THEME: The perfect Jubilee, The path to true Revival Ps.

85:6

“Wilt thou not revive us again?”

The return of Israelites from the Babylonish captivity was a reviving of them in
their bondage, ( Ezra 9:8 Ezra 9:9 ) 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; ( Romans 11:15 ) ( Ezekiel 37:1-10 ), we 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, is 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 a 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, ( Psalms 14:7 ) ( Isaiah 35:10 )
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
afterward, as it is a reviving time, it fills with joy unspeakable, and full of glory:
the Targum is,

``and thy people shall rejoice in thy Word;''

Christ, the essential Word. The passage that we have just read is a heartfelt
prayer for revival. The Psalmist is thinking back upon the spiritual history of
Israel. He is remembering how, after Israel had given into sin time after time, God
had always provided a plan to bring them back to Himself. And with this thought in
mind, his heart cries out to God, “Wilt Thou Thyself not revive us again?”
Looking at our own nation, and its present situation, one can easily see the
desperate need for revival. Our nation is dying (dead) in trespasses and sins and
too many churches are spiritually asleep, therefore our land and our life is rapidly
losing its Christian essence. The people of God seem spiritually impotent, the fires
of devotion are burning low, and the joy of the Lord is all but gone. The consistent
lack of obedience to the will of God among Christians is the problem underlying the
need for revival. The followers of Christ have ceased to function as salt and light
(Mt. 5:13-16) consequently there is minimal check on the ungodliness that is
flooding our once noble land. Wickedness, therefore, grows like weeds and no
unifying voice is raised in protest or warning about the frightening judgment of
God that unchecked evil authorizes.

The theme for today is just right: the perfect jubilee, the path to true revival
must begin from the cradle of our innermost being. We first have to go on our
knees and see ourselves truly as sinners and then acknowledge who we are in our
shortcomings before we can truly begin to grow in spirit. So dearest Beautiful gate
sisters, today is that renewal time of grace the path we must painfully take to
realize the perfect jubilee of the essence of God.

Is it all over then? One cannot be sure. God’s people and the world have fallen into
dark decadence before, but God answered His faithful remnant’s cry with revival.
Will He do it again? He will if we fervently desire Him to do so. It does not matter
the severity of judgment we deserve. If mourning over and cleansing from sin
would occur along with a new willingness to be obedient to His will, revival most
certainly could come down upon us.

Note in the sub-heading for the Psalm. It says a Psalm of the sons of Korah
meaning this beautiful prayer, probably set to music, was composed by the sons of
Korah. “Now the name of Korah is connected with infamy in Numbers 16. There
Korah, along with certain persons from the tribe of Reuben-Dathan, Abiram, and
On– became insolent when they declared that it was time for a change in
leadership. Moses and Aaron had to go! They argued that the congregation was
‘Holy,’ so why should Aaron and Moses set themselves up as leaders over the Lord’s
assembly? (Num. 16:3).

Moses and Aaron were instructed by God to tell the congregation of Israel to move
away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Num.16:23, 26). Suddenly the
earth opened up, and they went down to their graves alive (Num. 16:33).
One would think that all the natural descendants of Korah would forever be cut off
from the mercy and grace of God, but the title to this psalm indicates that” they
found favor with God. The same Mosaic law that taught that God would punish the
sins of “Fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me” (Exod.
20:4) also taught that “fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor
children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his [or her] own sin”
(Deut. 24:16). Thus, the marvelous grace of God did not hold against the lineal
descendants of Korah the faults that overtook their forefather, but instead
raised them to even greater heights by allowing them to be the authors of
Scripture, including Psalms 42-49; 84-85; and 87-88. In 2 Chronicles 20:19 the
Korahites stood along with the Levities and the Kohahites to praise the Lord as
they marched toward the enemy army.

How appropriate, then, that the family that had experienced so generously the
grace of God should be used by God to call their generation and ours back to that
same God of Grace! They did this in Psalm 85, with four strophes that laid out
before the Lord four requests:

a. God’s past faithfulness

b. Our present distress
c. Peace and glory in the land
d. The prepared path of deliverance

My dear sisters, May the almighty bless us all! AMEN