Turn us, God of our salvation, and cause your indignation toward us to cease.
Will you be angry with us forever? Will you draw out your anger to all generations?
Won’t you revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
Parallel Translations
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Turn us, God of our salvation, and cause your indignation toward us to cease.
Will you be angry with us forever? Will you draw out your anger to all generations?
Won’t you revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
-
Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
Show all 3 translations
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(85-5) Restore us, O God of our salvation, and cause Thine indignation toward us to cease.
(85-6) Wilt Thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt Thou draw out Thine anger to all generations?
(85-7) Wilt Thou not quicken us again, that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?
Cross-references (35)
- Psalms 80:18 (v6) So we will not turn away from you. Revive us, and we will call on your name.
- Habakkuk 3:2 (v6) Yahweh, I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, Yahweh. Renew your work in the middle of the years. In the middle of the…
- Psalms 90:14 (v6) Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
- Isaiah 57:15 (v6) For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, says: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a…
- Hosea 6:2 (v6) After two days he will revive us. On the third day he will raise us up, and we will live before him.
Show all 35 cross-references
- Psalms 71:20 (v6) You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles, you will let me live. You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth.
- Psalms 53:6 (v6) Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back his people from captivity, then Jacob shall rejoice, and…
- Psalms 138:7 (v6) Though I walk in the middle of trouble, you will revive me. You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies. Your right hand…
- Ezra 9:8-9 (v6) Now for a little moment grace has been shown from Yahweh our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place,…
- Psalms 80:3 (v4) Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
- Lamentations 5:21 (v4) Turn us to yourself, Yahweh, and we will be turned. Renew our days as of old.
- Ezra 3:11-13 (v6) They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to Yahweh, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.”…
- Psalms 80:7 (v4) Turn us again, God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
- Psalms 79:5 (v5) How long, Yahweh? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?
- Psalms 149:2 (v6) Let Israel rejoice in him who made them. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
- Micah 7:7 (v4) But as for me, I will look to Yahweh. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
- Psalms 80:4 (v5) Yahweh God of Armies, how long will you be angry against the prayer of your people?
- Jeremiah 33:11 (v6) the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, ‘Give…
- Psalms 25:2 (v4) My God, I have trusted in you. Don’t let me be shamed. Don’t let my enemies triumph over me.
- Psalms 27:1 (v4) Yahweh is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?
- Psalms 74:1 (v5) God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
- Psalms 80:19 (v4) Turn us again, Yahweh God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
- Micah 7:18-20 (v4) Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn’t retain his anger…
- Malachi 4:6 (v4) He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth…
- Psalms 77:9 (v5) Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he, in anger, withheld his compassion?”
- Psalms 89:46 (v5) How long, Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever? Will your wrath burn like fire?
- Isaiah 64:9-12 (v5) Don’t be furious, Yahweh. Don’t remember iniquity forever. Look and see, we beg you, we are all your people. Your holy cities have become a…
- Jeremiah 31:18 (v4) “I have surely heard Ephraim grieving thus, ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as an untrained calf. Turn me, and I will be…
- Daniel 9:16 (v4) Lord, according to all your righteousness, let your anger and please let your wrath be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy…
- Micah 7:18 (v5) Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn’t retain his anger…
- Luke 21:24 (v5) They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles,…
- Revelation 18:21-23 (v5) A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence will Babylon, the great city,…
- Psalms 78:38 (v4) But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and didn’t destroy them. Yes, many times he turned his anger away, and didn’t stir up all his…
- Isaiah 10:25 (v4) For yet a very little while, and the indignation against you will be accomplished, and my anger will be directed to his destruction.”
