(NIV) O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God.
(KJV) Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
(Rus) Боже! Не премолчи, не безмолвствуй и не оставайся в покое, Боже. O God! Do not refrain from disclosing, Do not be silent, and do not remain/linger in rest
One can immediately get the sense of how desperate the psalmist felt as he penned this prayer, pouring his petitions out to his God. The imagery of verse one, regardless of which translation, shows that the psalmist feels that God is not watching, is not caring, is not acting. I found the Russian ("...and do not linger in rest") especially powerful.
But Psalm 83 is purposely place right after Psalm 82 for a very important reason. Psalm 82 announces triumphantly that God reigns, He stands, He presides in the great assembly. That is, Psalm 82 is to set the stage of our understanding so that when times of distress come upon us and our physical eyes and our natural understanding see not God, we will instead remember that God reigns: He presides, He stands, He acts, and He renders judgment!
We must remind ourselves that God does not linger in rest—indeed He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. His eye is ever upon us His children. He is ever ready to hear us. Go then to His throne of grace to receive grace and mercy for your time of need!
Psalm 82
(NIV) God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the “gods”—
(KJV) God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
(Rus) Бог стал в сонме богов; среди богов произнес суд. God stood in the crowd of gods; among the gods [He] delivered/uttered judgment.
Хотя порой нам так не кажется, но однажды рядом с нами уже не будет
тех, кого мы любим и ценим. Пусть эта песня вдохновит каждого из нас
уважать, почитать и дорожить теми людьми, которыми Бог окружил нас.
Although sometimes we do not think so, but one day those whom we love
and appreciate will not be there around us. Let this song inspire each
of us to respect, honor and cherish the people with whom God has
surrounded us.
Note: the lyrics as Simon listed them on the youtube channel are a
little different than he actually sings them—especially in the choruses.
1.
Во дни прекрасной юности не знал я суеты.
Vo dni prekrasnoy yunosti ne znal ya suyety.
In [the] days [of] beautiful youth not know I fuss / bustle
Не знал забот, Не знал хлопот с утра и до зари,
Ne znal zabot, Ne znal khlopot s utra i do zari,
Not know worries, Not know trouble from morning unto dawn,
Ни о чём я не заботился, по воле своей жил,
Ni o chyom ya ne zabotilsya, po vole svoyey zhil,
Not about anything I not cared, by will [of] my own [I] lived
А скорбь о мне сжимала грудь у матери моей.
A skorb' o mne szhimala grud' u materi moyey.
And griefs over me squeezed [the] chest [of] mother mine.
2.
Ходил путями помыслов, о Боге не мечтал -
Khodil putyami pomyslov, o Boge ne mechtal -
[I] walked [the] paths [of] intentions, about God not desired —
Своей любимой матери тем скорби причинял.
Svoyey lyubimoy materi tem skorbi prichinyal.
My beloved mother those griefs [I] caused.
Но сердце в ней любимое молилось в эти дни,
No serdtse v ney lyubimoye molilos' v eti dni,
But heart in her beloved prayed in those days
(Ie, but her beloved heart prayed in those days)
И слышал имя я свое в молитве матери.
I slyshal imya ya svoye v molitve materi.
And heard name I mine in prayer [of] mother.
Припев
::,: В молитве матери:,:
V molitve materi
In [the] prayer [of] mother
Я имя услыхал свое,
YA imya uslykhal svoye
I name heard my own
(Ie, I heard my name)
В молитве матери.
V molitve materi.
In [the] prayer [of] mother
3.
В часы моих весёлых дней звучал мне глас любви:
V chasy moikh vesyolykh dney zvuchal mne glas lyubvi:
In [the] hours [of] lighthearted days sounded [out to] me [the] voice [of] love:
"Смотри, сын мой, не забывай молитву матери,
"Smotri, syn moy, ne zabyvay molitvu materi,
"Look, son [of] mine, not forget prayer [of] mother,
Беги греха, не делай зла, храни себя, храни!"
Begi grekha, ne delay zla, khrani sebya, khrani!"
Flee sin, not do evil, keep yourself, keep!
Вновь слышал имя я свое в молитве матери.
Vnov' slyshal imya ya svoye v molitve materi.
Once more heard name I mine in [the] prayer [of] mother.
4.
