Lord, Revive My Life!

In the Christian life…there are GOOD days & BAD, or EASY & DIFFICULT days…JOY & SORROW…HILLS & VALLEYS…SUNSHINE & RAIN…

“Life Suckers…” things that can suck the life right out of you…its could be illnesses, circumstances robbing you of joy…leaving you drained and listless…emotionally, physically and spiritually spent.

The writer of Psalm 119 has walked many times through the valley of “affliction.”

He has faced persecution … opposition…and struggle with those who were “faithless.”

But, along the way…he had learned that only God can give LIFE and REVIVE LIFE.

It’s been a while since we looked at a stanza in Psalm 119…so let’s review some basic ESSENTIALS:

Longest song in the book of songs…Tehillim, which means “praise songs” in Hebrew.

Generally believed David penned the psalm…

176 verses… 22 stanzas…8 verses each…Each stanza titled by a Hebrew letter… “resh” v.153-160…

Almost all refer to God’s Word…

NOTE: He has CONFIDENCE in God’s Word to meet the challenges he was facing.

In this stanza…the psalm is coming to an end…there is a greater sense of urgency.

He is still suffering affliction…there in the opening of words of the stanza…(unknown affliction)

This world can be cruel & difficult…a weight so heavy it is almost crushing.

What will you face in 2025? Challenges, Afflictions…Students, Parents, Employees…

We also see repeated: 3x “Give me life according to . . . (v.154, 156, 159). NKJ “Revive me”

The only stanza where it’s repeated 3x.

His life was on the line here…he needed to be revived.

Good News: God is a God who GIVES life and REVIVES life and He is always ready to hear our cries!

Again…we are not told what affliction it was…Was he at the point of death? Maybe.

For whatever reason…his cry to God was to set him back on his feet again.

John 16:33 “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart: I have overcome the world.”

2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

There will be times when your life is on the line. But God is able to revive you.

So when I need God to REVIVE me what do I need? Facing life’s difficulties takes the life out of me?

Let’s look at the stanza together.

1. We Need a Right PERSPECTIVE of God…Psalm 119:153-154

Psalm 119:153–154

153 Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law. 154 Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to your promise!

So when facing difficulty…our first recourse is usually taking matters into our own hands to resolve.

We are a “I will fix it” type of people. “I can handle it on my own.”

Here is the problem with that…the more that I can do for myself the less my need for God.

Look what the psalmist says…desperate for God’s help…

5 imperatives in the stanza Look…Deliver…Plead…Redeem…and Revive (ESV, “give me life”).

“Look on my affliction…”consider/see what I am going through…Deliver me…”

The first thing from this that I would point out is the psalmists sole DEPENDENCE on God.

He knows ONLY God can deliver him. “If God will see…He will deliver.”

He is certain God is on his side and that God will hear his prayer.

I need You Lord to be my ADVOCATE!…to stand before my accusers.

I need you to defend me. God has promised to be our Advocate…Who comes to our aid/pleads our case to a judge…offer support, strength, and counsel and intercede for us when necessary.

Jesus is an advocate for those who put their trust in Him…See 1 John 2:1

The Holy Spirit is also an advocate (John 14:16, 26, 15:26 16:7)

That’s what faith is…Hebrews 11:1 the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen He was confident in the faithfulness of God to care for those who live according to tHis Word.

Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry.”

This is not manipulating God. “Look at me! Look at what I do for You…You owe me.”

***ONLY GOD CAN DEFEND ME***

2. Have a Right Perspective of SALVATION…Psalm 119:155

Psalm 119:155

155 Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.

It seems like an abrupt change.

Salvation is not a popular topic today.

Nor was it in the psalmists day. Your average person does not believe they need to be saved from anything.

This goes back to #1 their perspective of God. (If there is no need to be saved = No need for God)

They do not seek God’s Word because they do not believe they need God’s Word.

They have no time or desire for God’s Word…it’s of no interest…so they ignore His Word

The psalmist personally knows the salvation of the Lord, His concern for the righteous, His advocacy for the defenceless, His redemption, His reviving of life.

But sadly, for the wicked “salvation is far” away, nowhere in sight.

He is not saying they can’t be saved…they are just far away from salvation.

If you do not believe in God…I urge you today to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ today

Psalm 95:7-8 Today if you hear His voice do not harden your heart…

Isaiah 55:6 “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.”

2 Corinthians 6:2 “Behold now is the day of salvation.”

Salvation is ONLY found in the Word of God. So if I reject what the Bible says…I am far from salvation

2 Timothy 3:15 …the sacred writings…are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

3. REMEMBER the Mercy of God…

Psalm 119:156 “Great is Your mercy, O LORD; give me life according to Your rules.”

Psalm 119:156

“Great is your mercy, O Lord; give me life according to your rules.

“mercy” = is when God withholds back the punishment we deserve…God’s compassion

His appeal is grounded in the compassion of God.

