Won’t you revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
Parallel Translations
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Won’t you revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
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Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
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(85-7) Wilt Thou not quicken us again, that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Psalms 85:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 80:18 So we will not turn away from you. Revive us, and we will call on your name.
- Habakkuk 3:2 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 years make it known. In wrath, you remember mercy.
- Psalms 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
- Isaiah 57:15 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 contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
- Hosea 6:2 After two days he will revive us. On the third day he will raise us up, and we will live before him.
- Psalms 71:20 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 Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back his people from captivity, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
- Psalms 138:7 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 will save me.
- Ezra 9:8-9 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, that our God may lighten our eyes, and revived us a little in our bondage. For we are bondservants; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended loving kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to set up the house of our God, and to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
- Ezra 3:11-13 They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to Yahweh, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.” All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Yahweh, because the foundation of Yahweh’s house had been laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice. Many also shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people; for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard far away.
- Psalms 149:2 Let Israel rejoice in him who made them. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
- Jeremiah 33:11 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 thanks to Yahweh of Armies, for Yahweh is good, for his loving kindness endures forever;’ who bring thanksgiving into Yahweh’s house. For I will cause the captivity of the land to be reversed as at the first,” says Yahweh.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain The godly, still dwelling on the same theme, ask,…
The godly, still dwelling on the same theme, ask, in the 6th verse, whether God will not turn again and quicken them Being fully convinced of the truth of this principle, That the punishments with which God chastises his children are only temporary; they thereby encourage themselves in the confident expectation, that although he may be now justly displeased, and may have turned away his face from them, yet, when they implore his mercy, he will be entreated, and raising the dead to life again, will turn their mourning into gladness. By the word quicken, they complain that they almost resemble persons who are dead, or that they are stunned and laid prostrate with afflictions. And when they promise themselves matter of rejoicing, they intimate that in the meantime they are well nigh worn out with sorrow.
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.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 85:6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that…
Psa 85:6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
Ver. 6. Wilt thou not revive us again?] Who for present are all amort, as it were, free among the dead? free of that company?
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That thy people may rejoice in thee] A joyless life is a lifeless life, Mortis habet vices quae trahitur vita gemitibus.
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 Thou hast once revived us in bringing us out…
Thou hast once revived us in bringing us out of captivity, give us a second reviving in bringing home the rest of our brethren, and in rebuking and restraining the remainder of our enemies’ wrath.
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 Wilt thou not revive us again,.... Their return from…
Wilt thou not revive us again,.... Their return from the Babylonish captivity was a reviving of them in their bondage, Ezr 9:8 and the conversion of them in the latter day will be a reviving them again, be as life from the dead; they are like the dry bones in Ezekiel's vision, or like the dead in the graves; and their being turned to the Lord will be a resurrection, or quickening of them, as every instance of conversion is; see Rom 11:15, men are dead in trespasses and sins, and they are quickened by the Spirit and grace of God, so that they revive, and live a life of sanctification; they are dead in law, and find themselves to be so, when spiritually enlightened; when the Spirit of God works faith in them, to look to and live upon the righteousness of Christ for justification; and who, after spiritual decays, declensions, and deadness, are revived again, and are made cheerful and comfortable by the same Spirit; all which may be here intended:
that thy people may rejoice in thee; it was a time of rejoicing in the Lord, when the Jews were returned from their captivity in Babylon; but their future conversion will be matter of greater joy, both to themselves and to the Gentiles; everlasting joy will be upon their heads, and in their hearts, when they shall return to Zion, Psa 14:7 and so is the conversion of every sinner joyful to himself and to others; such rejoice in Christ, in his person, blood, and righteousness; and every view of him afterwards, as it is a reviving time, it fills with joy unspeakable, and full of glory: the Targum is,
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"and thy people shall rejoice in thy Word;''
Christ, the essential Word.
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 Revive us - Give us a second reviving in…
Revive us - Give us a second reviving in bringing home the rest of our brethren, and in restraining our enemies.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. Wilt thou not revive us] We have…
Verse 6. Wilt thou not revive us] We have long had the sentence of death in ourselves; and have feared an utter extinction. Shall not our nation yet live before thee? Shall we not become once more numerous, pious, and powerful, that
Thy people may rejoice in thee?] As the Source of all our mercies; and give thee the glory due to thy name?
