The Lord’s Message:  Summer of Psalms:  O Lord, Revive Us Again!

The Lord’s Message:  Summer of Psalms:  O Lord, Revive Us Again!
Date:  August 24, 2025
Where:  Tilghman Methodist Church
Scripture Reference:  Psalm 85

            This morning, we are wrapping up our sermon series on the Summer of Psalms.  Next  Sunday, Michael Lawrence will be preaching the Lord’s Message, and the following Sunday, (you will not want to miss this), David Miller, Larry Gowe, Sr. and Larry Gowe, Jr will be singing some of the old-time favorites of the Fathers and Sons gospel group.  It will be a very special Sunday, so I hope that all of you will be here on Sunday, September 7.

            The Book of Psalms is the Hymnal of the Bible. Please open your Bibles to Psalm 85.   Just like in most hymnals the lyrics are composed by different writers, so in the Book of Psalms, there are other writers beside David that have composed Psalms.  Examples are Solomon and Moses.  This morning, we are going to examine a Psalm that was written by the Sons of Korah. 

            Let us pray.

            Who were the Sons of Korah?  This becomes a difficult problem, not because the Bible does not mention this name.  Instead, the Bible mentions this name on six different instances.  The first is found in Genesis 36:5 as one of the descendants of Esau.  The second is found in     1 Chronicles 2:43 as the great grandson of Caleb.  The third is found in Exodus 6:21 & 24 as from the tribe of Levi.  The fourth is found in Numbers 26:58 as being the ancestors of the Korahites who rebelled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.  The fifth is found in 1 Chronicles 26:1 they are the “doorkeepers” or guards of the temple during King David’s reign.  It is also interesting that these same Korahites are the grandsons of the great prophet and judge Samuel.  That brings us to the sixth mention of the name of Korah.  It is found in                1 Chronicles 9:1,19 as being on the list of the people of Judah taken captive by the Babylonians and taken to exile in Babylon. 

The last are the Sons of the Korahites who wrote this Psalm.  This Psalm was written sometime after 839 BC, when King Cyrus of Persia conquered the Babylonians and allowed the Israelites to return to their land.  He also gave them materials and funds for rebuilding the temple, the protective walls around the city of Jerusalem, and their homes.  He also allowed them to start the worship of God by performing sacrifices and religious services in the temple. The Korahites would have resumed their place as guardians of the temple.

I do not know about all of you, but I need revival in my life.  I want to see revival in this church.  I want to see revival in the community.  This can only happen if we are down on our knees praying to God. 

            Psalm 85 is a powerful psalm that gives us the blueprint to make revival happen.  It is broken into four stanzas.  The first stanza is from verses 1 to 3, revival begins first when we remember the goodness of God. The second stanza is from verses 4 to 7, we cry out to God that we need revival.  The third stanza is from verses 8 & 9, we need to listen to God.  The last stanza is from verses 10 to 13, is the result of God reviving our soul with His love, grace, and mercy.

            In order for revival to take place in our lives, in our church, and in the community, we have to first remember the love that God has had for us in the past.  The great things that God has done for us.  In verse 1, I believe that when the Sons of Korah were writing this psalm that they might have thought about how God had called an idol worshipper named Abram to this land that God had promised to his descendants.  This was the same land which God brought the Israelites back to following their 400 years of slavery in Egypt.  This was the same land that God has brought them back to after 70 years of being in exile in Babylon. 

            Just think about the times that God has been with you.  From the moment that you were conceived in your mother’s womb to this time, God has been with you.  Is there anyone that would want to say, without a doubt, God has been good to me?  Turn to your neighbor on the left of you and say, “God has been good to me.”  Turn to your neighbor on the right of you and say, “God has been good to me.”

            Not only has God been good to them and brought them back to the land, but God forgave them and covered their sins.  Look at verse 2.  In verse 3, this verse tells us that God turned away His righteous anger or His wrath.  God just did not turn a little of His wrath; He turned away all of His wrath.  It was on the cross of Jesus that God’s wrath, His righteous anger, was turned away from us.  Jesus paid the penalty that we all would have had to pay.  Jesus covered our sins with His blood.  Praise be to Jesus, Our Lord and Savior!

