to lift · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
iniquity
עֲוֹ֣ן'a.Von
H5771
perversity · noun, common masculine singular construct
people
עַמֶּ֑ךָ'a.Me.kha
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
covered
כִּסִּ֖יתָki.Si.ta
H3680
properly · verb, piel perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
sin
חַטָּאתָ֣םcha.ta.Tam
H2403
an offence (sometimes habitual sinfulness) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Selah
סֶֽלָהSe.lah
H5542
suspension (of music) · interjection
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
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his…
Psalms 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespass…
Numbers 14:19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from E…
Jeremiah 50:20 In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah,…
Acts 13:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Psalms 79:8-9 O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.
Psalms 78:38 But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not sti…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 85:1-7
The church, in affliction and distress, is here, by direction from God, making her application to God. So ready is God to hear and answer the prayers of his people that by his Spirit in the word, and in the heart, he indites their petitions and puts words into their mouths. The people of God, in a very low and weak condition, are here taught how to address themselves to God.
I. They are to acknowledge with thankfulness the great things God had done for them (Psa 85:1-3): "Thou has done so and so for us and our fathers." Note, The sense of present afflictions should not drown the remembrance of former mercies; but, even when we are brought very low, we must call to remembrance past experience…
Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people,.... Took it from them, and laid it on Christ, who has bore it, and took it away, so as it shall never return more to their destruction; and by the application of his blood it is taken away from their own consciences; for this denotes the manifestation and discovery of forgiveness to themselves; it is a branch of redemption, and is in consequence of it; and is a fruit of the free favour and good will of God through Christ; and it only belongs to the Lord's special people, the people he has taken into covenant with him, and for whose iniquity Christ was stricken:
thou hast covered all their sin; this is but another phrase for forgiveness, see Psa…
Psalm 85:1-4
1. O Jehovah! thou hast been favorable to thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. 2. Thou hast taken away the iniquity [473] of thy people: thou hast covered all their sins. Selah. 3. Thou hast turned away all thy anger: thou hast drawn back the fury of thy indignation. 4. Turn us, O God of our salvation! and cause thy anger against us to cease.
1 O Jehovah! thou hast been favorable to thy land. Those who translate these words in the future tense, in my opinion, mar their meaning. This psalm, it is probable, was endited to be sung by the people when they were persecuted by the cruel tyranny of Antiochus; and from the deliverance wrought for them in the past, t…
The Church Fathers
You have remitted the iniquity of Your people. Not on account of their works, but on account of Your mercy, You have saved Your people. You have covered all their sins.
You have remitted the iniquity of Your people. No one remits anything except what is owed. You have covered all their sins. You have covered them with virtues, and therefore the sins do not appear. For example, You have covered iniquity with righteousness, You have covered unchastity with chastity, You have covered blackness with whiteness.
For how did He turn away the captivity of Jacob? See, how that that setting free is spiritual, see how that it is done inwardly. "You have forgiven," he says, "the iniquity of Your people: You have covered all their sins" [Psalm 85:2]. Behold how He has turned away their captivity, in that He has remitted iniquity: iniquity held them captive; your iniquity forgiven, you are freed. Confess therefore that you are in captivity, that you may be worthy to be freed: for he that knows not of his enemy, how can he invoke the liberator? "You have covered all their sins." What is, "You have covered"? So as not to see them. How did You not see them? So as not to take vengeance on them. You were unwilling to see our sins: and therefore You saw them not, because You would not see them: "You have covered all their sins." "You have appeased all Your anger: You have turned Yourself from Your wrathful indignation" [Psalm 85:3].
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Nation · Prayer for — Prayer for
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 first of all looks back into the past, so rich in tokens of favour. The six perfects are a remembrance of former events, since nothing precedes to modify them. Certainly that which has just been experienced might also be intended; but then, as Hitzig supposes, Psa 85:5-8 would be the petition that preceded it, and Psa 85:9 would go back to the turning-point of the answering of the request - a retrograde movement which is less probable than that in shuwbeenuw, Psa 85:5, we have a transition to the petition for a renewal of previously manifested favour. (שׁבית) שבּ שׁבוּת, here said of a cessation of a national judgment, seems to be meant literally, not figuratively (vid., Psa 14:7).…
When God forgave the guilt of their sins, he gave the people the possibility of fellowship with him (see 32:5).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 85:2
Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.
Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people. Often and often had he done this, pausing to pardon even when his sword was bared to punish. Who is a pardoning God like thee, O Jehovah? Who is so slow to anger, so ready to forgive? Every believer in Jesus enjoys the blessing of pardoned sin, and he should regard this priceless boon as the pledge of all other needful mercies. He should plead it with God—"Lord, hast thou pardoned me, and wilt thou let me perish for lack of grace, or fall into mine enemies' hands for want of help. Thou wilt not thus leave thy work unfinished." Thou hast covered all their sin.…
