The Patriotic Prayer

For the last thee weeks we have been going through out series on Prayer.

And since we just celebrated the 4th of July… I felt it necessary to add to our series on Prayer - The Patriotic Prayer...

So if you will turn in your Bibles to Ps. 85

The 85th Psalm is often a resource for revival preaching. But often overlooked is the fact that, as a prayer song, it is patriotic in nature.

Many people may not know what Revival is...

Revival refers to a spiritual reawakening from a state of dormancy or stagnation in the life of a believer. It encompasses the resurfacing of a love for God, an appreciation of God’s holiness, a passion for His Word and His church, a convicting awareness of personal and corporate sin, a spirit of humility, and a desire for repentance and growth in righteousness.

America has not had a God given revival that has touched this land from sea to shining sea an on into other nations since The Great Welsh Revival of 1905 so it has been well over 100 years since this great land of ours has seen a revival of the magnitude of that the Great American Revival experienced from 1905-1907.

We can easily say that America is in desperate need of Revival.

So in this Ps. we are about to read we see that the song writer, writes a prayer song that is patriotic in nature.

The meaning of Patriotism - Love of and devotion to one's country.

Let us read this Ps. together.

Psalm 85:1–13 NKJV

1 Lord, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob. 2 You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin. Selah 3 You have taken away all Your wrath; You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger. 4 Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease. 5 Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? 6 Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? 7 Show us Your mercy, Lord, And grant us Your salvation. 8 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. 9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land. 10 Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. 11 Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven. 12 Yes, the Lord will give what is good; And our land will yield its increase. 13 Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway.

Notice verse 1 -

Psalm 85:1 NKJV

1 Lord, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.

And verse 12 -

Psalm 85:12 NKJV

12 Yes, the Lord will give what is good; And our land will yield its increase.

But especially notice verse 9 -

Psalm 85:9 NKJV

9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land.

The Psalmist is talking about his homeland.

He pleads for Divine favor and genuine revival, but the point that we must be careful not to miss is this: he was asking for revival for his land, for his country.

We often think of the 85th Psalm as applicable to individual or church revival, and it is, but only secondarily. Primarily it was written to express a desire for national revival.

This patriotic prayer song encompasses at least three precepts for national revival:

1. Thanksgiving - Verses 1-3

2. Turning - Verses 4-8

3. Truth - Verses 9-13

1. Today we pause to thank God for His blessings on America.

God is by and large the primary reason America is such a great nation, enjoying the tremendous liberties we value. Sure we’re thankful for the founding fathers and the thousands upon thousands of patriots who have sacrificed to make this land free and prosperous and second to none in liberty - but don’t forget the original instigator of liberty is the Lord Himself!

"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Corinthians 3:17)

2 Corinthians 3:17 NKJV

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

The patriot who wrote this Psalm (perhaps David) realized, "thou hast been favorable unto thy land". (verse one) Surely God has been favorable to America as well.

The holiday of Independence Day in the United States which we observed yesterday, should be a time of thanksgiving to God. We have a national Thanksgiving holiday in November and that is appropriate. But we can’t thank God too much!

In verse 2 the Psalmist talks about forgiveness and sins covered. He highlights God withholding His wrath on his country in verse 3. These are wonderful blessings to be thankful for if you are somehow unable to think of things to be thankful for...

America as a whole has a lot to be forgiven for.

We deserve His wrath, yet God, I believe has also turned from the fierceness of His anger toward us. God’s patient love and slowness to wrath should not cause us to think that God does not care about our immoral acts against Him. Because if gone unrepentant we will face the judgments of God and a time of reckoning will come.

In the mean time we can be thankful that God has not bring the fire of His judgment upon us. However we should not waste anymore time delaying in crying out to God, as we continue to look at this Ps. we see the Psalmist move from being thankful to crying out in repentance.

His awareness that his nation’s blessings are a gift from God causes him to cry out in repentance - which is the second criteria for revival, personal or national.