The mood of the stanzas in verse 4 -7 changes.  The writers realizes that their hearts have wandered away from God and they need to turn back to God to be revived.  They need to cry out to God for revival to happen.  God is not going to give us something that we do not ask for.  O how I wish that my relationship with God was one in which I continually, each and every day. went deeper and deeper and drew closer and closer to God.  I have to admit that my relationship with God is one in which I need constant renewal and His loving grace.  But I have to go to God and ask for this to happen.  It begins with confessing to God my sin and asking for His repentance.  If you do not ask, you will not receive.

Verses 8 & 9 is a time that we need to be quiet and listen to that still small voice of God.  God speaks through His written word, the Bible and His living word, Jesus. We need to turn the volume of this world down and the volume of God up.  I have to admit that I need to learn patience to block out my thoughts, so that I can spend time and sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to what Jesus wants to tell me.  God’s directions are not cruel.  God directions bring us peace.  Peace with God and peace with each other.  Let us listen to God and not listen to the world.  The world’s directions only bring foolishness or folly.  Salvation is always near to us.  We need to confess our sins and ask God to forgive us.  God will forgive us and remember our sins no more. His glory or Holy Spirit lives in each one of us. 

Now the next stanzas, verses 10-13, are the sons expecting God to answer their prayers for revival.  It is going to happen.  We should not say “if,” but “when” God brings His blessing of revival for us.  If we do not think that God will answer our prayers, then we will miss out on the blessing of when God answers our prayers.  These verses are some of the most beautiful poetic writings found in all of the Bible.  In verse 10, we have the four attributes of God:  Love, Faithfulness, Righteousness and Peace.  Notice that these attributes do not try to one up each other, but instead are in perfect harmony with each other. 

First, Love and Faithfulness meet together.  Now, the Hebrew verb, nipgasu, is found in Proverbs 22:2.  It does not matter whether we are rich or poor, we are all created by God.  God has created us in His image and in His love.  Love and Faithfulness are separated by our sin.  They are reunited at the cross.  This reuniting brings about Peace and Righteousness

Peace and Righteousness are so joined together that they “kiss” each other.  The Hebrew word that is used here is “nasaqu.”  It is the only time that this word is used in the Bible.  When they “kiss,” Righteousness and Peace represent a dynamic, unifying, and restorative reconciliation between God’s justice and His peaceful blessing.

In verse 11, these attributes of God reviving our hearts, produce faithfulness in us, and then God’s righteousness descends from heaven upon us.  Faithfulness has to rise in us, before God’s righteousness can descends.  We have to want to renew our relationship with God before God is going to enter into our hearts.  Remember when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River?  Jesus entered into the water.  Jesus goes down in the water.  Then Jesus comes up from the water and what does God say?  “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”   God is saying to us, “This is my son or daughter whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”  We must enter into the waters of revival and then God will impart His righteousness upon us.

Look at verse 12.  The evidence of revival in us, in our church, and in our community, are the blessings that God abundantly pours out.  The love and grace that we see in each other.  The souls that come back to God. 

In verse 13, God always prepares the way for people to return to him, for people to seek revival.  His righteousness is a beacon that points the way back to God.  He is the Motel 6 for our soul.  His light is always on. 

Let us quickly review this blueprint for revival.  First for revival to happen, we begin with remembering and praising God for His love, grace, and mercy in the past.  Second, we need to ask God for revival.  Third, we need to turn the volume up on God and listen to Him and not the world.  Fourth, we need to expect that God is going to revive our soul. 

As I was preparing this message, I am also involved with a group of clergy online that are participating in a weekly class meeting to revive our souls.  John Wesley preached on this problem of needing renewal.  He said, “I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America.  But I am afraid, lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.  And this undoubtedly will be the case, unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with they first set out.”  To prevent this from occurring John and Charles Wesley started what is known as the class meeting. 

How many of you need revival in your life?  How many of you want to see this church revived?  How many of you want to see the community revived?  If there are any here that answer “Yes” to any or all of those three questions, I want you to come forward to the altar, so that we may pray for each other.  O Lord, Revive Us Again!  Amen.