Psalms 83:1-18·~1 min

O God, Be Not Silent

Asaph begs God not to remain silent or still while his enemies rage and those who hate him lift up their heads. These adversaries scheme cunningly against God's people and conspire against his treasured ones, saying that Israel should be erased as a nation so its name will be remembered no more. With one mind they have formed a covenant against God, and the psalm names the allied peoples, from Edom and Ishmaelites to Assyria and the descendants of Lot.

A¹ song. A Psalm of Asaph. ²See how Your enemies rage, ³With cunning they scheme against Your people ⁴saying, “Come, let us erase them as a nation; ⁵For with one mind they plot together; ⁶the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, ⁷of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, ⁸Even Assyria has joined them,

The psalmist asks God to treat these enemies as he treated Midian, Sisera, and Jabin at the Kishon, who perished and became refuse on the ground. He specifically asks that their nobles be made like Oreb and Zeeb and their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna. These are the kinds of rulers who boasted that they would seize the pastures of God for themselves.

⁹Do to them as You did to Midian, ¹⁰who perished at Endor ¹¹Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, ¹²who said, “Let us possess for ourselves

Asaph asks God to make the coalition like tumbleweed, chaff before the wind, and a forest consumed by fire. He prays that God would pursue them with tempest and terrify them with storm. Their faces should be covered with shame so that they will seek the name of the LORD, yet if they persist, they should be put to everlasting shame and perish. The desired end is that they would know that the LORD alone bears the name Yahweh and is the Most High over all the earth.

¹³Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, ¹⁴As fire consumes a forest, ¹⁵so pursue them with Your tempest, ¹⁶Cover their faces with shame, ¹⁷May they be ever ashamed and terrified; ¹⁸May they know that You alone,

Section summaryThe psalm opens by begging God not to remain silent while his enemies rage and plot against his people, forming a united alliance to wipe Israel out. It names the confederate nations and presents their campaign as hostility not only toward Israel but toward God himself and his treasured ones. The prayer then appeals to God's past victories over Midian and Canaanite oppressors, asking that present enemies be made like those former foes who perished under divine judgment. The final verses ask that they be scattered, terrified, and covered with shame until they seek God's name and know that the LORD alone is the Most High over all the earth.

Role in the chapterThis section turns national threat into theological petition, asking God to act in judgment so that his people are preserved and his name is publicly acknowledged.