stability · noun, common feminine singular absolute
out
תִּצְמָ֑חtitz.Mach
H6779
to sprout (transitive or intransitive · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
earth
מֵאֶ֣רֶץme.'E.retz
H776
the earth (at large · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
righteousness
וְ֝צֶ֗דֶקve.Tze.dek
H6664
the right (natural · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
down
נִשְׁקָֽףnish.Kaf
H8259
properly · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
heaven
מִשָּׁמַ֥יִםmi.sha.Ma.yim
H8064
the sky (as aloft · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
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
Isaiah 45:8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and le…
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
1 John 5:20-21 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is tr…
Isaiah 42:21 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
Matthew 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in wh…
Isaiah 4:2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that a…
Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see…
Matthew 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
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…
Truth shall spring out of the earth,.... Either the Gospel, the word of truth, which sprung up at once in the land of Judea, as if it came out of the earth; and from Zion and Jerusalem it came forth into the Gentile world: or else the truth of grace God desires in the inward parts, and which springs up in such who are like cultivated earth, or good ground, being made so by the Spirit and grace of God, particularly the grace of "faith"; by which some render the word (q) here, which springs up in the heart, and, with it, man believes to righteousness: or rather Christ himself, "who is the way, the truth, and the life"; who, though he is the Lord from heaven, yet may be said, with respect to hi…
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
Truth has arisen from the earth, and justice has looked down from heaven. The truth of the promise has arisen from the earth, and the sun of justice has looked down from heaven: that he might lavish his light upon men set in darkness and in the shadow of death.
"Truth has sprung out of the earth, and righteousness has looked down from heaven" [Psalm 85:11]. "Truth has sprung out of the earth:" Christ is born of a woman. The Son of God has come forth of the flesh. What is truth? The Son of God. What is the earth? Flesh. Ask whence Christ was born, and you see that "Truth is sprung out of the earth." But the Truth which sprang out of the earth was before the earth, and by It the heaven and the earth were made: but in order that righteousness might look down from heaven, that is, in order that men might be justified by Divine grace, Truth was born of the Virgin Mary; that He might be able to offer a sacrifice to justify them, the sacrifice of suffering, the sacrifice of the Cross. And how could He offer a sacrifice for our sins, except He died? How could He die, except He received from us that wherein He might die; that is, unless He received from us mortal flesh, Christ could not have died: because the Word of God dies not, Godhead dies not, the Virtue and Wisdom of God does not die. How should He offer a sacrifice, a healing victim, if He died not? How should He die, unless He clothed Himself with flesh? How should He put on flesh, except truth sprang out of the earth?
Truth has sprung up out of the earth. "I am the way and the truth and the life." He who said, I am the truth, has sprung up out of the earth. What is this truth, which has sprung up out of the earth? "There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up from his root." And in another place: "For God has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth." What do you say, Manichaean, who deny that the Savior had flesh? Behold, the truth, the Savior, has sprung up out of the earth, that is, out of Mary. And righteousness has looked down from heaven. For it was righteous that the Savior should have mercy on His people. See what it says. O righteous judgments of God, and His ways past finding out! Truth has sprung up out of the earth, that is, the Savior. And again, And righteousness has looked down from heaven. Righteousness is the Savior Himself. How has He sprung up out of the earth? How has He looked down from heaven? He has sprung up out of the earth, because He was born a man: He has looked down from heaven, because as God He is always in the heavens. That is, He was indeed born of the earth: but He who was born of the earth is always in heaven. That is, He so appeared on earth that He did not leave the heavens. For God is everywhere. He looked down: because, as long as we were sinning, He turned His eyes away from us. What He says is this. It is righteous that the potter should have mercy on his works, that the shepherd should have mercy on his flock. We are His people, we are His creation. Therefore, then, He sprang up out of the earth, and looked down from heaven, that He might fulfill His righteousness, and have mercy on His work.
Dictionary and topics
Patriotism · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
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 poet pursues this charming picture of the future further. After God's אמת, i.e., faithfulness to the promises, has descended like dew, אמת, i.e., faithfulness to the covenant, springs up out of the land, the fruit of that fertilizing influence. And צדקה, gracious justice, looks down from heaven, smiling favour and dispensing blessing. גּם in Psa 85:13 places these two prospects in reciprocal relation to one another (cf. Psa 84:7); it is found once instead of twice. Jahve gives הטּוב, everything that is only and always good and that imparts true happiness, and the land, corresponding to it, yields יבוּלהּ, the increase which might be expected from a land so richly blessed (cf. Psa 67:7 an…
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 85:11
Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Truth shall spring out of the earth. Promises which lie unfulfilled, like buried seeds, shall spring up and yield harvests of joy; and men renewed by grace shall learn to be true to one another and their God, and abhor the falsehood which they loved before. And righteousness shall look down from heaven, as if it threw up the windows and leaned out to gaze upon a penitent people, whom it could not have looked upon before without an indignation which would have been fatal to them. This is a delicious scene. Earth yielding flowers of truth, and heaven shining with stars of holiness; the spheres echoing to each…
