Psalm 85:4 kjv
Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
Psalm 85:4 nkjv
Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease.
Psalm 85:4 niv
Restore us again, God our Savior, and put away your displeasure toward us.
Psalm 85:4 esv
Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!
Psalm 85:4 nlt
Now restore us again, O God of our salvation.
Put aside your anger against us once more.
Psalm 85 4 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 126:4 | Restore our fortunes, O LORD... | Plea for full national restoration. |
| Jer 3:22 | "Return, faithless children, I will heal your faithlessness." | God's call for Israel's repentance. |
| Lam 5:21 | Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored!... | Prayer for divine enablement of repentance. |
| Zec 1:3 | Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me... | God promises to return to those who return to Him. |
| Mal 3:7 | "Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts. | God's reciprocal commitment based on human turning. |
| Hos 6:1 | "Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us..." | Returning to God for spiritual and physical healing. |
| Acts 3:19 | Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out... | Call for spiritual turning for forgiveness in Christ. |
| Ps 68:19-20 | Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, God our salvation. | God as the daily provider of deliverance. |
| Isa 12:2 | Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid... | Yahweh is explicitly identified as the source of salvation. |
| Hos 13:4 | "...I am the LORD your God...besides me there is no savior." | Exclusive declaration of Yahweh as the only Savior. |
| Lk 1:47 | And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, | Mary's acknowledgment of God as her personal Savior. |
| 1 Tim 2:3 | This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior... | God's desire for all to be saved in the NT. |
| Tit 2:10 | ...they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. | Teaching points to God's character as Savior. |
| Num 25:11 | "...he has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel..." | God's wrath averted by specific righteous action. |
| Joel 2:13 | Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger... | Appeals to God's merciful character to turn from judgment. |
| Jonah 3:9 | Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger... | Repentance leading to the cessation of divine wrath. |
| Exo 34:6-7 | The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger... | Fundamental revelation of God's compassionate nature. |
| Ps 103:8-12 | The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger... | Emphasizes God's willingness to remove transgressions. |
| Rom 3:25 | ...Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood... | Christ's sacrifice appeases divine wrath. |
| 1 Jn 2:2 | He is the propitiation for our sins... | Christ's atoning work makes God's wrath cease for believers. |
| Isa 53:5-6 | But he was pierced for our transgressions...the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. | Messiah's substitutionary sacrifice as the basis for forgiveness. |
| Lam 3:32 | For though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love. | God's ultimate intention is mercy, not endless anger. |
| Dt 30:3 | ...then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you... | Restoration tied to God's compassion and re-gathering. |
| Neh 1:9 | But if you return to me and keep my commandments...I will gather them... | Covenant conditionality linking return to divine gathering. |
Psalm 85 verses
Psalm 85 4 Meaning
Psalm 85:4 is a heartfelt plea for complete divine restoration, addressing God as the source of salvation. The prayer, voiced by a community seemingly still experiencing the consequences of sin or partial favor, asks God to bring about their full spiritual and physical "turning back" to Him and, consequently, to remove His just anger or disciplinary hand that they perceive to be upon them. It signifies a profound desire for God to re-establish a relationship of full favor and blessing with His people.
Psalm 85 4 Context
Psalm 85 is believed to be a post-exilic psalm, likely composed after the Babylonian captivity when a remnant of Israel had returned to their land. The opening verses (1-3) offer thanksgiving, recalling God's past gracious acts of returning the captives, forgiving sins, and turning away His fierce wrath. However, despite this initial favor, verse 4 introduces a renewed plea. It signals that the promised restoration and peace were not yet fully realized, or perhaps the community had again strayed, bringing them under renewed divine discipline. Thus, the psalm shifts from remembrance of past mercy to an earnest prayer for the completion of their national and spiritual restoration and for the removal of any lingering divine displeasure.
Psalm 85 4 Word analysis
- "Turn us" (Hebrew: Ha-tašîḇenu, from the root שׁוּב shuv):
- This is a strong petition for God to act upon the people. The Hiphil form means "cause to return" or "restore."
