In 1702, 30 years before the first great awakening, the Puritan pastor, Cotton Mather, used the word revival for the first time in relation to religion. Before that, it was used, as it colloquially was, to speak of constituting something to health or back to life, to bring something that is weak back to strength. Mather used it to speak of spiritual awakening among religious communities, which is fitting as Mather just precedes the giants of George Whitefield, of Wesley, and Jonathan Edwards, the key figures in the first great awakening. If you're unfamiliar with the great awakening, it is a time in the 1700s where God moved powerfully to the preaching and ministry of these particular men, that many in Britain and America came to faith, that there was glowing revival in the church. In today's context, when we think of the word revival, we often think of it in terms of its religious connotations. Our imaginations run to big revival preachers and meetings where there's mass conversions and recommitments to Jesus, maybe even accompanied by some synths in the background. It's a meeting where there's a great movement of God and it occurs and people are fired up for Jesus. And though we want that, it's not something that we can preach up. It's something that must be prayed down as emphasized in this psalm. Revival can take those forms, but has more to do with the working of God than the gathering of men. It is God moving in the hearts and minds of his people to cause them to know him more deeply, love him more affectionately, obey him fully, and enjoy him ultimately. Revival is not something for people out there, for people who don't know Jesus. Those individuals need evangelism. Revival is for those who are once alive, people who lost their first love, who are lukewarm in their faith, whose fire for Jesus is more like a heap of coal than a blazing furnace. Jennifer Miskov, a revival historian, says this about revival. Revival is for Christians whose fire has waned. If someone has never encountered God's love for themselves, they can't necessarily be reawakened to it. It's only when the fire of first love has been snuffed out that one needs revival. Once that original flame is reignited, the awakened ones naturally influence those around them. And many times, others are brought to salvation as a result. What we see from this is that revival is for the church. It's for Christians, for the flames of faith to be stoked. Some of you this morning might feel like you need revival, that your love for God has grown cold. And if that is you this morning, this psalm is for you. Others of you know individuals whose faith has grown cold. This psalm is also for you so that you would know how to pray for your loved ones. The psalmist pens for us a prayer for revival. He models how we can pray today that God would move in his church so that his people would know his joy and his favor afresh, so that they would have a lively faith, that they would be revived. So how do we pray for revival? Our outline this morning is we remember God's past faithfulness. We see this in verses 1-3. We ask for our present need. We see this in verses 7-8, or sorry, from verses 4-7. And we believe in God's future promises. We see this in verses 8-13. So let's walk through this passage together. Let's look at our point 1, remembering, how do we pray for revival? We remember God's past faithfulness. This prayer for revival begins with praise, not petition. The psalmist acknowledges God and his faithfulness in the past and praises him for it. God, you were favorable to the land. You forgave the iniquity of the people. You withdrew your wrath. All of these verbs in the first three verses are in the past tense. In the history of Israel, there have been many instances where their sin had led them to God's discipline. That God used the circumstances of war, of disease, and the lack of prosperity as a means to call them to repentance. As we go through the Old Testament, whether with the instance of the golden calf, or throughout the time of the Judges, we see that when Israel repented of their sin and their idolatry, God graciously forgave them and restored them. In these first three verses, the psalmist is praising God for his previous favor and forgiveness. In his text, you see that there is a superscription. A superscription are the words right before what we call verse 1. So you can see it there. In it we see to the choir master a psalm of the sons of Korah. We are told that this psalm is written by the sons of Korah. This is a band of men who made music for Israel in the time of King David. This psalm is likely, however, written in their tradition, as scholars believe that this is a post-exilic psalm, meaning that it was sung by Israel after they returned from the Babylonian captivity. What we know is that the sin of Israel led them into captivity due to their idolatry. You can read of these events in 2 Kings chapter 25 and Jeremiah 52. But in this psalm, we find ourselves on the other side of judgment, where they have met God's forgiveness. They have returned to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile. And you can read of these instances in Ezra and Nehemiah. But in this psalm, we are given a communal lament, expressing to God their sadness and their need. And in this, what they do is that they remember, or they are reminded of how God has acted toward them in the past, and they praise Him for it. It is in this remembering of God's faithfulness that fuels them to their present plea and assurance for the future. Should be stated though, this is not a form of spiritual confirmation bias. It's knowing that God is the same today, yesterday, and forever. The works that He did in the past of saving, restoring, forgiving, is the same God that He is today. But the flip side of this is not presuming on God. That we would somehow be a people that simply sit back and be like, well God, you did good things before, and I guess you'll do good things now, so I'll just sort of sit in presumption or indifference. The psalmist is not presuming on God. He is seeing the precedent of God's salvation and acknowledging for it. Praising Him for His mercy in the past, and asking Him to be merciful again. As we pray for revival, we are to remember God's past faithfulness, His favor towards us, His mercy in forgiving our sin. And as we do this, we can say with Paul that God is able to do far more abundantly than we ask or think. Because He has done a great thing in even forgiving us of our sin and