- John 4:22 (v4) You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv4–6 4 Turn us, O God of our salvation! The…
4 Turn us, O God of our salvation! The faithful now make a practical application to themselves, in their present circumstances, of what they had rehearsed before concerning God’s paternal tenderness towards his people whom he had redeemed. And they attribute to him, by whom they desire to be restored to their former state, the appellation, O God of our salvation! to encourage themselves, even in the most desperate circumstances, in the hope of being delivered by the power of God. Although to the eye of sense and reason there may be no apparent ground to hope favourably as to our condition, it becomes us to believe that our salvation rests secure in his hand, and that, whenever he pleases, he can easily and readily find the means of bringing salvation to us. God’s anger being the cause and origin of all calamities, the faithful beseech him to remove it. This order demands our special attention; for so effeminate and faint-hearted in bearing adversity are we, that no sooner does God begin to smite us with his little finger, than we entreat him, with groaning and lamentable cries, to spare us. But we forget to plead, what should chiefly engage our thoughts, that he would deliver us from guilt and condemnation; and we forget this because we are reluctant to descend into our own hearts and to examine ourselves.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v5 As in times past they had felt God’s mercies,…
As in times past they had felt God’s mercies, so now being oppressed by the long continuance of evils, they pray unto God that according to his nature he would be merciful unto them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Psa 85:4 Turn us, O God of our salvation,…
Psa 85:4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
Ver. 4. Turn us, O God of our salvation] Turn us, and we shall be turned; do as thou ever hast done, for thou art Jehovah, thou changest not, but art yesterday, today, and the same for ever.
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And cause thine anger, &c.] Labefacta iram tuam erga nos.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv4, 6 Turn us; either,
Turn us; either,
1. Convert us. As thou hast brought back our bodies to thy land, so bring back our hearts to thyself, from whom many of them to this day are alienated. Or rather,
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2. Restore us to our former tranquillity, and free us from the troubles which we yet groan under from our malicious neighbours and enemies; for this best suits with the following clause of the verse, which commonly explains the former.
Cause thine anger toward us to cease; he prudently endeavours to take away the root and cause of their continued miseries, to wit, God’s anger procured by their sins.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Turn us, O God of our salvation,.... Who appointed…
Turn us, O God of our salvation,.... Who appointed it in his purposes, contrived it in council, secured it in covenant, and sent his Son to effect it; the prayer to him is for converting grace, either at first, for first conversion is his work, and his only; or after backslidings, for he it is that restores the souls of his people; and perhaps it is a prayer of the Jews, for their conversion in the latter day; when sensible of sin, and seeking after the Messiah they have rejected, when the Lord will turn them to himself, and turn away iniquity from them, and they shall be saved, Hos 3:5,
and cause thine anger towards us to cease: the manifest tokens of which are now upon them, being scattered up and down in the world, and made a proverb, a taunt, and a jeer; but will be removed, and cease, when they shall be converted.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv4, 6 Turn us - Restore us to our former tranquillity,…
Turn us - Restore us to our former tranquillity, and free us from the troubles which we yet groan under.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Verse 4. Turn us, O God of our salvation]…
Verse 4. Turn us, O God of our salvation] Thou hast turned our captivity; now convert our souls. And they find a reason for their prayer in an attribute of their God; the God of their salvation. And as his work was to save, they beg that his anger towards them might cease. The Israelites were not restored from their captivity all at once. A few returned with Zerubbabel; some more with Ezra and Nehemiah; but a great number still remained in Babylonia, Media, Assyria, Egypt, and other parts. The request of the psalmist is, to have a complete restoration of all the Israelites from all places of their dispersion.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv4, 6 Psa 85:4. Turn us, O God of our salvation…
Psa 85:4. Turn us, O God of our salvation — That is, either, 1st, Convert us. As thou hast brought back our bodies to thy land, so bring back our hearts to thyself, from whom many of them are to this day alienated. Or rather, restore us to our former tranquillity, and free us from the troubles which we yet groan under from our malicious neighbours and enemies. And cause thine anger toward us to cease — He prudently endeavours to get the root and cause of their continued miseries removed, namely, God’s anger procured by their sins.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Turn us, O God of our salvation - The…
Turn us, O God of our salvation - The God from whom salvation must come, and on whom we are dependent for it. The prayer here is, “turn us;” turn us from our sins; bring us to repentance; make us willing to forsake every evil way; and enable us to do it. This is the proper spirit always in prayer. The first thing is not that he would take away his wrath, but that he would dispose us to forsake our sins, and to turn to himself; that we may be led to abandon that which has brought his displeasure upon us, and then that he will cause his anger toward us to cease. We have no authority for asking God to turn away his judgments unless we are willing to forsake our sins; and in all cases we can hope for the divine interposition and mercy, when the judgments of God are upon us, only as we are willing to turn from our iniquities.
