Psalms 85:1-13

This Ps. looks back upon the mercy which God has shown to His people in bringing them back from captivity (Psalms 85:1), entreats Him to remove the displeasure that has again fallen on them, and to deliver them f6rom present troubles (Psalms 85:4), and ends with a hopeful picture of the blessings that will follow the answering of the prayer (Psalms 85:8). It evidently belongs to a time soon after the return from the Babylonian exile—either the days of discouragement before the building of the second Temple (Ezra 4:4; Ezra 4:24; Haggai 1 Zechariah 1:12), or the period of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:3). The Ps. is one of those for Christmas Day.