEB). Renewed joy in God is a gift we are invited to request.
- We listen for God to speak peace. "I will hear what God, Yahweh, will speak, for he will speak peace to his people" (Psalm 85:8, WEB). Faith waits attentively, expecting a word of peace.
- Mercy and justice embrace in God. "Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Psalm 85:10, WEB). God's salvation reconciles what seems opposed, fulfilled in Christ.
- What does the psalm remember about God's past dealings in verses 1-3?
- How can a forgiven people still pray, "Will you be angry with us forever?" (85:5)?
- What posture does the psalmist take in verse 8, and why does it matter?
- How do mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace come together in verses 10-13?
- Where do you most need God to "revive" you again, and what would rejoicing in him look like for you?
- The psalm remembers that God was favorable to the land, restored Jacob's fortunes, forgave the people's iniquity, and covered all their sin (85:1-3). It grounds the prayer in grace already received, the soil from which fresh hope can grow.
- Forgiveness can be real even while the felt consequences and the longing for full restoration remain (85:1-5). Believers often live between grace received and grace not yet fully experienced, which is why we keep praying for revival.
- He stops to listen for what God will speak, trusting that God will speak peace to his people (85:8). It matters because prayer is a dialogue; after we ask, we wait expectantly for God's reassuring word rather than rushing on.
- Mercy and truth meet, righteousness and peace kiss, truth springs from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven as God gives what is good (85:10-13). In God's salvation, qualities that seem to pull apart embrace—fully realized in Christ.
- This is a gentle personal-application question. Invite members to name an area of weariness or coldness where they long for renewal, and to ask God to restore their joy in him. As leader, point to the cross as the place where mercy and truth finally meet for us.