The amazing prayer in Psalm 83 is based in the equally amazing story of 2 Chron. 20 when Jehoshaphat prayed “nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You” (20:12). The situation is very similar, being a threat from Judah’s neighbors: Moab, Ammon and others, 20:1 … Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir, 20:10. Ps. 83:5-8 mentions this confederacy in even more detail as involving not only the three primary nations but also the Hagrites (Arabs, possibly taking their name from Hagar whose name meant fugitive, people from whom the Trans-Jordan tribes had taken their land, 1Chron. 5:10,18-22), Gebal (a people from the north around Mount Hermon, Josh. 13:5) and Amalek (descendants of one of Esau’s grandsons that lived in southern Canaan (Gen. 36:12). The motivation of Israel’s neighbors is the same, to remove God’s people from the land promised them in the Abrahamic Covenant, cf. 20:11 and 83:4,12. In the sense both of the confederacy of nations and the desire to remove Israel from the land it is a situation similar to the situation of modern-day Israel.
The Psalm itself is of great value to the
saints of God in every age as it encourages us with the power with God
available to His people. The opening
stanza (v1-4) lays this whole matter before God based on His relationship with
His people. Judah’s enemies are, in
fact, Your enemies … those who hate You have lifted up their head
(v2). The reason is because we are Your people … Your sheltered ones
(v3). To shelter something/someone is to hide them in a secret place so that
their beauty or uniqueness is not marred by the elements (cf. Psalm 29:5;
31:20). These enemies have come speaking
boastful words (v4); so the prayer is that God Himself would not keep silent or
hold His peace (v1). Oh what power we
have with God when we remember what He has said of us. For the believer who is in Christ it is even greater as we come to our Father in the name
of Jesus, His Son (John 14:13).
The third stanza (v9-12) contains another
illustration of the power of God’s people in prayer, when they seek from God
what He has provided in the past. The
Psalmist recalls the days of Deborah and Barak (83:9-10; cf. Judges 4-5) and of
Gideon (83:11-12; cf. Judges 6-8; esp. 7:24-25; 8:18-21) when God brought
deliverance from Israel’s neighbors that threatened their place in the
land. You may wonder why all these
additional Scripture passages are mentioned, thinking you have no time for all
this. May we tell you clearly that to
immerse yourself in the word of God is a key to your power with God, if you
will. To remind Him, who knows all
things, of what He has done in the past is one of the greatest encouragements
to your own faith! You know you are praying
God’s will when You ask Him for what He has done previously.
The prayer concludes (83:13-18) with what is
the greatest authority we have in prayer, and that is to ask God to do
what will make His name known (v16,18). To pray this prayer means the one who prays
has not come into God’s presence with sin in his heart; he is humble in the
presence of the Holy One. Modern-day Israel must and will learn this. After the regathering is complete God will cleanse His people. The greatest glory for holy God is to be worshiped by holy people.
It also means
he realizes that the issue is not Israel's comfort of Israel but the honor of the
God who made Israel His treasured possession (Deut. 7:6). This prayer reminds us of the many times we have heard the cry of little children abba, abba, abba. We don’t know what they are asking for, but
we know they have come to one they know who will answer their question and meet
their need. So with us! Let us come to our Father, knowing that as
His children we are His sheltered ones. Our cry to Abba allows Him to display His glory by giving us His best (Matt.
7:7-11; Rom. 8:14-17).
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