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 85:6. Wilt thou not revive us again? —…
Psa 85:6. Wilt thou not revive us again? — Thou hast once revived us in bringing us out of captivity; give us a second reviving, in bringing home the rest of our brethren, and in rebuking and restraining the remainder of our enemies’ wrath. Revive us with encouraging and comfortable words spoken to us, revive us with gracious and desired deliverances wrought for us. That thy people may rejoice in thee — Quicken and give them life, that they may have joy: and that their joy, being derived from thee, may terminate in thee. “If God,” says Henry, “be the fountain of all our mercies, he must be the centre of all our joys.”
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 Wilt thou not revive us again - literally, “Wilt…
Wilt thou not revive us again - literally, “Wilt thou not turn, or return, cause us to live;” that is, and cause us to live. The expression is equivalent to “again” as in our translation. The Septuagint and Vulgate render it, “Returning, wilt thou not give us life?” The word rendered revive means to live; to cause to live; and the idea is that of recovering them from their condition as a state of death; that is, restoring them as if they were dead. The image is that of returning spring after the death of winter, or the young grass when the rain descends after a long drought, and when everything seemed to be dead. So of the people referred to in the psalm; everything among them was like such a winter, when there is neither leaf, nor flower, nor grass, nor fruit; or like such a drought, when desolation is seen everywhere; or like the grave, where the dead repose. The image of spring, after a long and dreary winter, is one also which will properly describe the condition of the church when the influences of the Spirit have been long withheld, and when, under the visitations of grace, religion seems to live again among the people of God.
That thy people may rejoice in thee - In thy favor; in thy presence; in thee as their God.
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(a) There is always joy in a revival of religion. Nothing is so much suited to make a people happy; nothing diffuses so much joy. Compare Act 8:8.
(b) This is particularly joy in God. It is because he comes near; because he manifests his mercy; because he shows his power and his grace.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. Wilt thou not revive us—Wilt thou not turn…
6. Wilt thou not revive us—Wilt thou not turn and quicken us, or, preserve us alive? See the same prayer offered by the prophet Habakkuk (Hab_3:2) when he foresaw this sad condition of Israel.
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 6. Wilt thou not revive us again] Wilt not…
6. Wilt thou not revive us again] Wilt not thou turn and quicken us? restoring our national life according to the promises of the prophets. See Hos_6:2; Hab_2:4; Eze_37:3 ff. Cp. Psa_71:20; Psa_80:18. Thou is emphatic. Thou Who alone canst, Thou Who art pledged to it by Thy word.
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.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Wilt thou not revive us again! literally, wilt thou…
Wilt thou not revive us again! literally, wilt thou not return and revive us?. (comp. Psa_71:20) So Ezra prays God to "give Israel a little reviving in their bondage". (Ezr_9:8) That thy people may rejoice in thee. The "revival" and "rejoicing" came in Nehemiah"s time, when the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem was kept "with gladness, both with thanksgiving, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps". (Neh_12:27)
Revival.
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"Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?" The prayers of Scripture, like its promises, never grow old. They deal not with the changing surface and circumstances of life, but with its living heart and abiding needs. So this prayer of the old psalmist is as fresh and fit for our lips today, as when the ink was wet in which he wrote. The same Spirit who inspired him also "helpeth our infirmities.
I THE BLESSING SOUGHT: REVIVAL. This word has come to be often used for a season of extraordinary religious activity, attended by numerous conversions. But it properly means the quickening, strengthening, elevating, of life already possessed; but perhaps feeble, declining, threatened with extinction. This must be God"s work, by the power of his Spirit. "Wilt thou not revive us?" All life, natural and spiritual, is from God nod in God. At the back of all force is his power; at the back of all causation, his will; at the back of all law, his wisdom. (Psa_33:6 Psa_104:30) But there is this wonderful and glorious difference between the realm of natural and of spiritual life in the outward material world we have to deal with laws; the power working under and behind those laws is inscrutably hidden. But in spiritual life it is just Gods power we have to deal with; the laws according to which it is put forth are mostly beyond our ken. In the natural world there is ample range for prayer; but in the spiritual we are shut up to prayer. We are to pray for daily bread, for which we must work, as well as for forgiveness of sin, for which we cannot work. But with this difference the ungodly husbandman will reap his harvest, if he works for it, though he does not pray; but pardon, and the grace of God"s Spirit, will not be given to those who do not ask. (Luk_11:13 Jam_1:5 1Jn_1:9)
II HOW WILL THIS QUICKENED LIFE SHOW ITSELF? In:
1. Lowlier humility. Deeper consciousness of sin, need, weakness. That Church, of all the seven addressed in the Apocalypse, which said, "I am rich, and have need of nothing," was the very one that was in the very jaws of death. (Rev_3:17) We put this note of revival first, because our Lord puts it first in describing the character and blessedness of his true disciples. (Mat_5:3-5) The first token of revived life in a frozen limb is intense pain; the flesh that is past feeling is past cure. (see Eph_4:19 Pro_26:12)
2. Increased spirit of prayer. More urgent habitual sense of need of prayer. Disposition to more frequent prayer (however brief). Perhaps at first no increased freedom and delight, but rather depressing sense of the weakness, coldness, unworthiness of our prayers. More earnestness, especially in prayer for others. Stronger faith in God"s promises (not in our own prayers). Perseverance and patience. Out of all this must come, sooner or later, both delight and power in prayer, the presence of the Holy Spirit with our spirit, bringing our desires into harmony with God"s will, and helping our infirmities.
