A Prayer for Revival

Psalm 85 is a prayer for national revival. The setting is probably post exilic. After being in bondage to the Babylonians and Persians the Lord graciously allowed His people to return to Jerusalem. When we read the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we see that after they returned there was still a lot of spiritual work that needed to occur in God’s people. This Psalm appears to be a prayer for a spiritual revival among God’s people.

For the believer it’s not enough that we live in a prosperous land. We want to see righteousness fill our nation. We know that riches profit not in the day of wrath. Therefore, we desire more than a good economy and an abundant harvest. We desire spiritual fruit. We want to see the hand of God move in His people.

This Psalm reminds us that we should pray for revival. We’re going to outline this Psalm as follows:

1. Praise for the past (1-3).

2. Questions for the present (4-7).

3. Hope for the future (8-13).

1. Praise for the past (1-3).

A. God restored His people (1).

This is a God centered prayer. In verses 1-3 we see all that God has done. Notice:

You brought us back

You forgave our sin

You have taken away all Thy wrath

It’s important that we recognize that God is the One who has been active among us. He is the source of all blessing. The self-made man will seldom praise God. The humble person will look back at accomplishments and deliverance praising God for all He has done.

The people of God had been deported. They had been taken captive to Babylon. When the Persian Empire defeated the Babylonians, they inherited their land and their slaves. God moved on the heart of the King of Persia to let Israel return. Jerusalem was once again filled with Jewish people.

The Psalmist didn’t praise Cyrus for this.

He didn’t praise the Jewish people.

He didn’t praise fate.

He praised God.

God could have forgiven the Jews but not restored them. God’s goodness overflowed to the people. How often do we think of all the wonderful blessings God has restored to us? I know that we have heaven waiting on us, but God has been so good to us in this world.

He restores marriages.

He restores fortunes.

He restores our children.

God hasn’t just fed us. We have baskets of food left over. Look back at your life and think of all the things you should have forfeited because of:

Sin

Unwise decision

Bad stewardship

The Psalmist praises God because he recognizes all God has restored to His people.

B. God forgave His people (2).

Their sins were many:

Idolatry

Immorality

Drunkenness

Unequally yoked with unbelievers

Pride

Yet God forgave those sins and covered them. The atoning work of Christ is responsible for the forgiveness and removal of their sin. They looked forward to a coming Messiah who would pay the price for their sin.

We look back at Christ. We see the cross as the payment for our sins. Our sins are forgiven, they are covered, they are removed. They are out of God’s sight.

We cannot undo the sins we have committed. But Christ makes it as if we never committed them. That’s a glorious thought. There have been many times I wished I could go back before I committed a particular sin. To have to face God with the knowledge of my own sin is a burden too heavy to bear. Sin brings shame. I am a sinner. I have sinned more than I know. But through Christ there is no condemnation for me. God says He will remember my sins no more. Praise God for that!

We ought to remember that God has forgiven us. We ought to think of that often. There is a little three letter word in verse 2 that’s important. It’s the word “all”. All their sin was forgiven. If you know Christ all your sin has been forgiven.

If you know Christ there is no sin Christ has not atoned for. No matter the volume nor the vileness, Christ has forgiven all our sin.

C. God withdrew his anger from His people (3).

For seventy years the Lord disciplined His people in a foreign land. Their bondage was proof that the Lord was angry with them. God turned that anger away from his people. The time of discipline was complete.

We should never forget that sin angers God. His anger against sin is fierce. If you ever doubt that, just look at the cross. The cross is proof that God hates sin. God’s fierce anger has only been turned away from us because it has been turned upon Christ at the cross.

What a blessing that God has withdrawn His anger from us.

We are accepted in the beloved.

We who were once His enemies are now His friends.

The Psalm begins with praise for the past.

God has restored so much to us.

God has forgiven our sin.

God has turned His anger away from us.

All of this is accomplished through Christ.

We have a home in heaven!

We have a robe of righteousness!

We have the smile of God!

Praise God!

2. Questions for the present (4-7).

A. The current dilemma (4).

The Psalmist is no longer looking at the past. He is now focused on the present. We know from reading Ezra and Nehemiah that after the return to Jerusalem the Jewish people began to fall back into their old ways. God raised up prophets like Haggai to preach to them. If they did not turn from their ways, they would be in the same situation they had found themselves in before.

I wonder if this prayer is what brought about the revival we see in Ezra and Nehemiah? It’s certainly a possibility. Thank God someone was praying for the nation to turn back to God.

Some of the exiles were seeking to live for God. But many were going back into their old ways. There are times we must pray for the people of God to turn from their sin. We need God to turn his people back to Himself.

The word “again” is important. First, it proves to us that God will turn His people back. He has done it before. Second, it shows the patience of God. Often God has forgiven us for the same sins over and over.

The Psalmist recognized his current dilemma. He sought God because He knew that very soon the disciplining hand of God would be raised if the people did not turn back to Him.

B. Questions are asked (5-6).

Three rhetorical questions are asked. The answer to all of them is an emphatic “No!” But the Psalmist asks the questions to stress the certainty that God is a God of mercy and He is willing to forgive His people.

Will you be angry with us forever? For the believer, the answer to this question is “No”. For the unbeliever, the answer is “Yes”. The question we should be concerned with is do we belong to God or not.

Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

The Psalmist is thinking of their children. Will the sons and daughters have to suffer because of the sins of the parents? We live in one of the most selfish generations imaginable. The sins we are embracing will likely lead to the fall of America as we have known it. God made a covenant with Abraham and His seed. Israel would be restored. God promised that. No such promise has been made for America. America could be erased, and God has no obligation to keep it from happening.