То сердце, полное любви, почило уж давно,
To serdtse, polnoye lyubvi, pochilo uzh davno,
That heart, full [of] love, asleep already long ago,
А глас ее в душе моей твердит мне об одном:
A glas yeye v dushe moyey tverdit mne ob odnom:
But voice [of] hers in soul [of] mine repeats/insists [to] me about one [thing]:
"Беги греха, не делай зла и с Господом живи!"
"Begi grekha, ne delay zla i s Gospodom zhivi!"
"Flee sin, not do evil, and with [the] Lord live!"
И слышу имя я свое в молитве матери.
I slyshu imya ya svoye v molitve materi.
And heard name I mine in prayer [of] mother.
Припев: 3x
5.
Теперь нашел я у креста спасенье для души.
Teper' nashel ya u kresta spasen'ye dlya dushi.
Now found I at [the] cross salvation for [my] soul.
Сложил грехи у ног Христа, молясь Ему в тиши.
Slozhil grekhi u nog Khrista, molyas' Yemu v tishi.
Lay down sin at feet [of] Christ, praying [to] Him in silence (ie, quietly).
И счастие спасения, и луч святой зари
I schastiye spaseniya, i luch svyatoy zari
And happiness of salvation, and beam [of] holy dawn
Пролил Христос на разум мой молитвой матери.
Prolil Khristos na razum moy molitvoy materi.
Shed Christ on mind [of] mine [by the] prayer [of] mother.
O prayer time, O gracious prayer time,
God gave You to us in life.
In the sadness midst the battles
You have raise me up from strife!
On a dark night I slept not
And on knees I prayed and sought;
There my soul cried out to God in grief:
"You have heard me, O my God,
Amidst all Life's pains and flaws—
Help me for my life dries as a leaf."
There without Oh how the storm howls,
Lashing ice and snow with gale;
And this same storm buffets my heart—
In this night, I fear I fail!
I resign myself to dust
And with tears in eyes I thrust
Myself onto Jesus in a prayer!
"O Dear Lord You can see all
And my soul so frail will fall—
I am lost without Your tender care!"
O my Lord God, a carefree life
I want not nor ask of You!
Let me pains and sorrows find there
On the Way You mark so true.
I will only ask of You
That I always see as true
That Your Hand most Sovereign be on me
Let it on my shoulders rest
And from battles vict'ries wrest
And encourage and then strengthen me!
O prayer time, O gracious prayer time,
With great thankfulness I burn!
Glorifying God's great power;
O, to depths of Grace I turn!
O my Lord, in holy love
You have gifted from Above
Strength for me when weak I would have failed!
To high Heav'n I offer prayers
Let it rise through all my cares
I in prayer to Heav'n's high Throne have scaled!
Then pray for one another in His will,
He called us out to be His holy Bride
And He will never rest nor stop until
He sees His image then in us applied.
So pray for all the saints at ev'ry side
It's for our good and Father's glory too!
Pray that the church and Lord be glorified;
Pray that the Word be preached, proclaimed as true.
Then persevere in holiness with truth imbued.
To the skies, to the skies,
To the clouds and then beyond!
See the highs, grasp the prize,
Oh, that heaven would respond!
But heaven does respond:
its portal opens,
lays wide and discloses,
gapes, drapes, and shapes
and then throws, goes, and shows
—yea, pours and showers—
its life upon the bond, the yon, and all beyond!
Enter in, embrace, behold and stare,
then upward gaze with humbled eye;
Gone are distractions that blare.
The spires point up to signify
an approach to God in prayer.
"You are the great sovereign King. There is none like you, majestic
in holiness, perfect in knowledge and power, awesome in glorious
splendor. There be nothin' outside of
your knowledge or control. There be nothin' that causes you surprise or
alarm. We, however, are surprised by things and alarmed by events. We
are tossed to and fro on the winds of circumstance. We are tossed
until we find our rest in you. We are blown about until you shelter us
in the hollow of your hand. There and there alone we find the sweet
peace and rest. There and there alone we find that nothin' may move us,
nothin' will alarm us, and nothin' can pry us from your grasp. Bring about great glory for your Name. And give us wisdom to know how to carry on. This I pray in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."
And I pray that we all may understand how loving and majestic and
sovereign and mighty and completely in control this God is. As C. H.
Spurgeon said:
Remember this, had any other condition been better
for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you
there. You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances, and if
you had the choosing of your lot, you would soon cry, "Lord, choose my
inheritance for me, for by my self-will I am pierced through with many
sorrows."
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!