3. Growing love of Gods truth. The Bible will be dearer to us, fuller of light and help. Christ"s word will abide in us. (Col_1:9-11)
4. Deeper, more inspiring, controlling views of the love of God in Christ. (Eph_3:16-19)
III RESULTS OF REVIVAL. "That thy people," etc. The psalmist was thinking of God"s chosen nation, Israel. That is no hindrance to our application of both prayer and promise. The conditions and forms of national life and of Church life are wholly different from what they were then; never can be the same. But principles abide. Righteousness still exalts a nation. "Blessed is the people whose God is the Lord!" A dead or lukewarm Church cannot be a joyful Church; nor a lukewarm worldly Christian a joyful Christian. Suppose all English men, women, children, to become true, earnest, loving disciples of our Lord Jesus, "filled with the Spirit;" the whole face of society and national life would be changed, because its heart would be changed. (Act_8:8) Meanwhile, revival, with all its fruits, either in the Church or in the nation, must begin in the hearts and homes of Christians. Then the joy of the Lord will be our strength. All turns (remember) on this word, "thou." With God is life"s fountain. In him our bodies live: how much more our spirits! (Joh_15:5 Php_2:13)
Revival
I NOTE THE CHIEF WORD OF THIS VERSE: "REVIVE." It implies:
1. Life. The new creation has been accomplished, the passing from death unto life has taken place.
2. But that life has declined, and therefore needs revival. How often this occurs! Our spiritual life is not as our natural life, which is weakest at the beginning and end; but the spiritual life is strong in the vigour of its first love, nor does it ever at the last hour fall from God, but in the midst of the years, like the wires of the telegraph between the posts, it often falls to its lowest. The causes are not a few, but may be summed up in one the not abiding in Christ.
3. The life which has declined can be revived the health and vigour come back again, the backsliding be healed.
II WHAT IT EXPRESSES. It is an earnest prayer, an impassioned pleading for revival. It means, "Oh that thou wouldst revive us again!" Now, this reveals:
1. Consciousness of need. There may be the need, as at Laodicea, and no consciousness of it; but when such prayer as this is heard, it shows that the soul is wide awake to its needs.
2. Distress on account of it. Earnest anxiety is aroused; the work of conviction has been done; this prayer proves it.
3. The confession of it, and the casting of the soul on God for its need being met; and this could not be without there being also:
4. Confidence that God would answer his prayer. A child must see the look of "Yes" in his lather"s face, or else he will soon give over asking; but when he does see that look, what a vehemency of asking then ensues! And so with the child of God here. He has seen that look of "Yes" on the Father"s face, and hence this confident earnestness. Such are the characteristics of every such prayer as this. Note
III ITS PLEA. "That thy people may rejoice in thee." So then it is plainly taught that a low religious life and a joyous one are incompatible; there must be a reviving if there is to be rejoicing. Hence it is that to so many people religion seems rather a distress than a delight. They are, as it has been said, like a man with a headache; he would not like to lose his head, but he is very uncomfortable with it. A man was once invited to eat of some apples from a certain orchard, but he promptly declined. His friend was much surprised, and asked him the reason. "Oh," said he, "I took of some of your apples the other day, which were hanging over the hedge, and I am quite sure I do not want any more of them." "Ah," said the other, "I am not surprised; those apples were a poor lot; but I put them there on purpose for the boys, who are always taking what does not belong to them. But come into the middle of the orchard, and try the fruit there, which is of a very different sort." And so it is with many Christians; they take only the hard sour fruit of the religious life; that which is full of delight is in the midst of the garden of God, whither as yet they have never entered. It is good to be God"s servants at all, better, far better, to be of those who rejoice, whose service of God is not a drudgery, but a delight; best of all when the rejoicing is in God, not in his blessings merely, but in him. God wants us to rejoice in him; the world will be more surely won for God when more joy characterizes his servants, and for ourselves, it is the surest guarantee of steadfastness. S.C.