And cause thine anger toward us to cease - The word used here, and rendered “cause to cease” - פרר pârar - means properly to break; then, to violate; and then, to annul, or to bring to an end. The idea here is, that if they were turned from sin, the cause of his anger would be removed, and would cease of course. Compare Psa 80:3.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv4–6 4. Turn us—Lead us back. The spiritual sense of…
4. Turn us—Lead us back. The spiritual sense of convert is implied, of which the literal restoration was a symbol. Having confessed the favour of God to his land, the psalmist also confesses (Psa_85:4-7) the utter inability of the nation to re-collect itself, and revive its polity, without the specific leadership of God. The natural shrinking of the human heart from great trials discovers itself in these plaintive outcries, like “Lord, save us: we perish,” (Mat_8:25;) but faith resumes her sway, (Psa_85:8,) and serenely conducts us to the close.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–6 4. Turn us] I.e. Restore us. Cp. Psa_80:3. For…
4. Turn us] I.e. Restore us. Cp. Psa_80:3. For R.V. marg. Turn to us, cp. Isa_63:17; but the rendering of the text is preferable.
cause thine anger &c.] Lit. break off thine indignation with us: cease to be provoked with us. The cognate verb is constantly used of Israel’s ‘provocation’ of Jehovah (e.g. Jer_7:18 ff.).
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4–7. Yet in spite of forgiveness and restoration, much is still lacking. Oh that God would wholly withdraw His wrath, and gladden His people with a full salvation! Cp. the prayer of Psa_126:4.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v4 (4) Turn us.—Here equivalent to restore us once more.…
(4) Turn us.—Here equivalent to restore us once more. If, the poet felt, the captivity had taught its lesson, why, on the restoration, did not complete freedom from misfortune ensue? It is this which supplies the motive of his song.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Vers. 4-7. The prayer. Two things are prayed for…
Vers. 4-7. The prayer. Two things are prayed for first, that God will turn the hearts of his people wholly towards himself (ver. 4); and secondly, that he will complete his work of deliverance by removing the traces, that still exist, of his past anger (vers. 5-7). Israel is still in a state of great distress and weakness, suffering from the natural consequences of its sins, which keep it depressed and sad.
Turn us, O God of our salvation. Thou art turned to us (ver. 1); let us also be turned to thee. We cannot turn of our own mere wish to turn; we need thy helping grace. (comp. Psa_80:3, Psa_80:7, Psa_80:19) And cause thine anger toward us to cease. Verbally, this contradicts ver. 3, whence it has been supposed by some to come from the mouth of another speaker. But really there is no contradiction, if we understand, both here and in the next verse, by God"s anger, the effects of his anger, which were still continuing. (comp. Ezr_3:12, 13 4:4-24 9:2-15 Neh_1:3 Neh_2:17 Neh_4:1-22 Neh_5:1-19)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Ver. 4. Turn us, O God of our salvation.…
Ver. 4. Turn us, O God of our salvation. This was the main business. Could the erring tribes be rendered penitent all would be well. It is not that God needs turning from his anger so much as that we need turning from our sin; here is the hinge of the whole matter. Our trials frequently arise out of our sins, they will not go till the sins go. We need to be turned from our sins, but only God can turn us: God the Saviour must put his hand to the work: it is indeed a main part of our salvation. Conversion is the dawn of salvation. To turn a heart to God is as difficult as to make the world revolve upon its axis. Yet when a man learns to pray for conversion there is hope for him, he who turns to prayer is beginning to turn from sin. It is a very blessed sight to see a whole people turn unto their God; may the Lord so send forth his converting grace on our land that we may live to see the people flocking to the loving worship of God as the doves to their cotes.
And cause thine anger toward us to cease. Make an end of it. Let it no longer burn. When sinners cease to rebel, the Lord ceases to be angry with them; when they return to him he returns to them; yea, he is first in the reconciliation, and turns them when otherwise they would never turn of themselves. May all those who are now enduring the hidings of Jehovah's face seek with deep earnestness to be turned anew unto the Lord, for so shall all their despondencies come to an end. Thus the sweet singer asks for his nation priceless blessings, and quotes the best of arguments. Because the God of Israel has been so rich in favour in bygone years, therefore he is entreated to reform and restore his backsliding nation.
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Ver. 4. Cause thine anger toward us to cease. The phrase, break thine indignation towards us, (that is, wherewith thou art angry with us, in order that it may cease of itself,)comprehends the abolition of the signs and the effects of anger. The word drk, for this is the root to be taken, properly denotes a breaking by means of notches and gaps, as when the edge of anything is broken by many notches and gaps, and it is made utterly worn and useless. Indignation, so long as it is vigorous and spreads its effects, has an edge, which smites and pierces; but it is considered blunt and broken, when it ceases to exert itself, and produces evils no longer, this they affirm of the anger of God. Venema.
