1 You have been gracious to your land, Yahweh, *
you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.
2 You have forgiven the iniquity of your people *
and blotted out all their sins. Selah
3 You have withdrawn all your fury *
and turned yourself from your wrathful indignation.
4 Restore us then, elohe our Savior; *
let your anger depart from us.
5 Will you be displeased with us forever? *
will you prolong your anger from age to age?
6 Will you not give us life again, *
that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your mercy, Yahweh, *
and grant us your salvation.
8 I will listen to what the ha-el Yahweh is saying, *
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him.
9 Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth have met together; *
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth shall spring up from the earth, *
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 Yahweh will indeed grant prosperity, *
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him, *
and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.
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This is one of the eleven psalms identified as “of the sons of Korah.” Despite all the thought about who the “sons of Korah” were [not singings in the Tabernacle], we are told in Numbers 16 that a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, led by Korah (Moses’ cousin) was quelled by the earth opening up and swallowing the rebels. In Numbers 26:11 we are told, “the sons of Korah did not die.” This does not mean they survived unscathed from Yahweh’s punishment. It means they became eternal soul that live underground. This means the “sons of Korah” are protectors of the underground tunnel system beneath the Tabernacle-Temple. In Jerusalem, this was the fortress of the Jebusites.
Verse 1: “you have been favorable Yahweh to your flesh ; you have returned captives [captives] (supplanters) .” There is little about the “earth” or the “land” that Yahweh “favors.” He only “favors” souls that have become “captives” of their own “flesh.” The repeating of the Hebrew word “shebuth”(“šə·ḇîṯ”), with the first stated in song, with the second enclosed in brackets – thus a silent statement about the soul within the “flesh” – says the “favor” shown to the “flesh” comes when the “captive” souls are shown the “favor” known by “Jacob,” which is the promise of eternal salvation, after the lusts of material gains [evil “favors”] have been ”overturned” or “turned back.”
Verse 2: “you have uplifted the guilt of your people ; you have covered all their sins . Selah” This furthers the “favor” of “Yahweh,” speaking of His presence in the second-person masculine singular. It can only be by Yahweh’s Baptism of Spirit that the “guilt” of “sins” can be “uplifted,” “carried away,” of “forgiven.” To ensure no further “sins” can reach into those souls of Yahweh’s “people,” His Spirit has “covered” them in a protection of His presence.
Verse 3: “you have removed all your overflow ; you have returned , with the burning anger on your face .” Following the verse two singing of the removal of sins, verse three then places focus on the “exaltation” or “uplifting” [the meaning of “selah”] that represents. David sang that Yahweh “removed all” sin, not just the worst, while “all” says His “people” can only be totally and completely cleansed by the Baptism of His Spirit. Just as verse one sang about the “returning of captives,” it is that “removal of all sins” that makes it possible for a soul to rejoin Yahweh. That reunion is a divine marriage, which must include a bathing by His Spirit.
While the Hebrew word “ebrah” [“‘eḇ·rā·ṯe·ḵā”] means “arrogance, fury,” with “overflow” being used mostly as a statement of uncontrolled emotions (“anger”), this says one’s own soul turns one away from Yahweh, so the “wrath” of the world makes one’s soul vulnerable to physical abuse. It also says Yahweh does nothing to stop souls from sinning; but He will not accept any soul that has the ”arrogance” to think he or she can retain some personal sins, without punishment. Yahweh’s Baptism that cleans a soul of past sins says Yahweh will not tolerate the filth of the world in any way, shape or form clinging to a soul He takes as one of His wives. To have then “returned” to a pristine state of being – guiltless and upright – oneself then projects a “face” of “burning anger” against ever returning to a life of sin. The “face” a saved soul wears is that of Yahweh [First Commandment]; and, that “face” terrifies demon spirits and minions of Satan.
Verse 4: “and return us elohe of our salvation ; and break your anger with us .” Once more the theme of “return” is sung by David, where a “return to be one with Yahweh” is now said to be the “return of an elohim” in each soul. The “elohe of salvation” is “Jesus,” where that name means “Yah[weh] Saves.” The presence of that inner soul, joined with one’s lost soul, brings the completion of wholeness, which was missing when a soul was released into a new body of flesh, at birth. This is then less about the “anger” of Yahweh, as much as it is the “anger” His people find from not receiving His benefit, due to their sins. Once a soul has “returned to Yahweh,” then only His love can be felt; and, His love comes into one’s soul through the “elohe of salvation.”