Quickening as God"s work.
In his very striking image of the dry bones in the valley, the Prophet Ezekiel, in a most emphatic way, declares that "quickening," "requickening," is the work of God, and of God alone. When man works he must stop short at imparting life, that is beyond him. He may copy the forms of living things, but at the end of all his works it must be said, "There is no breath in them." God gives all life. "Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon the slain, that they may live". (Eze_37:9, Eze_37:10)
I THE CHURCH OF CHRIST CONSTANTLY NEEDS REQUICKENING. This is true of all the ages. We have to take account of the ever-recurring tendency to flag and taint and fail. Men have never been able to keep up to the high levels which they may at times have attained. The whole history of Israel is a series of illustrations of this truth. Back from all reformations and revivals Israel constantly fell into indifference, or into formality. It may be shown that:
1. Times of special strain are followed by rebounds. An army is never in such peril as in the relaxed hours that follow a great victory.
2. Mere continuance tends to develop into formality. As with constant practice at the piano, the player comes to play without thinking.
3. Energetic people, who must be doing, are always in danger of neglecting the culture of the interior life. It may be well searchingly to examine ourselves, and see whether we need requickening.
II REQUICKENING IS IN THE POWER OF GOD ALONE. We must not only admit that as an abstract truth; we must feel that as a truth bearing direct relations to ourselves. The limit of man"s doing may be illustrated by the garden plants. We water them, and they do not care for our work, or respond to it. We can do little more than wash the dust from their leaves, and moisten the air around them. God rains his heavenly rains upon them, and they respond at once; lift up their heads, hold out firmly their leaves, and evidently feel the thrill of new life. One of the most delightful and inspiring views we can get of God sees him ever at work, restoring things that have gone wrong, and reviving things that are flagging. He is the Source of all life, that we admit. He is the Restorer and Requickener of all life, that we want to feel.
III WHETHER WE BE REQUICKENED DEPENDS UPON OURSELVES. There are conditions in us for which God ever waits. His work cannot be all that he would have it be until we are in right condition.
1. We must see our need of requickening.
2. We must put away the self-indulging things which have been injuriously telling on our life.
3. We must be in attitude of prayer of united prayer. R.T.
Revivals; or, discerning the signs of the times.
They who read the times, with keen interest in the spiritual vitality of the Church, cannot fail to recognize the need of spiritual revival. The features of religious life may, in essence, be those characteristic of every age, but there may be subtleties and severities in their forms and settings at particular seasons which make them unusually effective for evil.
I ONE SIGN OF OUR TIMES IS VASTLY INCREASED INTELLIGENCE. Science has developed. Literature has unfolded. Education has become a mania. In our pride we are saying, "We are wiser than our fathers." But this is attended with perilous moral evils. It is so easy now to become proud in our imaginations, confident in our reasoning, and scornful of the higher powers of the soul, in our admiration of the powers of the mind.
II ANOTHER SIGN IS THE INTENSE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE. Facilities are now afforded for meeting the cravings of bodily pleasure which have nourished the cravings into a soul mastering passion. The world of landscapes, of art, of science, of music, of poetry, of play, lays its treasures now at the feet of the poorest. And no good man can begrudge the world"s toilers the relief which these later days can provide. But the passion for that which is pleasing is telling seriously on the sense of duty, and even on the higher moral qualities, on the reserve and self-restraint, which belong to the essence of noble character. What we like is coming to rule, rather than what we ought.
III ANOTHER SIGN IS THE PRESSURE OF BUSINESS, AND THE HASTING TO BE RICH. Typified in the man who regretted the compulsory Sunday rest, because then he had no chance of making money. Success in life is fast becoming the modern Baal that outrivals Jehovah.
IV ANOTHER SIGN IS THE CALL FOR INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL, RATHER THAN SPIRITUAL PREACHING. Men ask for "essays;" they chafe under "persuasions." They seek for "soothings;" they do not want "reproofs," "correction in righteousness," and inspirations to the pursuit of holiness.