Ver. 4.
I. In what salvation consists.
1. In the removal of God's enmity from us.
2. In the removal of our enmity to him. II. By whom it is accomplished. By the God of salvation.
1. He causes his anger toward us to cease, and
2. Our anger toward him. III. How is it obtained? By prayer: "Turn us, "etc.
Psalms 85:5*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v6 Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people…
Psa_85:6
Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?
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A prayer for revival
I. What is the time for such a prayer as this?
1. When we can remember some gracious acts of God in the past. After some mercy drops, it becomes us to cry for showers of blessing.
2. After tokens of Divine displeasure.
3. When saints feel languid.
4. When efforts seem to be useless.
5. When we have among us a number of persons who are backsliding.
II. The need of such a prayer. Who needs it?
1. The minister. If the preachers grow dull and sleepy, there is no wonder that the people do so; therefore, give us a special place in your supplications that we may be kept right for your sakes, and for Christs sake, and the Gospels sake.
2. All the leaders of our Church. Often, dead deacons and dead elders prevent a church prospering; therefore, let us pray earnestly for the leaders of Gods Israel, Lord, revive them again. Put more spiritual life into them.
3. The same is true of all the members of the Church without exception. How much they need reviving!
4. And all the workers, too.
5. The hesitaters.
6. The careless ones.
7. The outside public, who never go to hear the Gospel at all.
III. The essence of such a prayer. It means--
1. Dependence upon God.
2. Confidence in God.
3. Importunity with God.
IV. The net result if this prayer be answered. It seems rather singular, does it not?--that the psalmist should put as the reason for a revival that Gods people should rejoice in Him. You and I do not always estimate things aright. Preaching is only the stalk; conversion, prayer, praise,--these are the full corn in the golden ear. In the garden, the leaves may represent the work that is done; but the flowers are the praise that is rendered. In a revival, part of the result is the conversion of men, but the result is the praise of God; and that revival brings forth most fruit that gives to God the most glory. I reckon that we have served God when we have fed the poor, when we have taught the ignorant, when we have reclaimed the wanderer; but I am equally sure that we have rendered acceptable sacrifice when we have prayed to God, when we have delighted ourselves in Him, when the joy of our heart has in silence exhaled towards Him. So, therefore, if God will be pleased to send a revival, His people will rejoice in Him because they are revived. They will be thankful that their spirits are plucked away from their languor and lethargy; and then they will begin to rejoice with the joy of gratitude because God has done such great things for them; and then sinners will be converted, and straightway saints will rejoice over sinners saved. Now, as you come to the communion table, I want you to try to rejoice in God. But I am mourning about myself, says one. Well, mourn about yourself, if you like; but do rejoice in God. Oh, but I am troubled in my circumstances! Well, but a child of God should rise above circumstances, and rejoice in God. There is more in God to cheer you than in your circumstances to depress you. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Revival experiences
I. This prayer was dictated by past experiences. Wilt Thou not revive us again?
II. It is the prayer of one alive to the preciousness and needfulness of such special effusions of the Holy Spirit. Wilt Thou not revive?
III. It is the prayer of one fully conscious that god alone is the source of reviving power and grace. Wilt not Thou? etc. Never was revival more needed than now. Therefore let us make this prayer our own.
IV. At times of revival Christians rejoice in God. (American Homiletic Monthly.)
Religious declension and revival
I. The causes of religious declension.
1. I have known trials in business the occasions of religious declensions--trials which ought to have led to God in prayer, who can by His mighty arm take us over them, but which have so absorbed the mind and so worried the spirit, that instead of their leading to God the man has sat down and sighed his soul away in sorrow.
2. I have known the very opposite of trials, namely, worldly prosperity, a cause of religious declension. The sea has been all calm, the tide has set in our favour, the breeze has filled our every sail, and with full sails our vessel has entered into the haven, and we have sought to make earth, not heaven, our home; our prosperity we have put down to our own ingenuity, and not to the goodness of God.
II. The evidences of religious declension.
1. Remissness in secret prayer.
2. Neglect of family prayer.
3. Neglect of the public means of grace.
III. The remedy for religious declension.
1. There is a remedy (2Sa_14:14; Jer_30:17; Mal_3:7; 2Ch_17:4).
2. The means to be used for revival.
(1) We must become alarmed about our state, and apply for the remedy.
