Psalms 85:3

Psa 85:3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned [thyself] from the fierceness of thine anger.

Ver. 3. Thou hast taken away all thy wrath] Heb. thou hast gathered it, thou hast recollected it, that we might not bear it; when sin is once remitted, wrath is soon removed.

Thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness, &c.] Here are six hasts drawing in the next turn, Psa 85:4. God hath, and therefore God will, is a strong medium of hope, if not a demonstration of Scripture logics. See 2Co 1:10.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Not only in withdrawing thy rod, but in forgiving of sins, and in touching our hearts to confess them.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 3. Thou hast taken away] אספת asaphta, "Thou hast gathered up all thy wrath." This carries on the metaphor in the second verse: "Thou hast collected all thy wrath, and carried it away with all our iniquities."

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Thou hast taken away] Lit. withdrawn, or drawn in, the wrath which was let loose against us.

from the fierceness of thine anger] Poured out upon Israel for its sin. See Jer_30:24; Lam_1:12; Lam_4:11. Cp. Exo_32:12.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou hast taken away all thy wrath,.... Or "gathered" (n) it; sin occasions wrath, and the people of God are as deserving of it as others; but the Lord has gathered it up, and poured it forth upon his Son, and their surety; hence nothing of this kind shall ever fall upon them, either here or hereafter; and it is taken away from them, so as to have no sense, apprehension, or conscience of it, which before the law had wrought in them, when pardon is applied unto them, which is what is here meant; see Isa 12:1,

thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger; the anger of God is very fierce against sin and sinners; it is poured forth like fire, and there is no abiding it; but, with respect to the Lord's people, it is pacified by the death of his Son; or he is pacified towards them for all that they have done, for the sake of his righteousness and sacrifice; and which appears to them when he manifests his love and pardoning grace to their souls; see Eze 16:63.

(n) "collegisti", Montanus, Gejerus, Michaelis.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thou hast taken away all thy wrath - That is, formerly; on the occasion referred to. Thou didst so deal with thy people as to make it evident that thou didst cherish no anger or displeasure against them.

Thou hast turned thyself ... - Margin, “thine anger from waxing hot.” Literally, Thou didst turn from the heat of thine anger. His indignation was withdrawn, and he was again at peace with them. It is this fact, drawn from the former history of the people, which constitutes the basis of the appeal which follows.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

All thy wrath; those calamities which were the effects of thy just wrath conceived against us.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 3. Thou hast taken away all thy wrath. Having removed the sin, the anger is removed also. How often did the longsuffering of God take away from Israel the punishments which had been justly laid upon them! How often also has the Lord's chastising hand been removed from us when our waywardness called for heavier strokes!

Thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. Even when judgments had been most severe, the Lord had in mercy stayed his hand. In mid volley he had restrained his thunder. When ready to destroy, he had averted his face from his purpose of judgment and allowed mercy to interpose. The book of Judges is full of illustrations of this, and the psalmist does well to quote them while he interceded. Is not our experience equally studded with instances in which judgment has been stayed and tenderness has ruled? What a difference between the fierce anger which is feared and deprecated here, and the speaking of peace which is foretold in verse 8. There are many changes in Christian experience, and therefore we must not despair when we are undergoing the drearier portion of the spiritual life, for soon, very soon, it may be transformed into gladness.

"The Lord can clear the darkest skies,

Can give us day for night.

Make drops of sacred sorrow rise

To rivers of delight."

Ver. 3. Thou hast taken away all thy wrath. Or gathered it; sin occasions wrath, and the people of God are as deserving of it as others; but the Lord has gathered it up, and poured it forth upon his Son, and their Surety; hence nothing of this kind shall ever fall upon them, either here or hereafter; and it is taken away from them, so as to have no sense, apprehension, or conscience of it, which before the law had wrought in them, when pardon is applied unto them, which is what is here meant. John Gill.

