Psalm 85 (Contemporary English Version)
- (A psalm by the people of Korah for the music leader.) Our LORD, you have blessed your land and made all go well for Jacob's descendants.
- You have forgiven the sin and taken away the guilt of your people.
- Your fierce anger is no longer aimed at us.
- Our LORD and our God, you save us! Please bring us back home and don't be angry.
- Will you always be angry with us and our families?
- Won't you give us fresh life and let your people be glad because of you?
- Show us your love and save us!
- I will listen to you, LORD God, because you promise peace to those who are faithful and no longer foolish.
- You are ready to rescue everyone who worships you, so that you will live with us in all of your glory.
- Love and loyalty will come together; goodness and peace will unite.
- Loyalty will sprout from the ground; justice will look down from the sky above.
- Our LORD, you will bless us; our land will produce wonderful crops.
- Justice will march in front, making a path for you to follow.
It is generally thought this psalm was written following the Israel's return from Babylonian captivity. In the first two verses it tells us that God restored Jacob's prosperity and took away the people's guilt. They were being restored to their land but they were not yet restored in their relationship to their God. The Lord's fury had subsided but He was still displeased with them. The psalmist asks, "Will You be angry with us forever?" Is this because they had not yet repented of the sin that caused their captivity? Were they like the prisoner who has done his time and is returning to society only to return to his life of crime? The writer seems to have some concern about this and asks that God "not let them go back to foolish ways." The psalmist is seeking revival for his people. He knows that salvation is near them if they will only fear the Lord, and this psalm is a prayer to that end. If they will fear the Lord His glory will dwell in the land and righteousness and peace will embrace. The result - "the Lord will provide what is good, and our land will yield its crops."
I hear in this the desire of the psalmist for a return, not only to their land, but to the Lord and life lived in the abundance of His blessings. But where is the heart of the people? Is the writer's a lone voice? What have the people learned from their captivity? Are they ready to turn their hearts back to the Lord? Either we learn from discipline or we become embittered by it, depending on whether our hearts are open to learn or not. And why would we not be open to learn? To be open to learn we must first admit we are in need of learning. I believe we might say that pride is at the root of our unwillingness to learn from discipline. Pride keeps us from admitting when we have been wrong, admitting we lack something, or admitting we don't know something. But how freeing it is to turn loose of our pride, admit where we have been wrong, and renew our relationships. Then blessings abundant are available to us.
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