(2) We must humble ourselves before God.
(3) We must make a full surrender of ourselves.
IV. The blessedness of a revived religious state. It is the blessedness of--
1. Restored spiritual health.
2. Rejoicing in the God who gave it.
3. Joy in common with others. (A. M. Brown, LL. D.)
The causes and cure of religious declenesion
I. The causes.
1. Remissness in secret duty.
2. Inattention to Gods word.
3. Neglect of self-examination.
4. Allowed indulgence of some favourite sin.
5. Indifference to public means.
6. Self-complacency.
II. The means of spiritual revival.
1. Recollect yourselves.
2. Humble yourselves.
3. Surrender yourselves anew to the Lord.
4. Give yourselves unto extraordinary prayer.
5. Attend with constancy the public means.
6. Apply to yourselves what you hear and read of Gods Word.
III. The advantage of a revived and cheerful state of mind.
1. To ourselves. A new impulse will be given to our religious feeling and affections.
2. Others will share the advantage of our revival. Seeing how lowly, how forbearing, how kind, how cheerful, the followers of Jesus can be; they will be constrained to think favourably of that gracious Lord who taketh pleasure in the prosperity of His servants, and to allow the excellency of that religion which can make a fallen sinful creature so holy, so contented, so happy. Saints will be edified; timid professors encouraged; mockers silenced; and sinners convinced and won to the love and practice of piety.
3. The Lord Jesus Christ will be magnified by our liveliness and zeal in His service. (W. Mudge.)
A Pentecostal prayer
I. A general revival of true religion is needed.
1. The world needs it.
(1) The world of Christendom needs it. From having so long lived in a Christian country, many are disposed to take it for granted that they are Christians. Others, from so often hearing and reading the truth, fail to feel its power.
(2) The world of heathendom needs it. Much has been done to win the world to Christ, but much still remains to be done.
2. The Church at large and individual churches need it.
3. The individual members of our churches need it.
II. The grounds for expecting such a revival.
1. The fact that God has promised to revive His people.
2. The fact that He has again and again revived them--on the day of Pentecost; at the Reformation; under the preaching of Wesley and Whitfield.
III. The means necessary for bringing about a revival.
1. Prayer for an abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Such prayer must be characterized by humility, fervency, perseverance, faith.
2. As all our blessings come to us through Christ, we must pray in His name.
3. As the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit--i.e. its instrument--we must study it ourselves, and teach it to others.
4. As God always works by means, we must employ appropriate effort.
(1) Put away all sin.
(2) Seek to cultivate true, healthy piety, as opposed to austerity, narrow-mindedness, sentimentalism, or laxity.
(3) Endeavour to progress in the Divine life ourselves.
(4) Seek to arouse others. (E. W. Wilson.)
The coming revival
Each of the last four centuries, to go no farther back, has been distinguished by a great revival of religion. In the sixteenth century there came what we may call the Protestant revival, in the seventeenth century the Puritan revival, in the eighteenth century the Evangelical revival; and during the nineteenth century we have witnessed a revival which it is more difficult to characterize, but which has been as real and will probably prove as fruitful as any of the former. It has manifested itself in various ways, by high ritualism on the one hand and by much earnest evangelism on the other. Probably its most distinguishing characteristic is that it has inspired Christian people with a strong desire to reach the whole population of the land, to uplift socially and morally the most degraded, and so perhaps it might be called the Democratic revival. It is certain that neither this nor any other of the religious movements I have named has boon unmixed good or evil. Like all things on earth, they have bison imperfect in character and results. But in each case there has been a vast preponderance of good, and all of them have helped to hasten on the age of universal righteousness. And the history of these four centuries seems to render infinitely probable a great revival in the twentieth century Another fact which makes us confident that we shall shortly witness a great revival is the manifest need of it. The coldness and deadness of many of our churches, the utter indifference of the masses, the neglect of public worship, the practical infidelity which is so common in all ranks of society, the hopeless misery of the submerged tenth, the comparative failure of the churches to rescue the very classes in which Jesus showed the greatest interest and amongst which He gained His chief success, all these things prove that a revival is necessary. Now, we find that when the need is greatest the help is nearest. It is the way of the Lord to display His grace and power in the day of His peoples extremity. The coming revival will be an intellectual movement. It will very largely consist in the awakening of the mind. Of course, every revival is in some degree an intellectual movement. Conversion implies the opening of the eyes and the turning from darkness to light. But in former revivals the intellectual element has not been the most prominent. A century ago, and even later, religion was chiefly emotional. The majority of the people in this country were uneducated, many of them were grossly ignorant. They were incapable of understanding an argument or of appreciating a spiritual idea. And so the preachers of the evangelical movement appealed to the fears of men. In the coming revival men will be brought to God, not by craven terror, not by coercion of any kind, but by