Psalm 103:13 “As a father shows compassion to His children so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him

This is our God…probably the most wonderful things we can know about God.

Exodus 34:6

So the psalmist says: based on Your mercy…revive me…

4. KEEP to the Word No Matter What…

Psalm 119:157

Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I do not swerve from your testimonies.

He has repeatedly referred to the persecutors through the entire psalm.

But here he describes the reality and severity of the opposition. We are not talking just a few here…many We are not talking little interpersonal disagreements here either. So many against him…he could not control what was happening to him But he could determine how he’d RESPOND. He would not allow his opponents to get him off course…he refused to stop…refused to turn around or detour from his path. Ex. Daniel.

When you experience challenges/hardship adversity…STAY the course…KEEP to God’s word

5. KNOW That Sin is SERIOUS…

Psalm 119:158

“I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.

At first glance this verse seems harsh, unloving and certainly not Christ like.

Notice what he says though…I look at the faithless…

WHO are the faithless?

Those who reject God & His Word…

Walk away from God…ignore…show blatant disregard for Him.

Ex. Personally…I am disgusted with the decisions our government has made when it comes to abortion and euthanasia…a blatant disregard for the sanctity of life. So much so that it angers me. But does that mean I hate them?

No. I look at the faithless with disgust. WHY? Because they do not keep Your commands.

The psalmist demonstrates his godly character and zeal for God’s Word.

It grieved him by the way the faithless lived…Not so much about their treatment of him personally…he was more concerned for their rebellion towards God.

6. Have a Right Perspective of God’s Word…Psalm 119:159-160

Psalm 119:159

Consider how I love your precepts! Give me life according to your steadfast love.

Again the psalmist says: Look…Consider…

In v.153 he said “Look on my affliction…here he says “Look on my affection for You.”

v.159 “Consider (look) how I love Your precepts! Give me life according to Your steadfast Love.”

Obvious through the entire psalm…the psalmist loves God’s Word…it is his consuming passion

1) God’s Word should be Loved…Psalm 119:159

He loves the Word of God because he knows he is loved by the God of the Word.

He has experienced the personal love of God and he loves God and His Word.

The Hebrew word “hesed” is one of the most precious and theologically rich words in all of the Bible.

So with confidence he can ask for a third time, “Lord, give me life.” Lord, “revive me” (NASB). To love God is to love His Word. It is not possible to do one without the other. Do you love the Word of God? Reading it, hearing it, studying it, memorizing it, believing it? Obeying it. Most important is to LOVE The Word of God…if you love it you will obey it.

“Someone can live the Word of God…without loving it. You can learn the Word of God without loving it.

But you cannot love the word without learning it and living it.”

This is the third time he used the phrase “Give me life…according to your steadfast love.” (hesed)

Psalm 119 celebrates the absolute and total sufficiency of Scripture.

But more than the word of God you need the God of the Word.

“The Bible is not a math book full of formulas that you must figure out in order to master life. It is a love story where God is the lover and you…are the beloved.”

ILLUST: Imagine a man at a Signpost…reading…noting the directions carefully…studies it, investigates, measures it, photographs it…selfie, walks around it, sets up a tent beside it…to be close to it…but makes no progress whatsoever. After all it is only a sign post…infatuated with the sign,

Instead of following its direction…you’d call that man a fool.

The inspired Word of God POINTS us to the incarnate Word of God…Jesus Christ.

When we get Him…revival begins in the human heart.

The Bible is indispensable in pointing the way…but it itself…is not the Way.

Jesus is the way…the only way.

2) God’s Word is True… Psalm 119:160

Psalm 119:160

“The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.”

Look how he wraps up the stanza…

God’s Word does not contain truth…it is truth in its entirety.

His point is emphatic…the entirety of Scripture…in its totality…without exception is true.

This is a powerful statement of the Bible’s complete and total truthfulness.

It is difficult to imagine how the psalmist could have said it any stronger.

The Message puts it like this, “Your words all add up to the sum total: Truth.”

That means…Every Precept is true…Every Principle is true…Every Prophecy is true…Every Proverb is true…Every Promise is true…

3) God’s Word will endure forever… 119:160

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever.”(ESV).

The enduring nature of the infallible, inerrant Word of God.

“The entirety of your Word is truth, each of the Lord’s righteous judgments endures forever.”

God is forever…His Word is truth.

Therefore God’s Word is truth forever.

Not many things last forever.

Praise God, that is not true of His Word! You can depend on it.

PERSONAL REFLECTION & ACTION…

Am I more dependent upon God or on myself?

What steps can I take to love/trust God’s Word more?

When “Life Suckers” arise…how can I remember to trust His Word?

Memorize one (or all) the following verses: Isaiah 40:8; John 16:33; 1 John 2:1; Psalm 103:13; Psalm 119:159-160