the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is by remembering God's past faithfulness that we have confidence in our present plea. The way in which we can do this work of remembering, there are many. One we could do is doing this work of remembrance scripturally. Seeing God's work of salvation through redemptive history is something that we can do every single time we open God's word. You can read of the Exodus and see God saving power towards His people. Or you can do this work personally. Seeing God's work and favor in saving you from your sin. Giving you confidence in your prayers and your praise. Or you can do this by thinking of particular circumstances in your life where God worked for good. And you are giving Him praise for how He worked in the past and it gives you confidence to approach Him today in prayer. As a church that is turning 50 years old, there are many instances where we can look back on our history and see that God has been favorable to us. And as we look back, sorry, as we look to the future, we can say, God would you do this again. Our prayer for revival starts by looking back, not with a posture of discontentment and desperation. No, instead it is a posture of gratitude and expectancy. God used an ad in a newspaper to produce a core group for what is now Bedford Presbyterian Church. He led this church from being in Dartmouth to being in Halifax and deepening its roots to now purchasing land and having this building in Bedford. There have been many baptisms, conversions, even ministers throughout this time. Never leaving this pulpit to be empty. Church, God has been so good to us. If He has been faithful in the past, why wouldn't we say that God is capable of doing more, of being faithful in the future? This remembering of God's faithfulness is what leads us to confidence in our present plea when we are praying for revival. Is by knowing that God has been forgiving and favorable in the past, that we can simply say, Father, would you do this again? So pray for revival by remembering God's past faithfulness. Secondly, we ask for a present need. Look at me at verses four to seven. The Israelites are returning to their homes after 70 years in exile. Many people they know they're dead, their goods have been taken, but what the Psalmist asked for here is not financial need or physical need, but he asked for the spiritual. He asked God for God. The request for revival is not financial prosperity, it's not the reconstruction of the city or the temple or physical strength, it is spiritual life and enjoyment of God. They could have prayed for any of those other things, but in praying for revival, it highlights to us how important faith truly is. To have a lively relationship with God is the ultimate ask of the Psalmist. And for all the other things that he could have asked for after returning from exile, he asked for this. The city is destroyed, the possessions are bleak, but instead of asking for any of these needs, he asked God for God. He asked for revival for the people of God to enjoy God once again. And he does this by asking, or beginning by asking for forgiveness. Look at verse 4. The Psalmist grieves over their sin and asks God to take away his anger for their sin. And in verse 5 we see two rhetorical questions. God will you be angry forever? Will you be angry with the generation after us? And I say these are rhetorical, because the Psalmist knows who God is, that he is a God of forgiveness and love. We see this even in the verses prior. And so in asking these questions, he knows that God will not be angry forever. The scriptures teach elsewhere that God's anger is for a moment and his favor is for a lifetime. But the flip side of these rhetorical questions is the Psalmist asking God not to oppose them, but to draw near to them. That they would not be met with hostility for their sin, but instead that they be met with hospitality. This plea makes clear that sin is their obstacle to enjoying God and experiencing God. It is the barrier that holds us back from God. It is the roadblock of our souls. It is the clogging of the pipes of our heart. Even when left unchecked is the wet blanket that is thrown over our flame for Christ. So whatever sin is weighing you down and dampening your love for God this morning, confess it to the Lord. We've already done this in our service, but do it now. If there are things that are still unconfessed, make it known to the Lord. Something that he does forgive, that he does remove the barrier, that we would know him and enjoy him more and more. The Psalmist moves from asking for forgiveness to the central request of this psalm. Revive us again. He asks for the people to enjoy and experience God afresh. He says in verse 7, for God to show his steadfast love and grant his salvation. This is a call for God to put his love on display, to experience God's salvation. In many ways, these verses point to some of the most famous words in Christianity. John 3, 16 and 17. Let me read them for you. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. God's steadfast love and salvation is granted and revealed at the cross of Jesus Christ. That God incarnate would come and die the death for sin that we deserve. So that anyone who believes in him would not perish but have eternal life. This is God's love on display. And to the believer this morning, the prayer that I encourage you to is the prayer of David found in Psalm 51, verse 12. If you're struggling this morning, pray this. Restore to me the joy of my salvation. If you have trusted in Jesus, you have been saved. You have been granted salvation. You have seen God's steadfast love in the person of work of Jesus Christ. But something we struggle with is actually reveling in that reality and taking the abundant joy that Jesus Christ has given us. To the unbeliever in this room, you like the sons of Korah have not seen God's love on display yet we hope. You haven't known God's salvation. My encouragement to you is to pray verse 7 for yourself. Lord show me your steadfast love. Show me Jesus Christ. Grant me your salvation and save me from my sin. And my hope is that he would do this. That you would know life. That you would know joy that only comes from our God. Well during COVID was one of the first times where I actually read this Psalm for myself. It was one of the few scriptures that really kept me going. And all I could do in the midst of my loneliness, my despondency is say these words, God revive me again. That I may rejoice in you. And though my