The Wicked, O Lord, Increase

For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessing on your offspring;
They will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the watercourses.’
     ~Isa. 44:3-4


But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
     ~Isa. 40:31


The wicked, O Lord, the wicked have increased.
   They parade and prance, swagger and dance.
With mincing step and arrogant stride,
   the flood of evil rises like the tide
       threatening to sweep the very righteous away.

Are You not here?  Do You not see their vile advance?
   Why do heavens sound as brass as I storm its gates to cast
Petitions upon Your very Throne of Grace.
   It seems as though You've hidden now Your face
       because of our sins and our going astray.

But in Your Word I read of the faithful pardoning God:
   not a doddering, empty love, but a sure foundation from Above,
based upon Redemption's Work and the sinner's plea.
   We plead for mercy—from sin's dominion help us flee—
     we repent and Your Word we will trust and obey.

We read of times when You came in like a flood,
   times of refreshment sweet, times of respite from the blazing heat,
or times when You overwhelmed Your people with the joy of who You are.
   Oh, be not distant, remote, aloof nor far;
      Transcendent God, please come and all our fears allay!

We wait upon Your Name, O Sovereign Lord;
   You said that water You would pour, and on eagle's wings we'd soar,
Till Your Spirit springs up within us like flowing streams.
   This promise is to us a light that in deep darkness gleams—
      Now shine forth so Your mercy and glory are displayed.

                         Amen!
- D. Benning


God has used various means in various times to effect a great renewal and return unto Him. Such events are not limited to the Book of Acts, nor even to some time hundreds of years ago.  Such things happen even within the 20th Century.  So we have to ask, "Why not now? In the 21st Century too, O Lord!"

Here are links to two famous revivals where God moved excitedly and forcefully, but not according to any precondition of human—except that it was humans who were praying and preparing the way by seeking God's favor.

The Isle of Lewis, Scotland 
Revival in the Hebrides (1949) 
(Note: This is a transcript of a taped message on the Hebrides Revival. The report was given in 1968 by Duncan Campbell, a preacher in the Revival.)

Revival in Lewis 
(This report was compiled after an interview with a Mr. Hugh Black by Angus and Mark of the Glasgow assembly-groups.)

Asbury College, Kentucky, 1970
A Revival Account 
(One morning in 1970, without warning, all heaven broke loose during Asbury College’s 10 a.m. chapel service.) 

Where is the God of Elijah?
Right where He's always been.  Let us seek His face and His favor that times of refreshing will come again!