V ANOTHER SIGN IS THE MULTIPLICATION OF ORGANIZED FORMS OF CHRISTIAN WORK. Machinery taking the place of life. Men paying for the doing of what they should do themselves. Christ claims our personal service, the expression of our soul"s vitality; and that claim can never be commuted for any money payment, or entrusted to any substitute. If, then, we can see signs of the Church"s falling from its vocation, let us see that:
1. God must not be thought of as separated from the interests of a decaying Church. To cease to connect God with its condition is the last stage of a Church"s decline.
2. God must be sought as the only Source of spiritual revival. We cannot remedy spiritual evils by any form of personal effort, if those are made apart from dependence on God.
3. The revival of God"s Church begins in the revival of individual souls. R.T.
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 Ver. 6. Wilt thou not revive us again? Hope…
Ver. 6. Wilt thou not revive us again? Hope here grows almost confident. She feels sure that the Lord will return in all his power to save. We are dead or dying, faint and feeble, God alone can revive us, he has in other times refreshed his people, he is still the same, he will repeat his love. Will he not? Why should he not? We appeal to him
Wilt thou not? That thy people may rejoice in thee. Thou lovest to see thy children happy with that best of happiness which centres in thyself, therefore revive us, for revival will bring us the utmost joy. The words before us teach us that gratitude has an eye to the giver, even beyond the gift
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thy people may rejoice in thee. Those who were revived would rejoice not only in the new life but in the Lord who was the author of it. Joy in the Lord is the ripest fruit of grace, all revivals and renewals lead up to it. By our possession of it we may estimate our spiritual condition, it is a sure gauge of inward prosperity. A genuine revival without joy in the Lord is as impossible as spring without flowers, or daydawn without light. If, either in our own souls or in the hearts of others, we see declension, it becomes us to be much in the use of this prayer, and if on the other hand we are enjoying visitations of the Spirit and bedewings of grace, let us abound in holy joy and make it our constant delight to joy in God.
Ver. 6. Wilt thou not revive us again? The Hebrew is, Wilt thou not return and revive us? We translate the verb return by the adverb again: Wilt thou not revive us again? Thou hast given us many revives: when we were as dead men, and like carcases rotting in the grave, thou didst revive us, wilt thou not revive us once more, and act over those powerfully merciful works and strong salvations once more, or again? Joseph Caryl.
Ver. 6. That thy people may rejoice in thee. Bernard in his 15th Sermon on Canticles says Jesus is honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, joy in the heart. Is any among us sad? Let Jesus enter the heart, and thence spring to the countenance, and behold, before the rising brightness of his name, every cloud is scattered, serenity returns. Origen in his 10th Hom on Genesis, has the remark, Abraham rejoiced not in present things, neither in the riches of the words, nor deeds of time. But do you wish to hear, whence he drew his joy? Listen to the Lord speaking to the Jews, Joh 8:56: Your father, Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad: hope heaped up his joys. Le Blanc.
Ver. 6. That thy people may rejoice in thee. When God changeth the cheer of his people, their joy should not be in the gift, but in the Giver. David Dickson.
Ver. 6. It is the most natural thing, the most delightful thing, for the people of God to rejoice in God. God is the fountain of joy, and whom should he fill with it but his people? And whom should his people breathe it into again but him? This posture God delights to have them in; this posture they delight to be in; but this cannot be in that estate of death and captivity wherein God for a long season shutteth them up. "The living, the living shall praise thee, "but alas, the dead cannot. John Pennington, 1656.
Ver. 6. Truly sin kills. Men are dead in trespasses and sins, dead in law, dead in their affections, dead in a loss of comfortable communion with God. Probably the greatest practical heresy of each age is a low idea of our undone condition under the guilt and dominion of sin. While this prevails we shall be slow to cry for reviving or quickening. What sinners and churches need is quickening by the Holy Ghost. William S. Plumer.
Ver. 6-7. Wilt thou not revive us, by the first and spiritual resurrection, and so thy people, quickened from a life of sin to a life of grace, will rejoice in thee, not in themselves, presuming nothing on their own power. And in order that these things may be fulfilled in us, Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy, that is, Christ, through whom thou hast pitied the human race, shew him to us after this exile that we may see him face to face. Richardus Hampolus.
Ver. 6.
I. Revivals imply decline.
1. That there is grace to be revived.
2. That this grace has declined. II. Revivals are from God: Wilt not thou, etc.: they cannot be got up by men. III. Revivals are frequently needed: Wilt not thou revive us again. IV. Revivals are in answer to prayer: Wilt thou not, etc. V. Revivals are occasions for great joy.
1. To the saints.
2. In God.
Psalms 85:7*
Ver. 6-7. See Psalms on "Ps 85:6" for further information.
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 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 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 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.