2. America Today Needs to Turn Towards God to Be Restored.

The NKJV in V. 4 says Restore Us, but it is best translated in the KJV with the words "Turn us", he says in verse 4. The Hebrew word literally means "turn back". "Turn us back to you God", was the prayer of this patriotic penitent singer.

"Revive us" again - verse 6. The use of the word "again" also indicates a previous state of blessing and closeness with God that needs to be recovered. "Help us get back to where we once were as a nation", is his plea.

"Shew us thy mercy" - verse 7a. God has been merciful to our nation.

Since the 1973 Supreme Court decision we have been legally allowing millions of innocent pre-born babies to be slaughtered through abortion. We deserve to be judged as a nation for this horrible atrocity, a crime that is just as bad as what Hitler or Stalin did in their attempts to annihilate Jews or Christians. And if those of us who know the truth about this issue ever stop speaking out against it I fear God’s hand of mercy will be lifted. And in fact, His hand of mercy may be slowing moving away from us even now in our present culture climate that we are witnessing today.

"Grant us thy salvation" - verse 7b. We will not be saved by our military might; neither by our technological genius; nor by our great prosperity and free enterprise - as wonderful as these things are.

God is the source of our Salvation...

"Salvation is of the Lord." (Jonah 2:9)

Jonah 2:9 NKJV

9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”

A proper way to celebrate our independence is to pray with the Psalmist that God will help our nation turn from the things that displease Him.

It begins on an individual level.

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (Galatians 5:1)

Galatians 5:1 NKJV

1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

The legalists among the Galatian churches were trying to get the believers there to add steps to the salvation process which is "by faith". Paul reminded them that they were already free in Christ without law keeping.

But Paul also warned in Galatians 5:13 - "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another."

Galatians 5:13 NKJV

13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Here’s the deal. We are free in Christ, but not free to do anything we want - that’s not liberty - that’s license - and God doesn’t promote licenseship.

If you have been doing what you want to do and not doing what God wants you to do you need to pray with the Psalmist "turn us". "Turn us back to doing what you want us to do God."

That’s what American believers should be praying!

3. Revival and patriotism not only have to do with thanksgiving and turning, they also have to do with the truth.

3. America Needs Truth to Lead the Way.

The Psalmist mentions truth in verses 10 and 11.

"Mercy and truth are met together". (verse 10) Thank God for His mercy on our land - but mercy never comes at the cost of truth. Liberty has a cost, but it is not selling out the truth.

We must continue to be a nation and a people that stand for truth.

"Truth shall spring out of the earth". (verse 11) When we practice thanksgiving and turning, we will have a readier grasp of God’s truth. It’s difficult to see the truth when your heart is dirty and you’re fighting the pangs of a guilty conscience.

In the movie "Insomnia", actor Al Pacino plays the role of a Los Angeles detective who goes to Alaska to help solve a difficult homicide. The entire time he is there he suffers from insomnia. There is a hint at first that his inability to sleep is caused by the nearly 24 hours per day of sunlight being experienced in that part of Alaska at the time.

But as the plot progresses we see it more his conscience rather than the light that is keeping him awake. Years earlier he had falsified evidence to convict a criminal he knew was guilty of a heinous crime. His indiscretion is about to come to light through an Internal Affairs investigation. He tries his best to cover up. But as is often the case, the more he tries to cover up, the bigger the mess gets.

"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whose confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."

(Proverbs 28:13)

Proverbs 28:13 NKJV

13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

Mercy comes when man accepts the truth about himself and his sin.

Mercy comes to a nation from a revival of the truth as well.

Will you come to God today in truthfulness about yourself?

Will you come to Him and ask Him to use you to stand for the truth in our nation?

Just so you know what TRUTH is .... IT IS GOD’s HOLY WORD

The experience of revival in our land will begin one person at a time. Let it begin with you!