“Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 85:4 Mean?
This prayer combines two requests: "Turn us" and "cause thine anger toward us to cease." The first addresses the people's condition (they need to be redirected), the second addresses God's disposition (His anger needs to stop). Both must change for restoration to happen — the people must turn and God's anger must end.
The address "God of our salvation" is strategically placed. In the same breath that acknowledges God's anger, the psalmist reminds God of His identity: You are the God who saves us. Your defining characteristic isn't anger — it's salvation. The name is both an appeal and a reminder.
The word "turn" (shuv) is the Hebrew word for repentance — to return, to come back, to reverse direction. But the psalmist asks God to do the turning. "Turn us" — we can't turn ourselves. Repentance isn't something we achieve; it's something God enables.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Can you repent on your own, or do you need God's help to turn?
- 2.What's the difference between trying to change yourself and asking God to turn you?
- 3.How does calling God 'the God of our salvation' while experiencing His anger change the dynamic?
- 4.What direction do you need God to turn you toward right now?
Devotional
"Turn us." Two words that contain the most important theological truth about repentance: you can't do it alone. The psalmist doesn't say "we will turn." He says "turn us." The act of returning to God requires God's participation. You can't repent without the help of the One you're repenting toward.
This is a hard truth for self-reliant people. You want to fix your own life, redirect your own path, clean up your own mess. But the psalm says: no. You need God to turn you. Repentance is a cooperative act between a person who wants to change direction and a God who enables the turn.
The paired request — turn us and stop being angry — reveals the two-sided nature of restoration. You need to change, and God needs to relent. If you turn but God stays angry, restoration doesn't happen. If God relents but you don't turn, nothing changes. Both movements are necessary.
The name "God of our salvation" in the middle of a prayer about anger is brilliant. It's reminding God — and the psalmist himself — who God fundamentally is. Not the God of anger. The God of salvation. Anger is what He does sometimes. Salvation is who He is always.
What do you need God to turn in you? And what identity of God's do you need to remind yourself of in the middle of your difficulty?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Turn us, O God of our salvation,.... Who appointed it in his purposes, contrived it in council, secured it in covenant,…
Turn us, O God of our salvation - The God from whom salvation must come, and on whom we are dependent for it. The prayer…
The church, in affliction and distress, is here, by direction from God, making her application to God. So ready is God…
Yet in spite of forgiveness and restoration, much is still lacking. Oh that God would wholly withdraw His wrath, and…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture