Revival
I. NOTE THE CHIEF WORD OF THIS VERSE: "REVIVE." It implies:
1. Life. The new creation has been accomplished, the passing from death unto life has taken place.
2. But that life has declined, and therefore needs revival. How often this occurs! Our spiritual life is not as our natural life, which is weakest at the beginning and end; but the spiritual life is strong in the vigour of its first love, nor does it ever at the last hour fall from God, but in the midst of the years, like the wires of the telegraph between the posts, it often falls to its lowest. The causes are not a few, but may be summed up in one—the not abiding in Christ.
3. The life which has declined can be revived—the health and vigour come back again, the backsliding be healed.
II. WHAT IT EXPRESSES. It is an earnest prayer, an impassioned pleading for revival. It means, "Oh that thou wouldst revive us again!" Now, this reveals:
1. Consciousness of need. There may be the need, as at Laodicea, and no consciousness of it; but when such prayer as this is heard, it shows that the soul is wide awake to its needs.
2. Distress on account of it. Earnest anxiety is aroused; the work of conviction has been done; this prayer proves it.
3. The confession of it, and the casting of the soul on God for its need being met; and this could not be without there being also:
4. Confidence that God would answer his prayer. A child must see the look of "Yes" in his lather's face, or else he will soon give over asking; but when he does see that look, what a vehemency of asking then ensues! And so with the child of God here. He has seen that look of "Yes" on the Father's face, and hence this confident earnestness. Such are the characteristics of every such prayer as this. Note—
III. ITS PLEA. "That thy people may rejoice in thee." So then it is plainly taught that a low religious life and a joyous one are incompatible; there must be a reviving if there is to be rejoicing. Hence it is that to so many people religion seems rather a distress than a delight. They are, as it has been said, like a man with a headache; he would not like to lose his head, but he is very uncomfortable with it. A man was once invited to eat of some apples from a certain orchard, but he promptly declined. His friend was much surprised, and asked him the reason. "Oh," said he, "I took of some of your apples the other day, which were hanging over the hedge, and I am quite sure I do not want any more of them." "Ah," said the other, "I am not surprised; those apples were a poor lot; but I put them there on purpose for the boys, who are always taking what does not belong to them. But come into the middle of the orchard, and try the fruit there, which is of a very different sort." And so it is with many Christians; they take only the hard sour fruit of the religious life; that which is full of delight is in the midst of the garden of God, whither as yet they have never entered. It is good to be God's servants at all, better, far better, to be of those who rejoice, whose service of God is not a drudgery, but a delight; best of all when the rejoicing is in God, not in his blessings merely, but in him. God wants us to rejoice in him; the world will be more surely won for God when more joy characterizes his servants, and for ourselves, it is the surest guarantee of steadfastness.—S.C.