Psalm 83 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence
In this psalm of complaint against Israel’s persecutors who have joined together in a confederated league of many nations, Asaph is pleading with God to defend His people and His holy name. In the first verse, the psalmist sets the tone of the psalm by pleading with the Lord to listen, to act and to speak a word of judgment against their enemies. Then, in vv.2-5 he lays out the many offenses of their enemies. They have caused an uproar in their cities stirring up hatred against Israel. They have raised their heads in arrogance and pride. And they have conspired together saying, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
Notice the language Asaph uses to identify Israel and her enemies in the sight of the Lord. He calls Israel “your people,” and “your treasured ones.” Here, Asaph is only using words that the Lord himself had used in the past, but he is doing this to remind the Lord of his covenant promises to His people. On the other hand, Asaph refers to Israel’s enemies before the Lord as “your enemies,” “those who hate you,” and “against you they make a covenant.” So, although Asaph sees the offense in terms of his enemies seeking to harm Israel, he knows very well that ultimately the offense is against God, and so he is pleading with God to act because of the offense against His kingdom and His holy name. In fact, that is how the psalmist ends this psalm, pleading with the Lord to act in order that their enemies might know that “you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.”
In vv.6-8 in addition to some of their sworn enemies such as the Amalekites and the Philistines, Asaph mentions a number of the close relatives of the Israelites who have joined in this conspiracy such as the descendants of Hagar and Ishmael—the half-brother of Isaac, the descendants of Esau—the brother of Jacob, and the descendants of Ammon and Moab—the daughters of Lot, Abraham’s nephew.
Then, in vv.9-12 Asaph mentions some less familiar names that God had brought judgment against in the past in order to ask God to do the same with their contemporary enemies. All of these examples can be found in the book of Judges. Asaph speaks of God’s judgment against Midian (see Judges 7:19-25; 8:1-12) Sisera and Jabin (see Judges 4:5), Oreb and Zeeb (Judges 7:25) and Zebah and Zalmunna (Judges 8:21).
Finally, in vv.13-17 Asaph prays imprecatory prayers against his enemies asking that God would blow them away like chaff, burn them with fire, and pursue them with the fiercest of storms. His initial desire is that through these acts of judgment, the enemies of God would be ashamed and repent of their actions in order that they might seek the name of the Lord. But if they do not repent, Asaph prays in v.17, saying, “Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace that they may know that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.”
If we look to apply this passage to our lives today, we certainly can see how the enemies of God are still busily at work conspiring against God and His church. In most countries that have a Christian population, whether they are in the majority or the minority, there is an anti-Christian movement causing an uproar, lifting up their heads seeking to either silence the Church or else stamp it out altogether. And Jesus warned us that at times our enemies will even come from our own family members. In Matthew 10:21-22 Jesus warned the apostles when sending them out amongst their own people, the Israelites, that “brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against their parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.”
There is indeed an ongoing spiritual war taking place in the heavenly realms that is often manifested in the earthly realm of politics and the public marketplace. The voices of those who stand in opposition to the Church are growing louder by the hour in our country. Surely we can see why Asaph would pray such a prayer in his day and why it is still appropriate to pray a similar prayer today. Oh, Lord, bring their evil plans to naught, let them be ashamed of their thoughts and let your judgment be revealed in the city of man, for the sake of your holy name and for the sake of your people, your treasured ones, we pray, in Christ’s name. Amen.
A Hymn based upon Psalm 83 by Isaac Watts.
And will the God of grace
Perpetual silence keep?
The God of justice hold his peace,
And let his vengeance sleep?
Behold, what cursed snares
The men of mischief spread!
The men that hate thy saints and thee
Lift up their threat’ning head.
Against thy hidden ones
Their counsels they employ,
And malice, with her watchful eye,
Pursues them to destroy.
The noble and the base
Into thy pastures leap;
The lion and the stupid ass
Conspire to vex thy sheep.
“Come, let us join,” they cry,
“To root them from the ground,
Till not the name of saints remain,
Nor mem’ry shall be found.”
Awake, Almighty God,
And call thy wrath to mind;
Give them like forests to the fire,
Or stubble to the wind.
Convince their madness, Lord,
And make them seek thy name;
Or else their stubborn rage confound,
That they may die in shame.
Then shall the nations know
That glorious, dreadful word,
Jehovah is thy name alone,
And thou the sovereign Lord.