Revive Us Again! (3)

Opening Prayer: Psalm 85.6, 7
Will You not revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
Show us Your mercy, LORD,
And grant us Your salvation.

Sing Psalm 85.4-9
(Lyons: O Worship the King)
Restore us, O God, renew us in peace,
and cause all Your wrath against us to cease.
Will You evermore all Your wrath to us show?
Revive us that we may Your joy again know.

Lord, show us Your love; restore us, we pray!
And help us to hear the words that You say.
Speak peace to Your people; in truth let us stand.
We fear You; let glory and grace fill our land.

Read Psalm 85.6, 7

Preparation
1. What are the psalmists seeking from the Lord?

2. What does that entail?

Meditation
The psalmists get to the point of their psalm: Revive us! God alone can revive His people. He has done so in the past, and He can do it again, whenever He chooses.

And the sons of Korah, looking around at what was happening in Israel in their day, believed the time was right for God to revive His people again; and we find them looking ahead to a coming revival and renewal in the salvation of the Lord.

Revival comes by the mercy of God (v. 7). Revival brings us a fuller and richer measure of our great salvation (v. 7). Consequently, revival leaves all who experience it rejoicing and giving thanks to the Lord (v. 6).

We cannot revive ourselves. We’re neither clever nor strong enough. Only God can revive us, and He promises to do so when His people seek Him in prayer (2 Chron. 7.14; Jer. 33.3). By looking ahead to the coming of revival, and all the blessings that entails, we can begin to know the joy of the Lord in anticipation. And that anticipation of joy should move us to seek the Lord in prayer, that He might revive us again.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
It is true. “We cannot revive ourselves.” But what we can do is humble ourselves and turn from our wicked way (2 Chron. 7.14).

Revival will never happen until we are repentant. Exceedingly so. A dear friend of mine used to pray, “Lord, help me to see myself (and my sin), and then help me to see Jesus!” We must have hearts that are able to recognize our own shortcomings and then look to Jesus “the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12.2).

The sons of Korah used the word “again” which tells us they had been through this before. They had experienced the faithfulness of God, and they longed to be a part of that again. “Will You not revive us again?” (Ps. 85.6)

And because they had known His reviving Spirit before, they can anticipate their own rejoicing (v. 6).

These people were in touch with their own neediness, therefore they cried out to Him:
“Show us Your mercy, LORD, and grant us Your salvation” (Ps. 85.7).

“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD;
Lord hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with You,
that You may be feared” (Ps. 130.1-4).

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1.8, 9).

Now we can look ahead, and plead with the LORD, to revive us. Again!

Reflection
1. What is revival? What would revival look like?

2. Only God can bring revival. Does this mean we have no role in this matter? Explain.

3. How should seeking the Lord for revival feature in your prayer life?

Let us therefore learn, that although God may not immediately grant us manifest tokens of his returning favor, yet we must not cease to persevere in earnest prayer. If it is objected, that then God has promised in vain that his anger would be of short duration, I answer, that if we entertain suitable views of our own sins, his anger will assuredly appear to be always of short continuance; and if we call to remembrance the everlasting course of his mercy, we will confess that his anger endures but for a moment. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on the Psalm 85.5-8

Closing Prayer: Psalm 85.10-13
How do you need to know the goodness of the Lord in the day ahead? Pray about each activity before you today. Commit it to the Lord, and ask Him to give you grace to help in your time of need.

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).

If you find Scriptorium helpful in your walk with the Lord, please seek the Lord, asking Him whether you should contribute to the support of this daily ministry with your financial gifts. As the Lord leads, you can use the Contribute button at the website to give with a credit card or through PayPal, or you can send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 360 Zephyr Road, Williston, VT 05495.

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.