"A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2 For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
3 They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your treasured ones.
4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
5 For they conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Asshur also has joined them;
they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah
9 Do to them as you did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10 who were destroyed at En-dor,
who became dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
of the pastures of God.”
13 O my God, make them like whirling dust,
like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest,
as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so may you pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your hurricane!
16 Fill their faces with shame,
that they may seek your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever;
let them perish in disgrace,
18 that they may know that you alone,
whose name is the Lord,
are the Most High over all the earth."
Psalm 83
The prayer in 9-18 is very impressive. One recalls our Lord's words to the Sadduccees, 'Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God' (Matthew 22:29). But the Psalmist knew both, and made both his rock and his stay. The power of God he was counting on has already been indicated, but look at how he knew the Scriptures (9ff)! He recalls ancient victories, and prays for their repetition, saying, in effect, 'Do it again, Lord'. This is an analogous to Psalms 42:6 and 74:12ff and 77:10. Do we see the implications of this? It is the recognition that it is a living God that we meet in the Scriptures, and that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We should not be over-concerned about the so-called 'vindictiveness' of the prayer and of the Psalm as a whole, for the call of vengeance is not because of personal wrong, but against the enemies of God for their wickedness and temerity in rebelling against Him. The Psalmist is simply aligning himself with God's own attitude to the wicked. And if he is simply thinking God's thoughts after Him, it can hardly be wrong. What is more, the Psalmist himself is not wreaking vengeance upon his enemies; he is praying to God to do it. It is a prayer to God, not a declaration of intent on his part. We should in this regard recall what is said in Psalm 65:5: when God acts it is like a consuming fire. The God Who hears prayer is the terrible God of the Scriptures, and to supplicate Him brings an incommensurable power into human situations. Above all, we see in the last three verses of the Psalm that the aim of the prayer, and the purpose of the visitation and judgment, is to turn the enemies of God into His friends. And it is worth anything, for that to happen!