persuasion, by conviction, by recognition of the truth. The religious movement of the twentieth century will be the triumphal progress of reason. But the chief glory of the coming revival will be its ethical character. It will bring about a great moral reformation. The weak point in former revivals has been in the development of character. We find Martin Luther complaining that the Protestants were no better in moral character than the Catholics. Puritanism produced many eminent saints, yet it also produced some notable hypocrites. The Puritan theology did not give to morality the high place to which it was entitled; and, indeed, in some respects it tended rather to depress the importance of moral character. In the coming revival high and pure morality will be accorded its sacred rights. It will be a revival of righteousness; it will fill men with an enthusiasm for goodness. It will be inspired by the practical theology of Jesus Christ; not by the theology of Luther, or Calvin, or Augustine, or even of Paul, so much as by that of the Great Master. And so it will produce in Christian men a character more true and manly, more Christlike, and more Divine. And on this account the coming revival will be more extensive and more permanent in its results than any that have preceded it. The great sign and evidence of the revival, when it comes, will be its manifesting power, its power of discrimination and discovery. Men are separated by great lines of moral demarcation, but generally these lines are visible only to Omniscience. When the revival comes they will show up clearly and with astonishing vividness. There are those who are saved and know they are saved: they will be the chief instruments of the revival. There are those who are not saved and know they are not; they will be the objects upon which the revival will exert its convincing and converting power. But there are also those who think they are saved and are not, good, easy people, self-complacent and censorious, to them the revival will bring a rude awakening. There is yet another class--those who are saved and do not know it--a much more numerous class than is generally supposed. With the great revival there will come to them a clearer vision. Receiving the Spirit of adoption, they will thenceforth serve the Lord with gladness. Doubt and weakness will give place to confidence and strength. (S. T. Bosworth, B. A.)
Personal revival
I use the term revival as implying, not simply the quickening and strengthening of the Divine life in the soul where it already exists, but also the production of that life where it has not before been enjoyed,--in other words, as including in it the conversion of sinners, as well as the edification of saints.
I. We need a revival. Is there not amongst us much spiritual insensibility--much formality--much worldliness? Is there any one of us who does not feel, when he seriously and thoughtfully reflects on his opportunities and privileges, that he is not what he ought to be--not what he might have been?
II. We may obtain a revival.
1. That this desirable result may be gained, let me remind you that spiritual revival is a personal thing. The revival of a Congregation or of the church at large can only be reached by the revival of the individuals of whom the congregation or church is composed.
2. Do you ask, how are we to get it for ourselves? I answer,--by the use of the right means in the right spirit.
(1) If you are not yet converted, you must begin by receiving Christ as your personal Saviour. This is the commencement of Divine life in the soul.
(2) Prayer--secret personal prayer. It is very well that you should seek the prayers of others; but if you do not pray for yourselves, you have no right to expect personal revival.
(3) The devout study of the Word of God. In it God speaks to us, and speaks to us directly. If we do not listen, bow can we be His children--how can we know His will or do it?
(4) The cultivation of a watchful and dependent spirit. By a watchful spirit, I mean a spirit ever on its guard against sin. By a dependent spirit, I mean a spirit conscious of its own guilt and depravity, of its own weakness and infirmity. (John Robson, D. D.)
Spiritual revival
1. What is the kind of spiritual awakening that is required in the days in which we are living? A new realization of God. Now, understand what realization is. There may be belief and no realization. Devils believe and tremble. I may believe in God and be as foul as Satan. I realize God, and He will be the Power that dominates me in all my thought and in every department of my being. You go to Switzerland and one object is in your thought, Mont Blanc, which dominates the valleys. When we realize that God will dominate our thoughts and our actions, we shall realize that He besets us behind and before, and that if we take the wings of the morning and go to the uttermost parts of the sea He is there. I would realize God; I would try to help you to realize Him. Now, the great difficulty of this subject comes from the fact that with the progress of science, as science has brought us knowledge, and knowledge is reality, we are brought to an understanding of the fact that He is great, passing all our comprehension, and we begin to understand that no man by searching can by any possibility find Him out. I can only tell you some things which will be when we realize God, when He is near to us and we appreciate that He is near to us as we are to one another. When that is true all places will be holy. All times are sacred when God is realized. And in the next place, all duties are sacred. Why do we say that one man in a large place is doing a great work for God, while one in a small place is doing a work of insignificance? Because we do not appreciate that everything done for Him is great, and that those who are most faithful are those who are most worthy of praise.
