Psalm 83

O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

83   O God, do not keep silence;
    do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
  For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
    those who hate you have raised their heads.
  They lay crafty plans against your people;
    they consult together against your treasured ones.
  They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
  For they conspire with one accord;
    against you they make a covenant—
  the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
    Moab and the Hagrites,
  Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
    Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
  Asshur also has joined them;
    they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah
  Do to them as you did to Midian,
    as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
  who were destroyed at En-dor,
    who became dung for the ground.
  Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
  who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
    of the pastures of God.”
  O my God, make them like whirling dust,
    like chaff before the wind.
  As fire consumes the forest,
    as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
  so may you pursue them with your tempest
    and terrify them with your hurricane!
  Fill their faces with shame,
    that they may seek your name, O LORD.
  Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
    let them perish in disgrace,
  that they may know that you alone,
    whose name is the LORD,
    are the Most High over all the earth.

(ESV)

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Psalm 83 Commentary

by Brad Boyles

Psalm 83 is speaking directly to those of us who deal with arrogant and stubborn people. Some would be quick to point out that all people are arrogant and stubborn which is true to a certain degree. However, there is a vast difference between working out your Salvation in the conviction of the Spirit while giving praise to God, and working out your own version of Salvation while giving praise to yourself. The latter is both subtle and lethal and is often disguised as true worship. We are either killing our pride or growing it. It’s as simple as that.

See how Your enemies make an uproar; those who hate You have acted arrogantly.  3  They devise clever schemes against Your people; they conspire against Your treasured ones.

Psalms 83:2-3 HCSB

The Pharisees are a perfect example of this. They claimed to represent God and did every work in His Name, but they lacked maturity when it came to conviction and growth. They had no mercy for God’s treasured ones. They absolutely refused to bend their knee and always appealed to their knowledge and experience. They would accept no correction and were utterly unteachable.

They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation so that Israel’s name will no longer be remembered.”  5  For they have conspired with one mind; they form an alliance against You—

Psalms 83:4-5 HCSB

The psalmist is heavily burdened for the way these arrogant people are treating the Name of God. Yes, he is first concerned for Israel, but the more pressing issue is the alliance against God. A hatred for the ways of God and the people of God is a hatred directed at God Himself.

God is the One who fights our battles! Though it seems from our human perspective as if sometimes He allows for evil to exist longer than we would like, He will bring balance and justice to those who are against Him. This is guaranteed. We only need to check the track record of God the Father to know this is a fact. This is true of those who are arrogantly hostile toward the people of God as well as those who parade around as spiritual-posers much like the Pharisees.

How should we respond to such people?

Cover their faces with shame so that they will seek Your name Yahweh.

Psalms 83:16 HCSB

Sometimes, this is the only prayer we can muster. It is a prayer with a destination of reconciliation but a journey of heartache. In the end, we hope that all people seek after Jesus and find reconciliation. The only way this can happen is through the decimation of ourselves. Hitting rock bottom leads us to humility which opens our hearts to receive the truth. This should be our prayer for so many who are lost today.