Will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in You?

The Psalmist is seeking a spiritual revival. He wants the blessing of God on the people of God. He looks forward to seeing the people of God rejoicing in worship.

Spurgeon said of verse 6 “A genuine revival without joy in the Lord is as impossible as spring without flowers, or daydawn without light.”

If we only knew how much joy we would experience in revival. Sin is a thief of joy. The pleasure it brings the flesh masks this truth. But if we would get right with God, if we would pursue holiness in Christ, we would find ourselves filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory. There is joy in heaven because there is no sin there to steal it.

C. A plea for mercy (7).

Do it again Lord. That’s what he says. They cried in Egypt and He responded with mercy and salvation. They cried in Babylon and He responded with mercy and salvation.

This prayer is preemptive. He is crying for mercy before the people are led into bondage. The mercy he seeks is the mercy that leads to spiritual revival and salvation.

The spiritual revival would be the evidence of the steadfast love of God. The Psalmist wants to see the mercy of God through the revival of God’s people.

When a prodigal returns we see that God loves the prodigal. He brought Him back home.

When a sinner is saved we see the mercy of God. God drew the sinner to himself.

We can see the love and mercy of God in the people He restores and regenerates.

I want to see the mercy of God. I want to see people saved. I like the altar call. I like the sinner coming before the people of God and proclaiming he or she has been saved. I like to see the backslider stand before God’s people and with tear-stained eyes praise God for restoration. We ought to plead with God that we will see the mercy of God through the revival of the people of God.

3. Hope for the future (8-13).

A. God will restore His people (8-9).

The Psalmist knows the Lord will not remain silent when His people call on Him. There are two benefits extended to the people of God in verses 8-9:

1) The Lord will speak peace to his people. It is through the gospel that God has spoken peace to us.

Therefore, being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).

To be at peace with God is the most comforting thought. There is nothing better. To know that God is satisfied with us through Christ brings the wonderful benefit of a clear conscience and a peace that surpasses all understanding.

2) Glory will dwell in our land.

This means that God Himself will dwell in the land. Israel had the privilege of the Lord dwelling among them. In the New Testament we see God dwelling among His people through Christ. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Through the Person of the Holy Spirit God now dwells with us. However, we look forward to a day in which the fullness of the Godhead will dwell among His people (Rev. 21:3). We look for new heavens and a new earth.

I want to point out a few things in verses 8-9. The promise of restoration is not for everyone. Notice in verses 8-9 the promise is for:

His people

His saints

Those who fear Him

Universalism is a doctrine born from hell. The peace and person of God is promised to a particular people who through repentance and faith find grace through Christ.

Even for the people of God there is a warning. Look at verse 8 and you will see it.

“Let them not turn back to folly.”

If they turn back to sin, they can expect the Lord to discipline them again. God loves His children too much to allow them to continue in sin. Sometimes earthly parents grow weary with discipline and give up. The Lord does not.

B. The character of God (10).

The character of God gives hope to the believer. Verse 10 is a beautiful verse.

Steadfast love (mercy) and faithfulness (truth) meet together as friends.

God is a loving and merciful God. Yet he must be faithful to His own Word.

Righteousness and peace kiss, as friends do when they greet one another. God is a righteous God. His righteousness demands justice. For that reason, there is no peace. God and man are at war with one another because of sin.

How can mercy and truth, righteousness, and peace, all coexist? It is only possible through the cross. God must be faithful to his Word and punish sin. He has done that by punishing Christ for the sins of the world, the cross is where mercy and truth meet. It is where justice and peace kiss.

God is both just and merciful to us because of what Christ has accomplished on the cross. This is why the doctrine of the penal substitutionary atonement of Christ is so important. God must punish sin. Calvary was the only way sin could be punished and sinners could go free.

C. The future is certain (11-13).

Verse 11 is a beautiful picture of a revived people and a God who is please with them. The Psalmist uses the imagery of a harvest to communicate his thoughts.

Faithfulness (Truth) springs up from the ground. God’s people are turned to him. They are revived. They are now living faithfully.

Righteousness looks down from heaven. Holy God looks upon His revived people with favor.

When I read this, I am reminded of the New Testament truth that the gospel is likened unto a seed. It is planted in our hearts and springs forth into eternal life. We are blossoms of God’s grace. Through the gospel God now looks down upon us who are in Christ with favor.

We are blooming!

He is smiling!

The Psalmist knows that the future is certain. God will reap a harvest of souls.

In verse 12 he returns to the theme of the land. He opened with a reference to the land. As the Psalm ends it comes full circle. He is certain the Lord will give agricultural blessing. He has no fear of drought.

In verse 13 righteousness is personified. It is a person who goes before the Lord making a pathway for God’s people to follow. I wrestled with this verse. I think it is a prophetic statement. In order to cooe to God we must be righteous. Without holiness no one will see the Lord. But the question I have is who does “righteousness” represent in this verse?

Is it John the Baptist? We know He prepared the way for Christ.

Isa. 40:3 speaking of John the Baptist says:

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Is it Christ Himself? 1 Peter 2:21 says :

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

I think it could be either of those two. We should be thankful that the Lord has led us to Himself. Through the gospel we have been shown the path to God. We know how to be made righteous. Through repentance and faith in Christ we can be made holy. Thank God we have been given specific instructions. Because of that our future can be certain.