The big picture
Psalm 85 begins with completed acts of mercy and then refuses to pretend that completed acts mean every present need has disappeared. God has favored the land, restored Jacob, forgiven iniquity, covered sin, and turned from fierce anger. Yet the community still asks to be turned again, revived again, shown mercy, and granted salvation. Past restoration becomes the ground for present prayer rather than a reason to suppress it. The final movement listens for what God will speak and imagines peace without separating it from truth or righteousness. Mercy and truth meet, righteousness and peace kiss, truth springs from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The vision closes with renewed fruitfulness in the land, joining moral and material restoration instead of reducing either one to the other.
Central truth
Psalm 85 looks back on restored favor and forgiven iniquity, asks God to revive his people again, listens for the peace he will speak, and closes with the striking meeting of mercy, truth, righteousness, peace, and a fruitful land.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
Psalms 85:1: “LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.”
Slow down at the turning point
Psalms 85:6: “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?”
Keep this word trail visible
LORD, anger, land, people, righteousness, salvation
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
Psalm 85:1-3
What God has already done
Begin with the past tense. Read 85:1-3 and list the six verbs: thou hast been favourable, brought back, forgiven, covered, taken away, turned. Explain "covered all their sin" as forgiveness that hides sin from God's judgement (Psalm 32:1). Teach this first because the psalm's request rests on God's record. Before asking for anything, the people remember what grace has already looked like, including a return from captivity.
Psalm 85:4-7
Revive us again
Read 85:4-7. "Turn us", "Wilt thou be angry with us for ever?", "Wilt thou not revive us again", "Shew us thy mercy". Explain that the restored people are in trouble again, perhaps the hard years after the return described in Haggai 1. Teach this step so the class understands that one experience of grace does not make further need impossible. The memory of verses 1-3 is the very reason they dare to ask God to do it again.
Psalm 85:8-9
I will hear
Read verse 8 slowly. "I will hear what God the LORD will speak". Pause for silence. Then the content of God's word: peace to his people and saints, with the warning, "let them not turn again to folly". Then 85:9: salvation is near those who fear him, "that glory may dwell in our land". Teach this as the hinge of the psalm. Prayer includes listening, and God's peace comes with a call not to return to the old ways.
Psalm 85:10-11
Mercy and truth meet
Read 85:10-11 and write the four words on the board: mercy, truth, righteousness, peace. Explain each in a sentence. Then show the pictures: mercy and truth meet like friends, righteousness and peace kiss, truth springs up from the ground, righteousness looks down from heaven. Teach this step so the class sees God's character as whole. Mention, without forcing it, that many Christians hear this fulfilled in the cross.
Psalm 85:12-13
Good gifts and a path
Read 85:12-13. "the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase". Then "Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps." Explain that the restored land and the righteous path belong together. Teach this last so the class leaves with both blessing and direction: God gives good things and sets his people on the road he walks, which is the opposite of the folly of verse 8.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
"If God has forgiven us once, we should never need to ask for renewal again."
The same people who say "Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people" (85:2) pray "Wilt thou not revive us again" (85:6). Past grace does not make present need impossible. Believers keep coming back to God for mercy and renewal. 1 John 1:9 promises that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive.
"God's peace means I can go on as I was."
God "will speak peace unto his people", and the same verse adds "but let them not turn again to folly" (85:8). Peace is offered to those who fear him (85:9) and walk in "the way of his steps" (85:13). God's peace heals; it does not approve the behaviour that caused the harm. Romans 6:1-2 asks, shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
"Mercy and truth are opposites, so a loving church has to bend the truth."
Verse 10 says "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." In God they are not rivals. Mercy without truth becomes indulgence, and truth without mercy becomes harshness. Ephesians 4:15 calls believers to speak the truth in love, which is the same meeting in human speech.
"Verse 12 promises that faithful people will always have good harvests and wealth."
The promise that "the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase" (85:12) speaks to a people restored to their land under the covenant. It is a picture of God's goodness reaching even the soil. It is not a guarantee that every believer will prosper materially. Habakkuk 3:17-18 shows faith rejoicing in God even when the fields yield no meat.
Learning objectives
- Identify the completed acts of restoration and forgiveness in verses 1–3.