Verse 5: “forever will you be angry with us ; will you continue your face , to dwelling with all the generation .” Here, the use of “forever” (“hal·‘ō·w·lām”) is better stated as “to the ends of time.” Again, there is no “anger” in Yahweh, as that can only be found in souls in bodies of flesh that reject a return to Yahweh, through submission in divine marriage. David is singing that this “anger” will be felt for as long as it takes for a soul to realize its need to return and be one with Him. The “face” of Yahweh is eternal and unchanging. Unless a soul in the flesh submits self-identity (one’s own “face” over bowing down and wearing the “face” of Yahweh) completely unto Yahweh [one’s Husband in divine union], then one’s own “face” will flare at the “nostrils” from self-caused “anger.” The element of “dwelling” (from “lə·ḏōr,” also meaning “to period, to generation”) says the “elohe of salvation” must dwell within one’s soul, in order for that soul to be a wife of Yahweh and the mother of His Son reborn. The “generation” (a repeat of “dor” in the masculine singular) is then the ministry in service to Yahweh, as His Son reborn, so others can find this “generation dwelling” within their souls.
Verse 6: “not you will return you will live in us ; that your people , it will rejoice in you .” This is David saying that to be married to Yahweh is “not” for a temporary period of time, as a soul’s “return” to be one with Him is forever lasting. One’s soul in the flesh is facing death; but to be rejoined divinely – one’s soul to Yahweh’s Spirit – means His eternal “life” will be the promise that lasts beyond the death of one’s flesh. This “life” is the promise offered to all “the people” whose souls submit to Yahweh [true sons of Israel]. It is the inner presence of Yahweh’s “life” – which comes from the soul of His Son being resurrected within one’s cleansed soul – that will “rejoice” within, as one’s Lord, causing the soul-flesh to follow that lead and also “rejoice.” It is the “gladness” of salvation, with the promise of eternal life receive.
Verse 7: “let us see Yahweh your goodness ; and your salvation , give to us .” Here, for David to sing to “see,” this is less about physical sight and more about the ability to understand the truth. This came during David’s time from being led by an inner “elohe of salvation,” as well as understanding the scrolls of the Torah. Today this equates to a soul being able “to see” the truth written in Scripture. It is from this ability “to see” that one realizes no human beings could ever devise writings of such profound depth, as they could only come from “Yahweh.” This is the truth of the “goodness” that a soul receives from “Yahweh.” That “goodness” is then stated as “your salvation,” which (again) states “Jesus,” which means “Yah[weh] Saves.” The “goodness” of “Yahweh” is known through His Son’s resurrection in the flesh. This is the “gift” of the Spirit and the Son, which is the harvest of commitment to Yahweh in divine marriage.
To understand verses eight through thirteen, read this posting for the seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year B, when the Track 2 Psalm accompaniment then is Psalm 85:8-13. The message is still the same, as I entitled that posting from 2021 Restoration through holy matrimony. Please click on the link to read what I posted a year prior, as it is still applicable today.
As a companion reading to the Track 1 Old Testament reading from Hosea, this clearly sings praises to a divine marriage. The physical impression given by the Hosea reading is Yahweh forcing Hosea to belittle himself and go marry a whore, to have daughters he despised. That story must be read from a spiritual perspective, where Hosea’s soul became an “elohe of salvation” that was sent into the wicked people of the Northern Kingdom. Hosea then transmitted the Spirit into one who found “Completion” [the meaning of “Gomer”], who then was reborn in the name of Jezreel. That resurrection of the “elohe of salvation” within Jezreel would bring forth the “face of anger” and “wrath” that would prove to the failed nation named Israel that they “Not Would Find Mercy,” because they were “Not My People.” Those were born of the inner elohim in Jezreel, so Yahweh did not give birth to those concepts, nor name them. This Psalm 85 sings of what it takes to transform from a soul sold into prostitution in the world, while calling oneself a believer in God and Jesus. One’s soul must make all these changes to fine eternal salvation – be reborn as Jesus.