Songs of Faith (Pt. 2): Revive Us Again
Psalm 80 (New Revised Standard Version)
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us! Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved. O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves. Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River. Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted. They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance. But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name. Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
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This morning we continue in our Lenten series “Songs of Faith” by looking at the hymn “Revive Us Again.” If you pay attention, you’ll hear the words of Psalm 80 echoing in the verses of this hymn, Revive us again - fill each heart with thy love; May each soul be rekindled with fire from above. It doesn’t sound that far off from the words of the psalmist who wrote, “Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved…” Let those words sink in for a bit this morning… Let them sink into your heart and soul… I think the events of this past week and the events of this coming week are a reminder that we also need to set aside some time for God to rejuvenate our souls, to enliven them, to comfort them, to fan them with the flames of the Holy Spirit. “Restore us, O Lord…” These are potent words if we are willing to utter them from a place that is authentic and vulnerable.
The author of the hymn that inspired today’s sermon was written by the Rev. Dr. (Medical) William Paton Mackay. Born in Scotland in the year 1839, Mackay attended the University of Edinburgh where in 1870 he wrote a thesis on leprosy. William Paton Mackay worked in the field of medicine for many years before he became a minister. In reflecting on his conversion, Mackay wrote that his faith was inspired after he found his own Bible among the possessions of a patient who was dying. The Bible that Mackay found was given to him by his mother, but he sold it to earn extra income. Upon entering the ministry, he served the Prospect Street Presbyterian Church in Hull, where he wrote a handful of hymns, the most known being “Revive Us Again.”
There is an ironic sense of beauty in the words “revive us again” or “restore us, O Lord of hosts…” The irony lies in the fact that there is a plea for redemption, for restoration, but that plea to God comes only after something has gone wrong (usually because we, like God’s chosen people in the Old Testament, have done something that leads to significant pain and suffering). You hear the psalmist asking God, “How long? How long, O Lord, will you be angry with your people?” But it was because of the people that God had chosen had wandered off the path of faithfulness in an attempt to try and control the world themselves. We’re guilty of this as well… We’ve fallen victim to the tempting belief that we can shape a future for ourselves that only focuses on our own well-being, to a world of our own design. And that is not the only thing that we have convinced ourselves into believing…
We have convinced ourselves that we can blame everything, and everyone else for the wrongs of this world except ourselves, and our deep and steadfast denial of the answers that are right in front of us. We’ve fallen victim to hate, to prejudice, to fears of those who are not like us and we know what the consequences are! We know what the results are, we know what pain and suffering it will bring, but we ignore it, saying the same old lines time and time again… And when the time comes, when the time that we have ignored arrives, we cry out to God asking for help, and we cry out to others sending nothing but thoughts and prayers… When, oh when, will be able to cry out “restore us, O Lord of hosts,” from a place that is true, authentic, and vulnerable?
This past week when 50 people died because words of ignorance and hate inspired terrorists, is that enough for us to cry out to God to ask for forgiveness, for a chance to redeem ourselves? Or do we need to wait for another incident of our own making, before we finally have the scales fall from our eyes to see that the key for binding our broken hearts together is right in front of us! Because if it hasn’t been clear already from things I’ve said, I’m tired of hearing the same old lines, I’m tired of sending only prayers, and if we look at the reading this morning we will find that the psalmist is weary of those things as well! It takes more than just words, even if they are in the form of a prayer, to restore our hearts to a place where we are Kingdom builders instead of Kingdom destroyers. But your heart, our hearts, need to be in an area that is ready to be molded, to be challenged, to be opened to new possibilities.
There’s one thing in the reading for this morning that stands out to me because it evokes such a provocative image, “O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.” We have feasted on the bread of tears for long enough… I’m tired of having my glass run over with tears because I almost have no more tears to give… We are a united human family… We are children created in the image of the living God. Life is too short for things like petty grudges and childish attitudes, and life is indeed too short for us to cling onto old ways that take the breath away instead of sanctifying it, treasuring it, as something precious and sacred. Have you had your fill of the bread of tears and a cup of tears? I have, and I think that most of us are ready for something new…
I think this morning’s reading from Psalm 80 would pair nicely with another psalm where it is written, “Weeping comes in the night, but joy cometh in the morning.” There is a moment where I believe our hearts will have a moment of conversion, of realization that our old ways lead to nothing but pain and suffering. I think that that we do need to be restored, that we together need to join hands to be guided on the path that brings life and healing to all corners of the world where there is injustice so together we can blot out the evils of this world. Then maybe at the end of the day when our hard work is done we will rest in a field of peace letting the glory of God wash over us, enabling the words of the psalmist to be fulfilled, “Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.”
If we looked back through the annals of history, we would find countless women and men who have committed their lives to make the world a better place. If we look around us, we will find that here in this community those have committed their lives to bring justice, peace, and restoration to those who need a helping hand. The thing that we need to remember about our relationship with God is that it is a two-way street… We cannot ask God for restoration, for aide, if we are not willing to contribute to the restorative justice that Christ calls us to participate in. I don’t think that William Paton Mackay knew what the world would be like, but I believe that his words are relevant and a powerful reminder to us that as we have received God’s love, and how we are called to be emissaries of God’s love as well, Revive us again - fill each heart with thy love; May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.
As we continue on in our Lenten journey, we have an opportunity to cleanse ourselves of the things that keep us from authentically coming before God. I know that I have challenged you to think about giving this Season of Lent, but I also want to emphasize that this is still a time for us to let things go and to give up things that do not benefit our participation in the building of a community that is founded on love, peace, and compassion. My soul is tired, it is weary, it is weighed down by grief and in need of restoration and revitalization… I fear for the day when I turn on the television and no longer feel a sense of pain or sorrow when there is a report of another attack and loss of innocent lives. We are in a unique time and place, each of us here has been called to play their part, to speak up for the unspoken, to love the unloved, to tear down walls in places where they have been erected, and to make God’s Kingdom a place of genuine human affection.
God is in the present here with us, wanting to restore and energize our souls… God is here with us in the places where people hurting and shares the pain with them. In our desire to allow God to start a new thing in us, are we willing to share in those places of hurt as well? Because it is there in those places where our hands get dirty, and our brows get sweaty, where the work of restoration begins. I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll repeat it, you can literally look around and see evidence of the work that has already been done here in this place and in this community. And we can do more if we are willing to be bold and take action, not just speaking words of kindness, because then we will be able to touch people’s hearts with a much higher passion and sincerity. “O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved,” friends may we pray for the day when we can let the glory of God shine on our faces together and for the day when the bread and cup of tears turn into a bountiful banquet of joy and celebration for all. Amen.