Sermon – Psalm 85 – Restore Us Again

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Psalm 85 – Restore Us Again

July 28, 2013

This month we have been looking at the Book of Psalms. Psalm 82 told us about the inalienable rights God has given to everyone which governments are instituted to ensure. These rights are that every person should have food to eat, clothes to keep them warm, and a place to sleep. Psalm 52 was a warning to the powerful that God wants them to care for the weak, and God wants the weak to know that He will care for them. Today we will ask the question: What happens to the nation that ignores these commands? And when this happens what should we do about it? We will get to all of this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

The men's group on Friday mornings has been using the Book of Jeremiah for its devotionals. Jeremiah lived in the sixth century before Christ. He came with a warning to the nation. The nation under King Josiah was rich and powerful. The people believed that they had been blessed by God and that these blessing would continue forever. But Jeremiah warned them that if they continued to ignore God's commands God would remove his blessings. The poor and needy were not cared for. People worshiped other gods. And so God removed his blessings. The nation of Judah was conquered, and carried into exile in Babylon.

As we read Jeremiah each week we can't help but see that Jerusalem of the sixth century BC was very much like America today. The government is in debt, and cities are on the edge of bankruptcy. Our culture is normalizing what the Bible clearly calls sin. The powerful seek to increase their power at the expense of the week. We seem to be following our own gods. And this leads us to an important question. Do the warnings Jeremiah gave to Judah twenty-five hundred years goes apply to America today? I think the answer is yes. America is prosperous, richly blessed by God. But we could lose all of this if we don't begin doing what God wants.

The author of Psalm 85 was writing to a group of people who never thought that their nation would be defeated and they would be uprooted from their homes, farms and business, and taken into exile. But that is precisely what happened. We can't conceive of this happening to us, but it could. And it is likely if we continue to turn away from God. Speaking to the exiles the psalmist said this.

Psalm 85:1-3 ^NIV Psalm 85:1 For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. You showed favor to your land, O LORD; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. ² You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins. Selah ³ You set aside all your wrath and turned from your fierce anger.

The psalmist reminded the people of a time, long ago, when God had forgiven his people. This helped them to remember that God is a forgiving God. God will not remain angry forever. If we confess our sins and change our ways God will restore us. God has done this in the past because we read about it in the Bible. And God will restore us as well because He is faithful.

Once the psalmist reminded his people of God's faithfulness he was able to lead them in prayer.

Psalm 85:4-7 ⁴ Restore us again, O God our Savior, and put away your displeasure toward us. ⁵ Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger through all generations? ⁶ Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? ⁷ Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.

Prayer is what our nation needs right now more tha anything else. We need divine guidance to be able to care for the urban poor as cities go bankrupt. We need God's help in finding affordable ways of providing food, shelter and heath care in a era of government cutbacks. W need God to restore our economy so people can find work. And so we need to pray that God will restore our nation.

Of course we must also pray that our nation will become more obedient. Our leaders need to read, respect and follow God's word. Our leaders must worship and pray regularly. And they must acknowledge that their power and authority come from the creator God and Father of Jesus Christ. These thing we must pray for every day. Our prayers are the only hope our nation has.

After leading the exiled people in prayer the psalmist took a moment for personal reflection. Possibly this was at a time of silent prayer. Here is what he thought.

Psalm 85:8-9 ⁸ I will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints-- but let them not return to folly. ⁹ Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.

So while praying the psalmist has heard God's voice. God had promised that we will live in peace provided that we turn from the folly of ignoring him. If we give our full respect to God then he will be with us. We will be blessed. And our nation will be restored.

This is good news, but why would the people living in exile believe it? Wouldn't it be more likely that they would give up on the God of their ancestors and just worship the Babylonian gods? What is so special about the God of Israel anyway? Listen to what the psalmist has to say.

Psalm 85:10-13 ¹⁰ Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. ¹¹ Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. ¹² The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. ¹³ Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.

So the reason to turn back to God is because God is loving, faithful, righteous, and peaceful. His love and faithfulness can clearly be seen in the crops that grow in the ground each summer. God has provided the soil, the nutrients, the seed, the rain and the sunshine that is needed. And the result is a full harvest that feeds everyone. God righteousness and peace are revealed from heaven in God's word, the Bible, and through our prayers. God tells us that he wants us to ensure that everyone gets enough to each, and warm clothes, and a place to sleep. If we do these things God will continue to bless us with bounty.

So what are we to do today? Like the psalmist we are to remind people of God's faithfulness in our past. We are to pray and ask others to pray with us for our nation that it will be obedient to God in all aspects of our national life together. And we can assure others that if we are obedient by caring for the weakest in our society, God will continue to bless us with abundance.

But we must also be prepared for the day when our nation falls off the cliff because of continuing disobedience. And if this should happen we need to be ready to tell people how God was faithful in the past, lead them in prayer, and assure them that if they return to God will full obedience their prosperity will be restored again.

Thankfully the people of God followed the Psalmist. They prayed for restoration and became obedient. Jerusalem was restored and the temple rebuilt. From this we can be assured of God love and faithfulness.

Let us pray. Father in Heaven we remember your faithfulness to us and your blessings of love and peace. We pledge to follow you and do what you command us. We thank you for your continued blessing. This we pray in your son's glorious name. Amen.