Ver. 3. Thou hast turned thyself. Here are six hasts drawing in the next turn, Ps 85:4. God hath, and therefore God will is a strong medium of hope, if not a demonstration of Scripture logic. See 2Co 1:10. John Trapp.

Ver. 3.

I. The language of penitence. It is implied here that

the wrath was,

(a) Great:

(b) Just thy wrath.

II. The language of faith.

(a) In the grace of pardon: Thou hast turned away

wrath. We could not, by anything we could do or

suffer.

(b) In the method of pardon: Turned away. Turned

it from us to our Surety.

III. The language of praise: Thou hastthou hast.

Psalms 85:4*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Taken away all thy wrath—Thou hast gathered in all thy wrath. It was an emanation from God, and, having accomplished its end, it is now recalled.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou hast taken away all thy wrath. Forgiveness of sins implies the cessation of wrath, though it does not necessarily imply the cessation of punishment. Thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. This expresses the meaning better than the marginal rendering.

Vers. 3-5. Incomplete redempt ions.

While thankfully acknowledging all that God has done for his people, the psalmist clearly sees that it was but the "fierceness" of God"s wrath from which he had turned, and that some of his wrath remained, seeing that the work of national recovery was incomplete, and heavy burdens still pressed on the people. Perowne recalls the circumstances of the exiles as Nehemiah found them. They were "in great affliction and reproach." "It was only in the midst of perpetual opposition and. discouragement that he was able to carry on his work. The bright prospect which was opening before the exiles had been quickly dashed. They had returned, indeed, but it was to a desert land and a forsaken city, whose wails were cast down, and her gates burned with fire; whilst jealous and hostile tribes were ever on the watch to assail and vex them. Hence it is that the entreaty for mercy follows so hard upon the acknowledgment that mercy has been vouchsafed." As a person might look, in a depressed mood, on the returned exiles, God"s redemption was incomplete. Their restoration to their own land had brought them apparently no rest, no consolation, no hope for the future.

I THERE IS A SENSE IN WHICH GOD"S REDEMPTIONS ARE NEVER COMPLETE. They are always redemptions from some calamities, not redemptions from all calamities. Every redemption is a beginning, holding within it the promise of something more that God is about to do. Open this fully out by showing that a spiritual redemption is to be followed by a bodily redemption. Christ wins the soul, and then proceeds to win the whole human sphere, and eventually all creation. The great redemption removes the soul penalties of sin; but it is not a perfect redemption until it has removed all the bodily penalties and disabilities of sin also. As a matter of Christian experience, we always feel, with the apostle, as if redemption were something yet to come. As we read our lives, they are still spheres for a divinely redemptive work. The full salvation "is ready to be revealed in the last time." Redemption thought of as complete checks a living dependence. Redemption thought of as incomplete keeps us in close reliance on the present and ever-working Redeemer.

II THERE IS A SENSE IN WHICH GOD"S REDEMPTIONS ARE EVER IN PROGRESS. They are only incomplete as the building at which the workmen are working. Those exiles would be comforted as they realized God with them, delivering and rescuing, and carrying, in practical detail, to its perfection his gracious redemptive thought. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

You have withdrawn all your wrath

God no longer punishing the Israelites is spoken of as if wrath were an object that Yahweh could take away from the Israelites. (See: Metaphor)

you have turned back from your hot anger

God no longer being angry with the Israelites is spoken of as if anger were a fire that God from which God turned away. (See: Metaphor)

God of our salvation

The abstract noun "salvation" can be stated as a verb. AT: "God who saves us" (See: Abstract Nouns)

let go of your displeasure with us

Asking God to stop being angry with the Israelites is spoken of as if displeasure were an object the writer wants God to let go of. (See: Metaphor)

Will you be angry with us forever? Will you remain angry throughout future generations?

The writer uses these questions to emphasize that he is requesting God to stop being angry with them. These rhetorical questions can be translated as a statement. AT: "Please do not stay angry at us forever." (See: Rhetorical Question)

translationWords

wrath

turn

anger

restore

God

save

eternity

generation

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.