Charles Spurgeon

You showed favor to Your land, O LORD; You restored Jacob from captivity.

“Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land. The self existent, all sufficient Jehovah is addressed: by that name he revealed himself to Moses when his people were in bondage, by that name he is here pleaded with.”

You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah

“IN THESE two texts we have man's covering, which is worthless and culpable, and God's covering, which is profitable, and worthy of all acceptation.”

You withheld all Your fury; You turned from Your burning anger.

“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!”

Restore us, O God of our salvation, and put away Your displeasure toward us.

“Turn us, O God of our salvation. This was the main business. Could the erring tribes be rendered penitent all would be well.”

Will You be angry with us forever? Will You draw out Your anger to all generations?

“Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? See how the psalmist makes bold to plead. We are in time as yet and not in eternity, and does not time come to an end, and therefore thy wrath!”

Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?

“BRETHREN, if you will pray this prayer, it will be better than my preaching from it! And my only motive in preaching from it is that you may pray it.”

Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?

“Wilt thou not revive us again? Hope here grows almost confident. She feels sure that the Lord will return in all his power to save.”

I will listen to what God the LORD will say; for He will surely speak peace to His people and His saints; He will not let them return to folly.

“I will hear what God the Lord will speak. When we believe that God hears us, it is but natural that we should be eager to hear him.”

Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land.

“Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him. Faith knows that a saving God is always near at hand, but only (for such is the true rendering) to those who fear the Lord, and worship him with holy awe.”

Loving devotion and faithfulness have joined together; righteousness and peace have kissed.

“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.”

Faithfulness sprouts from the earth, and righteousness looks 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…”

The LORD will indeed provide what is good, and our land will yield its increase.

“Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good. Being himself pure goodness, he will readily return from his wrath, and deal out good things to his repenting people.”

Righteousness will go before Him to prepare the way for His steps.

“Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps. God's march of right will leave a track wherein his people will joyfully follow.”

Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

“Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me. In condescension to my littleness, and in pity to my weakness, "bow down thine ear, O Lord."”

Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I call to You all day long.

“Be merciful unto me, O Lord. The best of men need mercy, and appeal to mercy, yea to nothing else but mercy; they need it for themselves, and crave it eagerly of their God as a personal requisite. For I cry unto thee daily.”

Bring joy to Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

“Rejoice the soul of thy servant. Make my heart glad, O my Maker, for I count it my honour to call myself again and again thy servant, and I reckon thy favour to be all the wages I could desire.”

For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.

“For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive. Good at giving and forgiving; supplying us with his good, and removing our evil.”

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and attend to my plea for mercy.

“Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer. Even the glory which his spirit had beheld did not withdraw him from his prayer, but rather urged him to be more fervent in it; hence he implores the Lord to hear his requests.”

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and attend to my plea for mercy. In the day of my distress I call on You, because You answer me.

“WHEN I was reading this eighty-sixth Psalm, I reminded you that the title of it is "A prayer of David." It is rightly named "A prayer," for it is very especially filled with supplication.”

In the day of my distress I call on You, because You answer me.

“In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me. A pious resolve backed by a judicious reason.”

O Lord, there is none like You among the gods, nor any works like Yours.

“Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord. There are gods by delegated office, such as kings and magistrates, but they are as nothing in the presence of Jehovah; there are also gods by the nomination of superstition, but these are vanity…”

All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.

“All nations whom thou hast made, and these include all mankind, since they all come of the first Adam—thy creature, and their lives are all distinct creations of thine omnipotence.”

For You are great and perform wonders; You alone are God.

“For thou art great. He had before said, "thou art good"; it is a grand thing when greatness and goodness are united; it is only in the Divine Being that either of them exists absolutely, and essentially.”

Teach me Your way, O LORD, that I may walk in Your truth. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.

“Teach me thy way, O Lord. Instruct me thus at all times, let me live in thy school; but teach me now especially since I am in trouble and perplexity.”

I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your name forever.

“I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart. When my heart is one, I will give thee all of it.”