Revive Us Again! (7)

Opening Prayer: Psalm 85.4-9
Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your anger toward us to cease.
Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
Will You not revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
Show us Your mercy, LORD,
And grant us Your salvation.
I will hear what God the LORD will speak,
For He will speak peace
To His people and to His saints;
But let them not turn back to folly.
Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
That glory may dwell in our land.

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; meditate on verses 8 and 9.

Preparation
1. To what were the psalmists resolved to be attentive?

2. What were they hoping for from the Lord?

Meditation
Look around – at the state of the world, our culture and society, and our churches (Ps. 85.1-3). We need revival!

Look back – to times in the past when God has powerfully moved and graciously revived His Church and awakened the lost world (vv. 1, 2). We need such revival again today!

Look up – repenting of your sins and pleading with God to restore and revive you and all His people (vv. 1.4-7). Call on the Lord to revive you today!

Look ahead – to the promised coming of the Kingdom of God and the goodness of God that comes with it (vv. 9, 10-13). Only God can revive us like this. Pray that He will!

Looking good – that is, if you’re seeking the Lord for revival, repenting of all known sin, following in the footsteps of Jesus, and seeking more God’s of                  salvation and glory in everything you do (vv. 6, 7, 9-13). Believe that God can send revival, and seek it earnestly day by day!

This much is certain: If we’re not looking for revival, and seeking it diligently before the Lord in prayer, revival will not occur. Few things could be more important today than for every believer to be looking for revival.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
 “…but let them not turn back to folly” (Ps. 85.8).

God’s people were sincere, it seemed, when they declared that they would serve the LORD.
Joshua reminded them to “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel.” And the people replied, “The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!” (Josh. 24.23, 24).

But then comes the book of Judges, and by chapter 2 God had to send His Angel to say to them, “But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?” (Jdgs. 2.2) Things were already falling apart.

As Yeats wrote in his poem, The Second Coming,
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Such an apt description of the children of Israel.

But does it also describe us?
Do we, too, lack conviction to follow God’s laws?
Have we turned back to folly?
Are we silent in the face of our enemies’ passionate intensity to destroy us and anything that has to do with Jesus?
Are we seeking revival for ourselves and for the Church?

We must pray for revival.
But first we must revive our own love for God’s Law and all His Word.
And we must have passionate intensity to love and follow Jesus to the end. (Ps. 119.112)

“If we’re not looking for revival, and seeking it diligently before the Lord in prayer, revival will not occur. Few things could be more important today than for every believer to be looking for revival.”

Reflection
1. Will you pray for revival? Daily?

2. Why do we as Christians need to look up, back, ahead, and around, all at the same time?

3. Whom will you encourage to see the Lord for revival this week?

He encourages both himself and other servants of God in the hope, that although to outward appearance God was far off from his people, yet deliverance was near at hand; because it is certain, that God secretly regards those whom he seems openly to neglect. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Psalm 85.9

Closing Prayer: Psalm 85.10-13
Thank God for Jesus, for the Gospel, and for your calling to be a witness for Christ. Ask Him to guide you along the path of righteousness this day, that you might be revived and know more of the Lord’s goodness.

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

Our book, Restore Us!, gives you the why, the how, and the resources to begin praying daily for revival. Order your free copy by clicking here.

You can listen to a summary of last week’s study by going to our website, www.ailbe.org, and clicking the Scriptorium tab for Sunday. For an excellent explanation of our journey in the Lord, and how to make the most of it, write to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and I’ll send you a copy of Jonathan Edwards’ great sermon, “The Christian Pilgrim.”

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.