Psalm 83

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Psalm 83

Prayer to Frustrate Conspiracy Against Israel
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 Do not keep silent, O God!
Do not hold Your peace,
And do not be still, O God!
2 For behold, Your enemies make a tumult;
And those who hate You have lifted up their head.
3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,
And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.
4 They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,
That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
5 For they have consulted together with one consent;
They form a confederacy against You:
6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites;
Moab and the Hagrites;
7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek;
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also has joined with them;
They have helped the children of Lot. Selah
9 Deal with them as with Midian,
As with Sisera,
As with Jabin at the Brook Kishon,
10 Who perished at En Dor,
Who became as refuse on the earth.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb,
Yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 Who said, “Let us take for ourselves
The pastures of God for a possession.”
13 O my God, make them like the whirling dust,
Like the chaff before the wind!
14 As the fire burns the woods,
And as the flame sets the mountains on fire,
15 So pursue them with Your tempest,
And frighten them with Your storm.
16 Fill their faces with shame,
That they may seek Your name, O LORD.
17 Let them be confounded and dismayed forever;
Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
18 That they may know that You, whose name alone is the LORD,
Are the Most High over all the earth.

This psalm was written by Asaph. Who is Asaph?

Asaph was a great singer and musician of the courts of King David and also King Solomon (1 Chronicles 15:17-19, 16:5-7, 25:6).

As he could prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals, Asaph was a prophetic musician and singer (1 Chronicles 25:1 and 2 Chronicles 29:30). He was a prophet, and his compositions were deemed to be prophetic.

Israel had wars with the neighbouring nations since the Old Testament times. And Israel had faced the danger of extermination time and time again in the past and in the present.

This psalm is an appeal for help. Not from any person or nation, but from God alone! Do not keep silent, O God. This psalm and prayer is sung in a time of national crisis of Israel.

The enemies have come against Israel, and are set on the destruction and extinction of the people of God. If God were to keep silent or did not render His help, Israel would be destroyed.

Asaph asked God to regard the national crisis and treat the enemies of Israel as His own enemies, as those who hated Him. If God did so, He would act on behalf of Israel.

These nations had an evil agenda. They schemed to cut the people of Israel off from being a nation. They were counselled together and were united in their decision!

This wicked agenda of a confederation of nations to destroy Israel did not end in the days of Asaph. It is still happening today! As such, this prophetic psalm needs to be sung and prayed as the nations threaten the existence of Israel.

Asaph the psalmist had listed ten nations or peoples that were part of this confederacy against Israel and God. The ten nations, which had evidently formed a coalition against Israel, were the Edomites, the Ishmaelites, the Moabites, the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, the Philistines, Tyre and Assyria.

The psalmist also remembered how the LORD had delivered Israel and granted victory for His people as in the days of the Judges. In those days, the Israelites did not have a king. Everyone did what he thought was right.

Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Despite all that, through Gideon, God’s victory over the Midianites was recorded in Judges 6-8. Through Deborah and Barak, God’s victory over the Canaanite king Jabin and his general Sisera, was recorded in Judges 4.

The enemies perished, and were destroyed. They had become refuse or rubbish on the earth, probably laid unburied, rotting above the ground.

Even their nobles and princes would become like the whirling dust or the chaff before the wind! Asaph prayed that God would take the enemies who were determined to destroy Israel, and would scatter them like chaff before the wind and the whirling dust. He also prayed they would be consumed like the woods burning in the fire.

The psalmist also prayed that God would pursue them with His tempest. There was nothing more powerful on earth than the tempest or the violent windstorm coming with rain, hail or snow. God would not only defeat Israel’s enemies, but also pursue and frighten them with His great power.

By doing so, these enemies will be brought to the knowledge of the true God. Their faces will be filled with shame as they seek to know the name of the LORD. As they are humbled, they will seek and know God!

The psalmist did not desire the ultimate destruction of the enemies. He had a deeper and better desire in his heart that they too will come to know God. He desired their chastisement will lead to a better end!

Their punishments will turn their hearts from doing evil and wicked deeds to true repentance! This great humbling would lead to their surrender and submission to God who is Most High over all the earth.

In times to come, they too may know God, whose name alone is the LORD, who is the Most High over all the earth.

If interested, please view: Adonai Tzeva'ot (The Lord Of Hosts)

Written on:
16 April 2024