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PSA 85:1
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PSA 85:4
Psalms 85:4. Turn us, O God of our salvation— The meaning is, "Restore us entirely to our former happy state, by completing the deliverance which thou hast begun; and by averting these new troubles which have befallen us." See Ezra 4:4-5; Ezra 4:21; Ezra 4:23. It is not improbable, that this psalm was ordered to be sung presently after the Jews had laid the foundation of the new temple, when they were hindered from proceeding with the work by the opposition of their enemies.
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PSA 85:6
Psalms 85:6. Wilt thou not revive us again— To send a people into captivity, is to inflict civil death upon them. To restore them to their own land, is to revive, or give them a new life: thus the final restoration of the Jewish people is called by St. Paul, life from the dead. Green. The expression may also be taken in a most spiritual sense.
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PSA 85:8
Psalms 85:8. I will hear, &c.— I will hearken what the Lord God will pronounce. Yes, he pronounceth prosperity to his people, and to his favoured ones, provided they return no more to folly; i.e. to their old idolatry, and their other crimes; for which God drove them out of Judea. See Mudge.
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PSA 85:9
Psalms 85:9. That glory may dwell, &c.— That is, "We shall once again see glorious days in our land;" or perhaps, "the glory, the Shechinah, resident among us."
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Psalms 85:0.
The Psalmist, from an experience of former mercies, prayeth for the continuance thereof: he promiseth to wait thereon, out of confidence of God's goodness.
To the chief musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.
Title. מזמור קרח לבני למנצח lamnaeach libnei korach mizmor.— This psalm is a thankful acknowledgment of God's mercy in turning their captivity, and an humble prayer for the confirming, continuing, and perfecting this mercy. It has some degree of application to David's return to Jerusalem after his flight from Absalom; but much more to the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, after the captivity. After having in the first three verses acknowledged the goodness of God, in bringing them back to their own land; from the fourth onward, the author prays God to restore them again to their ancient prosperity. In the eighth he hears God's promise to do it; upon which, in the four last verses he bursts forth into an exultation at the prospect.
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