Clovis Chappell, the great Southern preacher and author, said in one of his messages, "What
announcement could the average pastor make to his people next Sunday that would create less
enthusiasm, less approval, less holy expectancy, then that he would soon to begin a revival?" Rather
than this being a beginning of anything creative, it would in most cases meet with a yawn. The word
revival use to be an exciting word to Christians, but in modern times it has lost its charm. Chappell
points out that we are not opposed to revival in other areas of life. The revival of nature appeals to
us, and we anticipate spring. New life is restored to the vegetation of earth. The bare limbs of trees
are clothed in glorious green. The naked earth puts on the garments of grass and colorful flowers.
We rejoice and feel good about such a revival.
We love a revival of the body. If it has been sick, we rejoice when it is restored to health, and
we walk in joy with our new strength. It gives us a new zest for living to be rid of the body as a
wearisome burden, and have it restored as willing companion of the spirit. Such a revival is
cherished. What if it could be announced that the economy was heading for revival? Everyone
would eagerly listen to such an announcement and receive it with enthusiastic gratitude. Chappell
says, "But when we begin to speak of a revival in religion our interest wanes, our minds wander, we
slip into a comatose state and wonder how soon the tiresome ordeal will be over." Even if this is an
exaggeration, the question is, why is it close to the truth?
The answer seems to lie primarily in the fact that too many so-called revivals in the past have
been man-made counterfeits. Many have gotten up a 3 ring circus and manipulated masses about by
the use of emotional techniques, and then left them to settle down into a state of coldness and
depression, making them worse off than before. This negative experience has made Christians fear
revival. Counterfeit healings have made people skeptical of believing in the real thing. S. P. Long
in his book Prophetic Pearls wrote of conditions many years ago. "The religious vaudevilles which
have been carried on in some of the cities in this country during the past few years by the
get-rich-quick actors who do not fit in the pulpit, or on the stage, has so disgusted the cool-headed,
thinking Christians, that we have been led almost to shun the word, 'revival.'"
Many of us can identify with this negative attitude to revival, but let us recognize that no abuse
of truth should be allowed to rob us of the use of it.
We dare not throw out the baby with the bath water. Let us not cease to quote the Scripture because
the devil himself quoted it to the Lord in temptation. Everything good can be used poorly, and even
for evil, but it is folly to forsake all good because it can be abused. Revival is not only a good word
used in Scripture, it is also a good and positive experience. When rightly understood, we will long
for it in the religious realm as we do in all other areas of life.
The prefix re means back, and it refers to going back to some original or former state. To
re-pay is to pay back, and to re-strain is to hold back, to re-ply is to talk back, and on and on we
could go. So the way to get ahead is to go back to the best you ever were. This means we were at
some point in the past more dedicated, and now we have become cold and lost the fire we once had.
Revival is not going back to the same old thing, but to that which is better, and to the best we have
ever been. The Renaissance was a return to the classical spirit and a restoration of the noblest
achievements of the ancient world. The Reformation was a return to the Bible and a restoration of
New Testament Christianity. A revolution is an overthrow of the present system in order to return to
a former system thought to be more excellent. Revival is getting back to the best.
There are numerous synonyms of revival. You have renew, refresh, renovate, resuscitate,
reanimate, reinvigorate, and even to repair, for that is to restore something to its original and better
state. It does not matter that a person or church is dead, for Christianity is about the resurrection of
the dead, and the good news is that revival can bring the dead back to life and restore people and
churches to what they were at their best.
Notice why the psalmist is praying for revival in verse 6. What is it that he expects to gain by
being revived? He asks, "Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?" The
goal is a right relationship to God that makes the people joyful. Emotion is involved in revival, and
especially the emotion of joy. If you can look back on happier days in your Christian life, and days
of greater rejoicing, then you need revival. We need to be restored to the joy and zeal in service that
we once had.
Revival implies a loss of something we once had. You cannot be restored to what you never had
and never were. You cannot go back to where you have never been. The Psalmist looks back to the
marvelous mercies of God in the past in the opening verses. His request for revival grows out of his
recollection of the past. Note the past tenses in, "You showed favor to your land, you restored the
fortunes of Jacob, you forgave the iniquity of your people, and you covered all their sins." Then he
goes on in verse 4 to say, "Lord, do it again, restore us again." Who wants to live in the winter of
coldness and gloom when the spring we once experienced is possible again, and with all of its
warmth, beauty, and joy? Some unknown poet wrote,
A hint of softness in the air,
The answering note to nature's prayer;
Spring's wondrous miracle to be-
Let it be springtime, Lord, to me!
Long have I dwelt in winter's night,
When moon and stars withheld their light,
With raging winds and roaring sea-
Let it be springtime, Lord, to me!
Who of us can look at revival, as seen in this light, and refused to long for it? The only ones
who may not have a longing for revival would be those who are right now in the happiest state they
have ever been in their relationship to Christ, or possibly those who have so little experience that
they cannot look back to former joys. Most of us, however, have lived long enough to know that the
joy that is in Christ can be greater than what we now have. Let us, therefore, pray, "Revive us
again, that we may rejoice in Thee."
There must be reviving to be rejoicing. Had the Prodigal Son never looked back to the good old
days of love and comfort in his father's house, he would not have risen, returned, and been restored
to fellowship and have a great party with rejoicing. The story of the Prodigal is the story of revival,
and the story of revival always has a happy ending, for it is a restoration to a rightful relationship
with God. To often we are just enduring our salvation and not enjoying it. It is a distress rather than
a delight, and a burden rather than a blessing. That is why we do not share it with the world. But
when believers are revived there is an outreach that touches the world. The Psalmist after looking
back to the good old days begins to anticipate even better days ahead. There is a shift in the tenses
from past to future.
Note in verse 8 that he says, "I will listen to what God the Lord will say; He promises peace to
His people..." And in verse 12 he says, "The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will
yield its harvest." When revival comes we can look ahead to God's being a blessing to our world
through us. The history of revival reveals that when Christians are right with God, and are rejoicing
in Him, He uses them in marvelous ways to accomplish His purpose. They develop a greater
compassion for the lost. When Christians are not happy themselves they tend to be indifferent to the
needs of the world, but when they are revived and happy they have compassion, and they go into
action to meet the needs of the world.
Dr. F. B. Meyer said, "There has never been a great religious revival without social and political
reforms." Stephen Olford in his book Heart Cry For Revival says, "The abolition of slavery
followed a revival. The end of child labor resulted from a revival. Movements like the YMCA, the
Salvation Army, and most of our charitable and educational institutions stem from revivals. Most of
the good that God has given to the earth has come out of revival, and that is why we should always
be praying-
Let it come, O Lord we pray thee,
Let the showers of blessing fall,
We are weeping and expecting,
Oh, revive the hearts of all.