2. And then, in the next place, when we realize God, all men are sacred. In the humblest, in the barefooted beggar boy, in the man who sweeps the streets, in the one who is outcast and forgotten, there is something of the Divine. We doff our hats when those who rule us ride by, but in the man who sweeps the walk for you there is something of the King of the Universe. Ah, do we think of these things? That is the kind of revival that is needed. How may this revival be promoted? Well, in the first place, those who bear the Christian name ought surely to be those who lead in it; and if they lead in it, certain things must be realized. They must learn to practise the presence of God; and, moreover, they must learn also to lay upon it every weight and every sin. We cannot prevent a thought knocking at the door of our mind and looking in, but we can prevent that thought coming in and staying there. And then, associate much with Jesus Christ; He is the One who brings God to us; He is the One who reveals Him in a way in which we can understand Him. Spend time with Him, think about Him, feed upon Him, live with Him. Next, this thought: What will result when we do realize God, when this revival has come to us? What will be the results? Will you pardon me if I return my question with a question, and ask you what kind of life do you think you would live if God was just as real to you as His sun in the heavens? If you were sure every day, every hour, every minute, that the holy eyes of the loving God were on you, what kind of life do you think you would lead? Now, once more, consider if there are any signs of the coming of such an awakening.
3. I find signs of it in the amazing earnestness which characterizes the young men and the young women in our institutions of learning, so far as I know, the world around. There were never so many who were pledging themselves to the missionary service in the whole history of the world as are pledging themselves to-day. I find signs of this spiritual awakening also in the spirit of expectancy. We all feel--sensitive spirits in the pews and in the pulpits everywhere feel--as if we were on the verge of some wondrous revelation of spiritual reality. (A. H. Bradford, D. D.)
A revival sought
I. A revival is greatly needed. Compare our lives with those of Paul, Brainerd, Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, MCheyne, Baxter, Whitefield. Think of their love for souls, their zealous labours, their self-denials, their communion with God. Why, beside such men our piety is scarcely discoverable even by the aid of a microscope.
II. It can come from God only. The land in India is parched and dried up for want of rain; where are the reviving showers to come from? Can a council of her wise men by consulting each other obtain it? No; from above it must come. We too, are dry and parched, and all our talk and schemes and Church organization will do nothing, unless the showers fall upon us from above. In tills matter we are absolutely dependent upon God. I have heard of men and Churches trying to get up revivals. Got-up revivals end in spiritual dearth, or, worse still, spiritual death. They must be brought down to be of any service.
III. Can we obtain revival? If so, how?
1. I believe we can, because--
(1) Of the promises God has made in this respect (Mal_3:10; Isa_44:3; Zec_12:10).
(2) All who have ever earnestly and truly sought one have obtained it. Think of the times of Baxter, of Bunyan, of Burns, of Flavel, of Finney, of Wesley, of Whitefield, of MCheyne. In our isle, and lands beyond the seas, God has poured out His Spirit. Lord, Thou hast revived others; wilt Thou not revive us? Thou hast revived us in days past; wilt Thou not revive us again?
(3) Revivals are a part of Gods method of accomplishing His purposes, and without them the world cannot be converted.
2. How are we to obtain it?
(1) There must be a determination on the part of each member of the Church to have a better state of things. A revival must be desired before God will give it.
(2) There must be on the part of each one of us sorrow of heart for our coldness and backslidings, full confession of sin to God, the giving up of every known sin, and the earnest petition, Cleanse thou me from secret faults.
(3) There must be also on behalf of sinners soul travail (Isa_66:8). In this there is deep philosophy: tis the mother who has felt the birth-pangs that loves and cares for the child as no other can. And tie those who have wrestled with God for the conversion of men, who know how to care for them when converted.
