LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
The psalm is of the sons of Korah, singers serving in Israel's priestly tribe. It was written during or after the captivity of the children of Israel. It belongs to the post-exilic setting of the returning Jews, whose psalms express joy, sorrow, and anxiety and refer to the rebuilding and dedication of the second temple and the triumphs associated with it.
If it was written before the captivity, it speaks prophetically of the deliverance from captivity. The verse declares the Lord's favor toward His land and Israel in bringing Jacob back from Babylonian captivity to the Holy Land. The return was God's work, not the work of Cyrus, Zerubbabel, Ezra, or other human leaders. It stands as a psalm of deliverance joined to Psalm 126.
It introduces remembrance of God's goodness in forgiving iniquity, covering sin, and turning aside deserved wrath and anger, leading to revival that makes God's people rejoice, mercy, and salvation. The return from Babylon was both a past deliverance and a picture of God's greater deliverance of His people from sin. Its promises of God's favor and deliverance give assurance in present crisis, bringing hope and light amid uncertainty that God's institution and cause will be saved from disgrace, as when claimed during the financial crisis facing the mission publishing house in Christiania. Together with Psalms 84, 86, and 87, it is preeminently worthy of memorizing.
The psalm is of the sons of Korah, singers serving in Israel's priestly tribe. It was written during or after the captivity of the children of Israel. It belongs to the post-exilic setting of the returning Jews, whose psalms express joy, sorrow, and anxiety and refer to the rebuilding and dedication of the second temple and the triumphs associated with it.
If it was written before the captivity, it speaks prophetically of the deliverance from captivity. The verse declares the Lord's favor toward His land and Israel in bringing Jacob back from Babylonian captivity to the Holy Land. The return was God's work, not the work of Cyrus, Zerubbabel, Ezra, or other human leaders. It stands as a psalm of deliverance joined to Psalm 126.
It introduces remembrance of God's goodness in forgiving iniquity, covering sin, and turning aside deserved wrath and anger, leading to revival that makes God's people rejoice, mercy, and salvation. The return from Babylon was both a past deliverance and a picture of God's greater deliverance of His people from sin. Its promises of God's favor and deliverance give assurance in present crisis, bringing hope and light amid uncertainty that God's institution and cause will be saved from disgrace, as when claimed during the financial crisis facing the mission publishing house in Christiania. Together with Psalms 84, 86, and 87, it is preeminently worthy of memorizing.