- Significance: It acknowledges that genuine spiritual turning (repentance) and national restoration originate with God's enabling grace. It's a prayer that God would move them to turn back to Him and, consequently, restore their well-being.
- "O God of our salvation" (Hebrew: ʾelohê yišʿenu, from אֱלֹהִים Elohim "God" and יְשׁוּעָה yeshua "salvation/deliverance"):
- Elohim here refers to the sovereign, true God of Israel, the plural form emphasizing majesty and full divine power. Yeshua denotes comprehensive deliverance and help.
- Significance: This title appeals directly to God's revealed character and historical actions as the ultimate Deliverer and Rescuer of His people (e.g., from Egypt, during exile). It serves as a covenant appeal, grounding the request in God's unfailing ability and past faithfulness to save.
- "and cause thine anger" (Hebrew: wəhāšēḇ kaʿăsekha, Hiphil imperative of shuv and כַּעַס kaʿas "anger/vexation"):
- Wəhāšēḇ again uses the shuv root in the Hiphil, here meaning "cause to return," "turn away," or "remove." Kaʿas signifies God's righteous displeasure.
- Significance: This is a candid recognition of divine wrath being directed at them, acknowledging their complicity in sin that brought forth such judgment. It expresses a fervent desire for the cessation of this anger, implying an end to the consequences they suffer.
- "toward us to cease" (Hebrew: מִמֶּנּוּ mimmenu "from us"):
- Significance: This phrase clearly specifies the target of God's anger and the desired removal – it's personal and communal. The cessation of God's anger is sought to remove the afflictions or lack of full blessing that the community experiences.
- Words-group analysis:
- "Turn us, O God of our salvation": This coupling foregrounds divine initiative. It reveals a people dependent on God for both their spiritual conversion and national revival. It roots their hope in God's established identity as their rescuer, indicating that only He possesses the power and will to bring about their needed "turning."
- "and cause thine anger toward us to cease": This phrase directly links their national plight to God's disciplinary wrath and highlights the critical prerequisite for full restoration: the removal of divine displeasure. It underscores the severity of their condition but also implies confidence in God's mercy to "turn away" His just anger, setting the stage for renewed blessings like righteousness and peace.
Psalm 85 4 Bonus section
- The profound echo of the Hebrew root shuv (שׁוּב), appearing twice ("Turn us" and "cause... to cease/turn away"), emphasizes the theme of spiritual and situational reversal. This repeated verbal root prayerfully encompasses both the human need for repentance (a turning back to God) and the divine act of restoration (God turning towards them in favor, and turning away His anger).
- This verse provides insight into how a believing community grapples with perceived divine discipline. It reflects a theology that recognizes God's active involvement in their circumstances, attributing hardship to His anger (due to their sin) but simultaneously appealing to His mercy based on His character as their "God of salvation." This fosters accountability without despair.
- While primarily a communal prayer, the principles of Psalm 85:4 are applicable to individual believers who may feel a distance from God due to unconfessed sin or spiritual coldness, seeking God's help to "turn" them back to fervent devotion and for assurance that His displeasure is lifted through Christ's work.
Psalm 85 4 Commentary
Psalm 85:4 serves as a pivotal verse within a prayer for communal revival. While earlier verses celebrated God's past forgiveness and restoration, this verse underscores a lingering sense of incomplete favor or continued divine displeasure. The dual petition to "Turn us" and to "cause thine anger... to cease" reveals the psalmists' theological insight: true national restoration is contingent on both God's transformative work in His people's hearts and His gracious cessation of disciplinary judgment. The address "O God of our salvation" is an appeal to His unchanging covenant faithfulness as the One who historically delivers His people. It expresses the profound dependence of humanity on divine grace to enable repentance and remove the just consequences of sin, paving the way for God's full favor and the blessings that flow from righteousness.