Psalm 85 is a song of restoration. God has taken pleasure in His land, turned back the captivity of Jacob, forgiven transgressions, and caused His wrath to cease. The Psalm prays for God to turn and quicken His people so that they may rejoice in Him.
The spiritual center is the vision of mercy and truth meeting together, righteousness and peace kissing each other, truth springing out of the earth, and righteousness looking down from heaven. This is the language of reconciliation accomplished in Christ.
Psalm 85 (LXX 84) - O Lord Thou Hast Taken Pleasure in Thy Land
Psalm Metadata
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| NKJV / Masoretic numbering | Psalm 85 |
| Septuagint / Coptic numbering | Psalm 84 |
| Accepted author | For the end, a Psalm for the sons of Core. |
| Period in author’s life | A Psalm of the restored community, celebrating the end of exile and the renewal of the land. |
| Christ prophecy status | Strongly Christological and eschatological. The meeting of mercy and truth, righteousness and peace, and truth springing out of the earth point to the Incarnation and the reconciliation in Christ. |
| Coptic lectionary/service use | Verified local rows preserve printed Psalm 85 references in Sunday and other feast contexts. |
| Numbering issue | This note embeds Brenton LXX Psalm 84. The local lectionary rows cited here preserve printed Psalm 85 references. |
Historical and Scriptural Context
Psalm 85 is a Psalm of the post-exilic community. The turning back of the captivity of Jacob, the forgiveness of transgressions, and the ceasing of wrath point to the return from Babylon and the renewal of the covenant.
The vision of mercy and truth meeting is one of the most beautiful images in the Psalter. It is the reconciliation of God’s justice and mercy in the person of Christ.
Geographical Significance ⛰️
The land is the focus: God has taken pleasure in His land. The land will yield her fruit. Righteousness will go before Him and set His steps in the way. The geography of blessing is restored.
The Characters 👥
The sons of Core / the restored community. The voice is the voice of those who have returned and now pray for the fullness of restoration.
God. The One who takes pleasure in His land, turns back captivity, forgives, and gives goodness.
Mercy, truth, righteousness, peace. The virtues that meet and kiss in the restored order.
🕯️ Light from the Word
Psalm 84:1-4, God has taken pleasure in His land
84:1 For the end, a Psalm for the sons of Core. 84:2 O Lord, thou hast taken pleasure in thy land: thou hast turned back the captivity of Jacob. 84:3 Thou hast forgiven thy people their transgressions; thou hast covered all their sins. Pause. 84:4 Thou hast caused all thy wrath to cease: thou hast turned from thy fierce anger.
The Psalm begins with celebration: God has taken pleasure in His land, turned back the captivity of Jacob, forgiven transgressions, and covered sins. His wrath has ceased.
St Augustine sees here the restoration of the soul. The captivity is the bondage of sin, and the turning back is the grace of repentance. The covering of sins is the mercy of God.
Theodoret keeps both levels together: Israel’s return from servitude and the world’s deliverance in Christ. He writes that God “rescued the whole human race from the devil’s dominating usurpation and destruction.” He connects this to Isaiah 61, the Gospel preached to the poor and release to captives, which Christ reads in the synagogue and fulfills in Himself (Luke 4:18-21).
This gives the opening verses their full weight. Forgiveness is not amnesia. It is liberation from captivity, release from accusation, and the beginning of restored communion.
Lesson Guide
- Key phrases: “Thou hast taken pleasure in thy land”; “Thou hast covered all their sins.”
- Emphasize: restoration begins with God’s pleasure and forgiveness.
- Avoid: presenting restoration as merely political. It is spiritual renewal.
Psalm 84:5-8, the prayer for mercy and salvation
84:5 Turn us, O God of our salvation, and turn thine anger away from us. 84:6 Wouldest thou be angry with us for ever? or wilt thou continue thy wrath from generation to generation? 84:7 O God, thou wilt turn and quicken us; and thy people shall rejoice in thee. 84:8 Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.
The prayer is urgent: “Turn us, O God of our salvation, and turn thine anger away from us. Wouldest thou be angry with us for ever?”
The answer comes: “O God, thou wilt turn and quicken us; and thy people shall rejoice in thee. Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.”
St Augustine notices the prophetic tension: the Psalm first speaks as if restoration has already happened, then prays, “Turn us, O God of our salvation.” The soul lives between promise and possession. It has tasted mercy, but still asks to be fully turned.
Theodoret says those who have heard the good news of freedom still ask to “attain grace of loving-kindness completely.” That is a mature spiritual insight. Repentance is not only escape from punishment. It is the request to be made alive enough to rejoice in God.
Lesson Guide
- Key phrases: “Thou wilt turn and quicken us”; “thy people shall rejoice in thee.”
- Emphasize: God’s turning produces joy and life.
- Avoid: treating anger as the final word. The Psalm moves to mercy.
