1. A Journey Through The Psalms
Wisdom From God
A Journey Through The Psalms

2. Psalm 85– Revive Us Again
Any nation wishing to be great must begin by being righteous and holy.
Psalm 33:12 – “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.”
Politics alone cannot make a nation great.
Finances will not make a nation great.
Slogans cannot make a nation great.

3. Only God and Godliness…
Shouldn’t we pray for God to make us great? Not as Americans, but as Christians?
2 Timothy 2:1-2 – “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

4. Three Prayers From Psalm 85
Israel had experienced a meteoric rise, a devastating demise, and was seeking to be restored by God.
Sons of Korah sang about that restoration. We’ll consider their song as a series of prayers:
A prayer for restoration
A prayer for revival
A prayer for righteousness

5. Prayer For Restoration: V. 1-5
O Lord, You showed favor to Your land; You restored the captivity of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. You withdrew all Your fury; You turned away from Your burning anger. Restore us, O God of our salvation, and cause Your indignation toward us to cease. Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations.”

6. Sinful Nations Must Seek Forgiveness
“You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin….”
They prayed for God’s anger to be abated
His wrath spent – v. 3
For Him to restore them v. 4
His favor – v. 5
No nation can be great if God is angry with her.

7. When God Is Angry With A Nation
Jeremiah 4:4 – “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and remove the foreskins of your heart, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else My wrath will go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.”

8. When God Is Angry…
Romans 1:18 – “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”

9. When God Is Angry…
Isaiah 2:6-8 – “For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with influences from the east, and they are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike bargains with the children of foreigners. Their land has also been filled with silver and gold and there is no end to their treasures; their land has also been filled with horses and there is no end to their chariots. Their land as also been filled with idols; they worship the work of their hands….”

10. Not About A Pilgrimage
Thought is more like: “How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways that seek for and yearn for the presence of God”
This is a blessing pronounced upon those who love God and His way.

11. Prayer For Revival – v. 6-9
“Will You not Yourself revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your lovingkindess, O Lord, and grant us Your salvation. I will hear what God the Lord will say; for He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him that glory may dwell in our land.”

12. Revive Us Again! Revival results from repentance.
Acts 3:19 – “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord….”

13. Isaiah 57:15
“For thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

14. Ezekiel 37:1-6,12 God shows Ezekiel a valley of long dry bones.
Asks, “…can these bones live?”
“Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.”

15. What Will Make Us Great? Revival comes when we learn to live for God.
We must never forget our first love.
Rev. 2:4-5 – “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember form where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place – unless you repent.”

16. Prayer For Righteousness v. 10-13
“Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springs form the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. Indeed, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its produce. Righteousness will go before Him and will make His footsteps into a way.”

17. Godly Unions V. 10 Lovingkindness and truth meet
Righteousness and truth kiss.
A reality in the Messianic Kingdom of which we are citizens.
Revive us again? Through Christ we are revived!

18. God Blesses Righteousness Eternally
Titus 2:12-13 – “…instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus….”

19. He Blesses Righteousness Now
1 Peter 3:10-12 – “For ‘the one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. He must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

20. Following In His Steps
V. 13 – “Righteousness will go before Him and will make His footsteps into a way.”
If we follow God He will bless us wherever we are.
If we follow Christ He will save us and restore us.
His path is righteousness. Are you on His path?