- Explain why verses 4–7 still ask for renewed restoration after recalling past favor.
- Trace the shift in verse 8 from speaking to listening.
- Explain the warning 'let them not turn again to folly' as part of the promised peace.
- Interpret the meeting and kissing imagery of mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace in verses 10–11.
- Explain how the final agricultural language joins divine goodness, human land, and righteousness preparing God's way.
Teacher preparation
- Read the psalm in four movements: remembered favor, renewed petition, listening for peace, and the closing vision of reconciled virtues and fruitful land.
- Mark every completed verb in verses 1–3 before reading the requests of verses 4–7.
- Prepare to explain 'turn us' and 'revive us again' as corporate restoration language, not merely individual emotional refreshment.
- Write verse 8 where everyone can see the warning attached to peace: God's saints must not turn again to folly.
- Do not rush the poetry of verses 10–13. Let mercy, truth, righteousness, peace, earth, heaven, good, increase, and footsteps remain distinct images.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Verses 1–3 explicitly say God was favorable, brought back captivity, forgave iniquity, covered sin, and turned from fierce anger.
Scripture-supported
Verse 8 explicitly pairs promised peace with a warning not to turn again to folly, showing that restoration does not erase the call to changed conduct.
Strong inference
Verses 10–13 strongly imply a vision of comprehensive restoration because covenant virtues are personified as meeting while the land gives increase and righteousness marks God's path.
Possible or traditional reading
Some interpreters connect the psalm to a specific postexilic restoration, which fits the language of returned captivity, but the psalm itself does not name a date or ruler.
Limit
Psalm 85 does not promise that every renewed community will immediately experience material abundance, nor does it define 'peace' as permission to resume the folly from which restoration was needed.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. What has God already done in verses 1–3?
What a good answer contains
A string of completed acts of grace. "LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin" (85:1-2), and "Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger" (85:3). A good answer lists six things: favour, return from captivity, forgiveness, covering of sin, wrath removed, anger turned away. It notices that each verb is past and that forgiveness sits at the centre. A weak answer summarises them as God being nice.
Show teacher guidance
List the completed actions: shown favor, restored captivity, forgiven iniquity, covered sin, taken away wrath, and turned from fierce anger.
2. Why do verses 4–7 ask for restoration again if restoration has already happened?
What a good answer contains
Because a new need has come. "Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt thou be angry with us for ever?" (85:4-5), and "Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?" (85:6). Many readers place the psalm after the return from exile, when the people were back but struggling (Haggai 1:5-11). A good answer sees that past grace is the reason to ask again, not proof that trouble cannot return. The word again shows they remember being revived before.
Show teacher guidance
The psalm distinguishes remembered mercy from present need. Past grace becomes grounds for renewed prayer, not proof that no new crisis can arise.
3. What does verse 8 say the psalmist will do next?
What a good answer contains
Stop and listen. "I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints" (85:8). After four verses of petition, the psalmist waits for God's answer. A good answer sees the change of posture, from speaking to hearing, and notes that the answer is peace. It may help the class to practise a moment of silence here. A weak answer moves straight to verse 10 without noticing that the beautiful promises come as God's spoken reply.
Show teacher guidance
He will hear what God the LORD will speak. The prayer deliberately makes room for listening after many petitions.
4. What condition is attached to the peace God speaks?
What a good answer contains
That they must not go back to the foolishness that caused the trouble. "but let them not turn again to folly" (85:8). Folly in the Bible is not lack of intelligence but moral and spiritual foolishness, living as if God did not matter. A good answer sees that God's peace is not permission to repeat the past, and connects verse 9: "his salvation is nigh them that fear him". Peace and the fear of the LORD go together. Compare John 8:11, go, and sin no more.
Show teacher guidance
The saints must not turn again to folly. The peace is not an endorsement of the behavior that made restoration necessary.
5. What happens when mercy and truth meet and righteousness and peace kiss?
What a good answer contains
Qualities that often seem to compete are joined. "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (85:10). Mercy is God's steadfast love; truth is his faithfulness; righteousness is his rightness and justice; peace is wholeness and well-being. A good answer sees that God's mercy does not cancel truth and his peace does not ignore righteousness. Verse 11 adds that truth springs up from earth and righteousness looks down from heaven. Many Christians see this meeting fulfilled at the cross, where justice and mercy meet (Romans 3:26).