IV. What will be the results of a revival when obtained?
1. It generally affects the minister, first and most. His lips are touched with the live coal from off the altar; he is clad with zeal as with a cloak. He has an unction from the Holy One resting upon him.
2. The deacons and all the members feel a kind of spell come over them. They dont neglect family prayer now. They dont forget to read their Bible now. All is changed, and things are as they should be.
3. Sinners who have listened for years, now, upon confession of their faith, wish to be baptized.
4. Then shall all the members of our Church be glad and rejoice in the Lord. (W. W. Williams.)
Lent, the season of revival
The advantage of such a season as Lent,--a season set apart for special prayer, and searching of heart, and amendment of life,--is that, where there is a feeling of slackness and failure, it meets it, and welcomes it, and sustains it, and guides it; and where there is no such wholesome feeling of inward concern and self-censure, it tends to awaken, and foster, and stimulate it.
1. Can we put a little more self-denial and effort into our religious exercises and devotions?
2. Can we see our way to embarking on a crusade,--a truly holy war,--against some besetting sin, or fault, or failing, of our own; with a determination to suppress it and stamp it out;-or to denying ourselves some little innocent indulgence, for the sake of self-discipline and the love of Christ;--or to applying the Cross practically to ourselves in any other special way whatever?
3. Can we cut out for ourselves, or anyhow aid in, any enterprise of Christian philanthropy, having for its object the bettering of the physical, social, intellectual, or religious condition of our fellow-men, around us or at a distance; some enterprise which we can help and forward by money, by prayers, or by personal labour and toil; and this, in the recollection, and under the inspiration of the Saviours words: inasmuch as ye have done it, etc. (D. J. Vaughan, M. A.)
The test of a true revival--joy and delight in God
Pardon and quickening are joined together in Psa_85:5. We beseech the Lord and Giver of Life to revive among us that life of the spirit which grows stifled, and choked, and deadened by the pressure of the world. Nothing gives thoughtful Englishmen graver concern than the decay of high ideals, alike in the politics and the literature of the nation. And in the Church itself, while we raise great sums of money, do we not grow painfully aware of a certain dearth and poverty of spiritual passion, which can only be re-inspired and rekindled from above? Wilt Thou not revive us again, that Thy people may rejoice in Thee? Note this searching test of a real revival: it fills Christians with a new joy and delight in God Himself. As the Holy Ghost comes upon us and the power of the Highest overshadows us, the Church breaks out in a fresh Magnificat, and sings, My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. And the Church becomes the irresistible missionary when it can chant that victorious song. (T. H. Darlow.)
Revivals--their relation to nations
Historians seldom take note of so obscure an event; yet, if the secret connections of revivals with the destiny of nations could be disclosed, they would appear to be more critical evolutions of history than the Gothic invasions. A volume has been compiled narrating the decisive battles of the world. But more significant than this, and probing deeper the Divine government of the world, would be the history of revivals. (Austin Phelps.)
Dont predict a revival
There is a current idea that the best way to start a revival is to preach to the Christians in a church. I do not accept that idea. If you want to raise up a lazy crew on board ship, set them hauling in that man who has fallen overboard. Dont talk too much about revival! revival! revival! Dont predict a revival. I never in my life knew a predicted revival that came to pass. In my own ministerial experience the spiritual operations known as revivals generally began in a prayer-meeting. I learned more theology in those experiences than I ever could have learned in a theological school. A cold prayer-meeting inevitably makes a frigid church. Hang your thermometer up in the prayer-meeting. Watch the first indication of the Spirit. (T. L. Cuyler, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v6 Will you not revive us again?
Will you not revive us again?
The writer uses a question to emphasize his request to God to make the people of Israel prosper and happy again. This rhetorical question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Please make us prosper again." (See: Rhetorical Question)
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Show us your covenant faithfulness
If the sentence is rearranged, the ideas in the abstract noun "covenant faithfulness" can be expressed with the phrase "faithful to your covenant." (See: Abstract Nouns)
grant us your salvation
This is how the writer wants God to show his faithfulness to his people. If the sentence is rearranged, the ideas in the abstract noun "salvation" can be expressed with the verb "save." AT: "and save us" or "by saving us" (See: Abstract Nouns)
translationWords
people of God
joy
covenant faithfulness
Yahweh
save
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v6 85:6-7 This prayer for renewal is based on God’s…
85:6-7 This prayer for renewal is based on God’s unfailing love for his people.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.