Revive Us Again! (1)

Opening Prayer: Psalm 85.1-3
LORD, You have been favorable to Your land;
You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.
You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people;
You have covered all their sin.
Selah
You have taken away all Your wrath;
You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.

Sing Psalm 85.1-3
(Lyons: O Worship the King)
O Lord, You Your favor showed to Your land;
Your people You saved by Your mighty hand.
Their sins You forgave, all Your wrath You withdrew;
You turned back the anger which to them was due.

Read Psalm 85, meditate on verses 1-3

Preparation
1. To what are the psalmists looking back in this psalm?

2. What are they remembering about what God has done?

Meditation
Everyone lives from within a certain vantage point on life. Some folks are oriented to futures constructed out of little more than wishful thinking. Others are stuck in the past, and live lives of resentment, insecurity, and spite. Still others think only about the present; they’ve learned nothing from the past and they don’t care about tomorrow. Live for the day!

All these vantage points find expression in Psalm 85, but the first word of the psalm (not counting the superscription) points to the most important vantage point of all: “LORD”

As Christians we should be constantly looking up, looking to Jesus, seated in glory (Col. 3.1-3), looking beyond the veil of time and space into the unseen/hoped-for things that are the essence of faith (Heb. 11.1), and looking into the face of Jesus for the glory of God that radiates there (2 Cor. 4.6).

The psalmists, at the same time they’re looking up, are also looking back, remembering the good work God has done for His underserving and unreliable people in the past. He has shown them His favor (v. 1), though they were often unbelieving and disobedient. He delivered them from Egypt, for they had not strength to do so themselves. He forgave their sins (v. 2) and established a system of worship to enable them to deal with their sins regularly. And He set His love upon them (v. 3) and blessed them as a people in the land which He promised to give their forebears.

Looking up to God naturally leads us to look back to all the many ways He has been good to us in the past. Look up and look back, and you’ll be ready to look ahead and look around as you journey with the Lord each day.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Imagine for a moment, that you have greatly angered someone. And that hot displeasure toward you is deserved. There is an overwhelming and seemingly unrepairable rift between you. Hope for resolution is fading.

And then suddenly, your heartfelt and sincere apology is accepted, and peace is restored.

The people written about in Psalm 85 experienced an even better forgiveness from the LORD.
Let’s rehearse God’s part in this stunning and comforting transaction. The psalmists pray:
You have been favorable to Your land.
You have brought back the captivity.
You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people.
You have covered all their sin.
You have taken away all Your wrath.
You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger. (Ps. 85.1-3)

Keep in mind that they are writing about the LORD, our God. The supreme Ruler of the Cosmos. The Creator of everything seen and unseen. The Mighty God. The Everlasting Father. King of kings. LORD of lords. “Let the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge” (Ps. 50.6).

And this psalm of forgiveness, hope, and restoration is not just about people of long ago, it is also about us.
The LORD: is favorable toward us, brings us out of captivity to sin, forgives us, covers over our sins, takes away His wrath from us, and turns away from His fierce anger toward us. All because of Jesus (Ps. 85.1-3).

Paul captures the essence of a correct vantage point in Galatians 2.20:
“I have been crucified with Christ;
it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me; and
the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by faith in the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Look at that love, forgiveness, and restoration!
Then “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3.14).

Reflection
1. What do we mean by the Christian’s “vantage point” on life? Why are all these different “looks” important?

2. How can you see that what the psalmists wrote in verses 1-3 applies to us as well as to Israel?

3. What should be our response as we reflect on all God’s work for us?

With this psalm, the people prayed for a revival of their spirits and a renewal in their land. The ultimate fulfillment of their prayer would be in the coming glorious kingdom of the Savior Jesus. Earl Radmacher (1931-2014), NKJV Study Bible Notes on Psalm 85

Closing Prayer: Psalm 85.10-13
Pray today, and pray every day, that God will reach down to us from heaven to forgive our sins, revive and restore us, and awaken the world to the Good News of Jesus.

Sing Psalm 85.10-13
(Lyons: O Worship the King)
In Jesus God’s grace and truth are combined;
both goodness and peace in Him do we find.
Truth springs from the earth as He walks in our midst,
and righteousness flows from the heav’ns as a gift.

The Lord by His grace will give what is good;
our land will produce abundance of food.
And righteousness will go before the Lord’s face,
and make of His footsteps a way in this place.

T. M. and Susie Moore

You can listen to our summary of last week’s study by clicking here. Psalm 85 is an exercise in living from the Christian vantage point on life. For more about that vantage point, and how to live it, order a free copy of our book, Vantage Point (click here).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.