kindness · noun, common masculine singular absolute
truth
וֶאֱמֶ֥תve.'e.Met
H571
stability · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular absolute
together
נִפְגָּ֑שׁוּnif.Ga.shu
H6298
to come in contact with · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person common plural
righteousness
צֶ֖דֶקTze.dek
H6664
the right (natural · noun, common masculine singular absolute
peace
וְשָׁל֣וֹםve.sha.Lom
H7965
safe · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
kissed
נָשָֽׁקוּna.Sha.ku
H5401
to kiss · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Proverbs 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
Psalms 89:14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
Psalms 100:5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Isaiah 32:16-18 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Psalms 72:3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
Romans 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Isaiah 45:24 Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shal…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 85:8–end
We have here an answer to the prayers and expostulations in the foregoing verses.
I. In general, it is an answer of peace. This the psalmist is soon aware of (Psa 85:8), for he stands upon his watch-tower to hear what God will say unto him, as the prophet, Hab 2:1, Hab 2:2. I will hear what God the Lord will speak. This intimates, 1. The stilling of his passions - his grief, his fear - and the tumult of his spirit which they occasioned: "Compose thyself, O my soul! in a humble silence to attend upon God and wait his motions. I have spoken enough, or too much; now I will hear what God will speak, and welcome his holy will. What saith my Lord unto his servant?" If we would have God to hear wha…
Mercy and truth are met together,.... Or "grace and truth" (p), which are in Christ, and come by him; and so may be said to meet in him, the glorious Person, the Author of salvation, before mentioned, John 1:14, these may be considered as perfections in God, displayed in salvation by Christ: "mercy" is the original of it; it is owing to that that the dayspring from on high visited us, or glory dwelt in our land, or Christ was sent and came to work salvation for us; it was pity to the lost human race which moved God to send him, and him to come, who is the merciful as well as faithful High Priest, and who in his love and pity redeemed us; and though there was no mercy shown to him, he not bei…
Psalm 85:9-13
9. Surely [475] his salvation is near to them that fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. 10. Mercy and truth shall meet together; righteousness and peace shall kiss each other. 11. Truth shall spring [or bud] out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. 12. Likewise, Jehovah will grant prosperity: and our land shall yield her increase. 13. Righteousness shall go before him; and set her steps in the way.
9 Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him. Here the Psalmist confirms the statement made in the preceding verse. He encourages both himself and other servants of God in the hope, that although to outward appearance God was far off from his…
The Church Fathers
Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed. Mercy and truth have met. I see two things, which by coming together and meeting become one. Justice and peace have kissed. All this is fitted to the mystery of the Lord and Savior: this is the Son of God and of man, who is for us truth, mercy, peace, and justice, in whom the justice of the former people and the mercy of the latter are joined together into one peace. "For he himself," says the Apostle, "is our peace, who has made both one." This is the mystery which the Church desires, and cries out in the Song of Songs, saying, "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." This is the kiss of which the Apostle Paul says, "Greet one another with the kiss of peace."
Mercy and truth have met each other: righteousness and peace have kissed. O how splendid a friendship! Mercy and truth have met each other. Are you a sinner? Hear what it says: Mercy. Are you holy? Hear what it says: And truth. Neither, if you are a sinner, should you despair; nor, if you are righteous, should you be proud. Let us speak in another way. There are two believing peoples: one from the people of the Gentiles, and another from the Jews. To the Jews it was promised that the Savior would come: but to us, who were strangers to the law of God, it was not promised. Mercy, therefore, is in the people of the Gentiles, truth in the people of the Jews: because what was promised has come, that is, what was promised to the fathers is fulfilled in the sons. Righteousness and peace have kissed. See what it says: Righteousness and peace have kissed. It is the same as what it said above, Mercy and truth. Mercy is the same as peace, but truth is the same as righteousness. For if anything pertains to peace, it pertains also to mercy: and if anything to truth, it pertains also to righteousness. See, then, what it says. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other: that is, mercy and truth have made friendship, that is, the people of the Gentiles and of the Jews are under one shepherd, Christ.
"Mercy and truth have met together" (ver. 10). "Truth in our land," in a Jewish person, "mercy" in the land of the Gentiles. For where was truth? Where the utterances of God were. Where was mercy? On those who had left their God, and turned themselves unto devils. Did He look down also upon them? Yea, as if He said, Call those who are fugitives afar off, who have departed far from Me: call them, let them find Me who seek them, since they themselves would not seek Me. Therefore, "Mercy and truth have met together: righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Do righteousness, and thou shalt have peace; that righteousness and peace may kiss each other. For if thou love not righteousness, thou shalt not have peace; for those two, righteousness and peace, love one another, and kiss one another: that he who hath done righteousness may find peace kissing righteousness. They two are friends: thou perhaps willest the one, and not the other: for there is no one who wills not peace: but all will not work righteousness. Ask all men, Willest thou peace? With one mouth the whole race of man answers thee, I wish, I desire, I will, I love it. Love also righteousness: for these two, righteousness and peace, are friends; they kiss one another: if thou love not the friend of peace, peace itself will not love thee, nor come unto thee. For what great thing is it to desire peace? Every bad man longeth for peace. For peace is a good thing. But do righteousness, for righteousness and peace kiss one another, they quarrel not together....
Dictionary and topics
Mercy — Compassion for the miserable. Its object is misery. By the atoning sacrifice of Christ a way is open for the exercise of mercy towards the sons of men, in harmony with the demands of truth and…
Mercy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Patriotism · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Righteousness Of God, The · Exhibited in: The gospel — Exhibited in: The gospel
Truth Of God, The · United with mercy in redemption — United with mercy in redemption
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The prayer is followed by attention to the divine answer, and by the answer itself. The poet stirs himself up to give ear to the words of God, like Habakkuk, Hab 2:1. Beside אשׁמעה we find the reading אשׁמעה, vid., on Psa 39:13. The construction of האל ה is appositional, like המּלך דּוד, Ges. 113. כּי neither introduces the divine answer in express words, nor states the ground on which he hearkens, but rather supports the fact that God speaks from that which He has to speak. Peace is the substance of that which He speaks to His people, and that (the particularizing Waw) to His saints; but with the addition of an admonition. אל is dehortative. It is not to be assumed in connection with this e…
In the glorious world of renewal and salvation, all the qualities of God’s care—love, truth, righteousness, and peace—come together and transform the created order into something new (see Isa 32:15-20).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 85:10
Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Mercy and truth are met together. In answer to prayer, the exulting psalmist sees the attributes of God confederating to bless the once afflicted nation. Mercy comes hand in hand with Truth to fulfil the faithful promise of their gracious God; the people recognise at once the grace and the veracity of Jehovah, he is to them neither a tyrant nor a deceiver. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. The Lord whose just severity inflicted the smart, now in pity sends peace to bind up the wound. The people being now made willing to forsake their sins, and to follow after righteousness, find peace granted to…