Psalm 84:9-14, mercy and truth have met together
84:9 I will hear what the Lord God will say concerning me: for he shall speak peace to his people, and to his saints, and to those that turn their heart toward him. 84:10 Moreover his salvation is near them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. 84:11 Mercy and truth are met together: righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 84:12 Truth has sprung out of the earth; and righteousness has looked down from heaven. 84:13 For the Lord will give goodness; and our land shall yield her fruit. 84:14 Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set his steps in the way.
The vision is glorious: “I will hear what the Lord God will say concerning me: for he shall speak peace to his people, and to his saints, and to those that turn their heart toward him.”
“Moreover his salvation is near them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together: righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth has sprung out of the earth; and righteousness has looked down from heaven.”
St Augustine gives the classic Christological reading: “Truth has sprung out of the earth: Christ is born of a woman. The Son of God has come forth of the flesh.” Truth is not an idea rising from human culture. Truth is the Son of God taking flesh from the Virgin.
He also warns that peace cannot be separated from righteousness: “Do righteousness, for righteousness and peace kiss one another, they quarrel not together.” False peace avoids repentance. Gospel peace is reconciliation through truth.
Theodoret also reads the passage through the Incarnation. He says, “Truth sprang up from the ground,” because from Adam, Abraham, David, and the Virgin “the real truth sprang.” Righteousness looking down from heaven is the Father’s testimony at Christ’s baptism: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). He then reads the final verse through John the Baptist preparing the way of the Lord and Christ Himself saying, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
This is not poetic balance only. Psalm 85 gives the grammar of salvation: mercy does not cancel truth, righteousness does not destroy peace, heaven and earth meet in Christ.
Lesson Guide
- Key phrases: “Mercy and truth are met together”; “righteousness and peace have kissed each other”; “Truth has sprung out of the earth.”
- Emphasize: this is the language of the Incarnation and reconciliation.
- Avoid: reading it only as political restoration. It is the mystery of Christ.
The Church’s Voice in Worship 📖
The Coptic Orthodox lectionary preserves printed Psalm 85 references in specific settings.
In the Agpeya Sixth Hour, Psalm 85 is prayed in the hour of the Cross. This is fitting because the Cross is where mercy and truth meet without compromise, and where righteousness and peace kiss.
In the Third Sunday of Kiahk / Nativity Fast rows, Psalm 85:10-11 is read in the Liturgy: “Mercy and truth are met together” and “Truth has sprung out of the earth.” The Church places this Psalm in the season of the Incarnation because the verse is not merely about restored land. It sings the mystery of the Word taking flesh.
In the altar consecration special-service data, Psalm 85 appears in the rite. This is spiritually fitting: the altar is the place where reconciliation is sacramentally proclaimed, where peace is given, and where the fruits of the restored land become Eucharistic offering.
In Abib Sunday Matins rows, Psalm 85:12-13 appears with the land yielding fruit and righteousness setting His steps in the way. Near the end of the Coptic year, this reads as a call to fruitful repentance and a life prepared for the Lord’s steps.
Iconography Connection 🖼️
Psalm 85 connects with icons of the Annunciation (truth springing out of the earth), the Cross (righteousness and peace kissing), and the heavenly Jerusalem (glory dwelling in the land).
Spiritual Fruit 🍇
-
Ask to be turned, not merely forgiven. Psalm 85 does not stop at covered sins. Pray, “Turn us, O God of our salvation,” until the heart actually turns.
-
Refuse false peace. Peace that avoids truth is not the peace of Christ. Let confession, apology, restitution, and humility be where righteousness and peace kiss in your life.
-
Receive the Incarnation as healing for the whole person. Truth springs out of the earth because the Word truly took flesh. Bring bodily habits, speech, appetites, and relationships under His healing.
-
Bear fruit after mercy. “Our land shall yield her fruit” means forgiveness should become visible as virtue, not remain only relief.
Teacher's Notes
- Timing: 10 minutes for the restoration, 15 minutes for the prayer, 15 minutes for mercy and truth meeting, 10 minutes for lectionary and application.
- Where to linger: Psalm 84:10-12.
- Where to compress: the historical exile. Focus on the spiritual restoration.
- Pastoral warning: do not reduce the vision of mercy and truth to sentiment. It is the mystery of the Incarnation.
- Key phrase to say slowly: “Mercy and truth are met together: righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”
Glossary
- Captivity of Jacob: The exile and its spiritual parallel in the bondage of sin.
- Mercy and truth: The reconciliation of God’s attributes in Christ.
- Truth springing out of the earth: The Incarnation, the Virgin birth.
- Righteousness looking down from heaven: The Father’s good pleasure in the Son.
Translation and Source Notes
Embedded Scripture is Brenton’s English Septuagint, Psalm 84. The study title uses NKJV/Masoretic numbering first, Psalm 85, with LXX 84 in parentheses. Local lectionary rows cited here preserve printed Psalm 85 references.
Sources
Primary sources: Brenton Septuagint, Psalm 84; St Augustine, Exposition on Psalm 84 in the older English numbering tradition corresponding to LXX Psalm 84; Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on Psalm 84 in the Hill translation.
Coptic Orthodox / liturgical sources: Coptic Orthodox lectionary lectionary references for printed Psalm 85 rows.