circumstances didn't drastically change as many of yours didn't. I did get at least a tidiest sense of peace and joy. One that only God can bring. And there will be many seasons like this in our lives. Where our relationship with God feels more stale and uneventful. And maybe that's where you are today. This Psalm reminds us that you can turn to God. That he wouldn't leave us there. Instead we can turn to him in prayer. Turn to the God of revival and say God would you revive us today? So may you ask. Would you ask to revel in the reality of his steadfast love and his salvation? To enjoy him now and forever. Because church, many of us, many of us struggle with this. We struggle to really enjoy God. And so seek him that he may change us from the inside out. Some of you might be still wondering why the psalmist asked for joy over all the other things that he could have requested. The psalmist here is asking for the people of God to live out their life's purpose. Many of you are familiar with the Westminster Shorter Catechism which the first question asks what is the chief end of man? What is humanity's purpose? And the answer that is written is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Enjoying God is what you and I are created for. In asking to rejoice in him we are asking to live out our purpose. But what we see is that we can't do this on our own. That's why we must pray. We need God's help. We cannot somehow white knuckle, grip the steering wheel, rip up our boots by the bootstraps and rejoice in God. Instead our plea is an open handed receiving from God. This is why the psalmist prays and so should we for his present need and for our present need. As a church we might think that our present need is something different. What we need is some good preaching, some good discipleship, some good evangelism and the list goes on and on. All these things are things we are working towards. You can read your bulletin and you see them there. Where we start is not with these programs. We begin with a place where spiritual life is found. That we would be revived by God and enjoy God. It is from this communion with God that these elements will truly flow. This enjoyment of God guards us from the traps of comparison, of undue criticism, of cynicism. That it keeps our posture looking to the Lord in his glory. Whereas all those actions I just mentioned, they keep us folded in on ourselves or simply looking horizontally. These plans and programs, they will only go positively if we are in a posture of receptivity and not despondency. So may we pray that God would revive us today, that we would enjoy God today and forever. So we pray for revival by remembering God's faithfulness, by asking for our present need and lastly by believing God's future promises. Look at me at verses 8-13. The prayer for revival could have concluded with the plea for rejoicing. But what we see in this psalm is that revival leads to lasting renewal for God's people. Let me say that again. Revival leads to lasting renewal for God's people. That's what it's pointing towards. These words are written in verses 8-13 in what commentators call the prophetic perfect. Speaking of a day where all these words will be accomplished. We are told of a day where God will speak peace to his saints. When salvation is near. Where God's glory, his very presence will dwell with his people. A time where God's covenant attributes, steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness and peace they embrace. Where the promised land will be fruitful. This day has both come and is still on the way. We know that God has spoken. That God has spoken by his Son. Who is the Prince of Peace. Who brings peace on earth. We who are far off, who are brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ. The radiance of the glory of God in Jesus Christ dwells with us. And he has promised to neither leave us nor forsake us. Being with us until the end of the age. God's covenant attributes of steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness and peace are embodied in the person of Jesus Christ. And he has been good to us. Thinking about an increase to his land, the church. And may he continue to. The sons of Korah looked forward to the coming of Christ in these promises. And with them we look forward to their fullness in the new heavens and new earth when Jesus Christ will come again. And though we have these promises in part today, we look forward to when we will experience them in full. In a world where there is no war but peace. Just as we prayed this morning. Where our faith is made sight and we see Jesus Christ the salvation and presence of God face to face. For the land we inhabit is increasingly bountiful not just spiritually but literally where we are in need of nothing. This day will come and it will come in full. But till that day. May we pray for revival by believing these promises and asking for God to. For their fullness. In many ways revival is but a foretaste of the renewal to come where life with God will be perfect. But till that day we are called to live wise lives in the present. Look at me at verses eight and nine. In them we read a short prayer for wisdom. The psalmist asked God for his saints to not turn back to folly but instead live in the fear of the Lord. Folly is the opposite of wisdom. In asking God to restrain the people of God from folly. Is him asking that they would not turn back to their old foolish ways. And instead live lives in the fear of the Lord. If you remember from our study of Proverbs just a few weeks ago the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And in asking to not be fools and fear the Lord we see a prayer for wisdom. The fear that the psalmist is talking about. Is not the I'm going to be harmed by God kind of fear. It is the right reverence for God. It is a right view of God. The same fear that one would have for a loving parent or a good boss. Ongoingly the psalmist wants the people of God to live wise lives. Lives that walk in his ways pursue who he is and look to his promises. In this the prayer for revival is not a flash in the pan emotional experience. It is a hopeful ongoing living loving and longing for lives that God has given us in Jesus Christ. And that we look to where he will give them in full in the future. Until that day may we pray revive us again that we would enjoy him now and forever. As I began this message I said that this is something that cannot be preached up. It's something that must be prayed down. So may we pray.