Psalm 85:1-2 To the
chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. "LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the
captivity of Jacob. (2) Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy
people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah."
Psalm 85:6-7 "Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy
people may rejoice in thee? (7) Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and
grant us thy salvation."
If I may put this in my words, it seems the Psalmist is saying: "Lord, you
brought us out of the bondage in which we cause ourselves to be taken. We know
you have forgiven our sins. We know your hand is upon us, but Lord, we are
missing the joy in our hearts. We need that joy and fellowship with you."
In verse 5, the question is asked concerning God's anger. "Wilt thou be
angry with us for ever?" In their own thoughts and minds, the people are
still thinking God's anger is upon them. "Will you not revive us,
Lord?" I remember reading about Japanese soldiers that were dug into
tunnels after the war was over. They thought the fighting was still going on
and had hid themselves in the tunnels - sometimes for decades. They just didn't
know the war had been fought and the battle had ended. They lived in darkness
and fear all that time. Have you ever felt that way?
I think one of the most difficult things for us as Christians is to forgive
ourselves. We want to dig up old battle wounds and feel the pain all over
again. Our theology - our TRUTH is that Jesus Christ died on the cross for all
our sins. If He died for one sin, He died for all our sins. We are told in
Hebrews 10:14 that "... by one offering he hath perfected for ever them
that are sanctified." We know that and yet time after time, Satan parades
our sins before us to remind us of what we were. He is called the accuser of
the brethren and we listen to him too much. How do we defeat that defeated
attitude? "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come
salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ:
for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God
day and night. (11) And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,
and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the
death." (Revelation 12:10-11) Yes, though "the accuser of our
brethren is cast down," he still tries to bring upheaval in our lives. We
overcome him by knowing that the blood of Jesus is sufficient to pay that debt.
We overcome his accusations by believing and speaking the word of victory. We
overcome him by "forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are before." (Philippians 3:13)
"Wilt thou not revive us again?" Oh yes, Oh Yes! Again
and again, our Lord sends revival into our hearts! Receive that truth and
Rejoice!!
Revive Us Again by William MacKay
All glory and praise To the God of all grace,
Who has bought us; and sought us,
And guided our ways.
Revive us again; Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled With fire from above
Hallelujah, thine the glory!
Hallelujah, Amen!
Hallelujah, thine the glory!
Revive us again.