Show teacher guidance
The poetry presents qualities often pulled apart as harmonized rather than competing: mercy does not erase truth, and peace does not cancel righteousness.
6. How does the final verse picture righteousness?
What a good answer contains
As a herald going ahead. "Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps" (85:13). Righteousness walks in front of the LORD like a forerunner, and makes a path that his people can walk in. A good answer sees that the psalm ends with direction as well as blessing: God's people are set on his path. It links verse 12, "the LORD shall give that which is good", with this road. A weak answer treats verse 13 as a poetic ending with no practical content.
Show teacher guidance
Righteousness goes before God and sets people in the way of his steps, making the close directional as well as beautiful.
Responsible application
Heart and habits
Use verses 1–7 to remember one prior act of restoration as grounds for prayer without treating yesterday's mercy as a substitute for today's obedience.
Relationships and community
Use verse 10 to test reconciliation proposals: ask whether mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace are actually being held together rather than trading one away.
Peace without relapse
Build a case study around verse 8 where a conflict ends, then ask what 'turn not again to folly' requires if peace is to endure.
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
Thou hast
Read 85:1-3 and ask question one.
Revive us again
Read 85:4-7. Ask question two and take confusion one.
I will hear
Read 85:8-9 and pause for a minute of silence. Ask questions three and four and take confusion two.
Mercy and truth
Read 85:10-11. Ask question five and take confusion three.
The way of his steps
Read 85:12-13. Ask question six and take confusion four.
Handout and prayer
Hand out the sheet, read the key verse together, and pray verse 6 for your church.
90 minutes
Grace remembered
Ask each person to recall a time God restored them or their church.
Covered all their sin
Read 85:1-3 and Psalm 32:1-2. Ask question one.
Wilt thou not revive us
Read 85:4-7 and Haggai 1:5-11. Ask question two and take confusion one with 1 John 1:9.
Listening prayer
Read 85:8-9, keep two minutes of silence, then ask questions three and four and take confusion two.
Have kissed each other
Read 85:10-11 and Romans 3:21-26. Ask question five and take confusion three with Ephesians 4:15.
Righteousness goes before
Read 85:12-13 and Habakkuk 3:17-18. Ask question six and take confusion four.
Pray for revival
Pray together for renewal in your church, using verses 4, 6 and 7.
Handout and prayer
Read the key verse together, point to the take-home line, and close with verse 13.
Adapting the lesson
Children
Make four cards labelled kindness, truth, right and peace. Give them to four children standing apart. As you read verses 10-11, have them walk together and shake hands. Explain that in God these good things are always friends. Then read verse 8 and teach that God speaks peace to his people.
Youth
Divide the psalm into four parts: what God did, what we ask, what God says, what God will do. Ask why people who have been forgiven might need reviving again. Talk about folly in verse 8 and what it looks like to return to old patterns. Discuss how mercy and truth can meet in the way they treat friends.
Adults
Adults can study the likely setting after the exile, the pattern of remembered grace and renewed petition, and the meeting of mercy, truth, righteousness and peace. Discuss where churches tend to choose mercy over truth or peace over righteousness, and how verses 10-13 challenge that. Pray together for revival with verse 6.
One to one
If the person once knew God's restoring grace but now feels dry, read 85:1-3 and then 85:6. Encourage them that it is right to ask God to revive them again. Then sit quietly with verse 8, listening for God's word of peace, and gently ask whether there is any folly they need to turn from.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
Psalms 85:1–13
The passage in brief
Psalm 85 remembers what God has already done: he brought his people back from captivity, forgave their sin and turned away his anger. Now they are in trouble again, and they ask him to revive them so that they can rejoice in him. The psalmist stops to listen, and God speaks peace, warning them not to return to foolishness. Then comes a beautiful picture: mercy and truth meet, righteousness and peace kiss, and God sets his people on his path.
A verse to keep
Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Psalms 85:10 · King James Version
Questions to take home
What had God already done in 85:1-3?
What does God speak in 85:8, and what warning comes with it?
Where in your life do you need God to revive you again?
This week
This week, after you pray, spend two minutes in silence listening for what God will speak.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
