Psalms 83: Do Not Keep Silent
A communal lament against a conspiracy of nations that asks God to act so that his enemies will know he alone is the Most High.
Psalms 83 (WEB)
1 God, don’t keep silent. Don’t keep silent, and don’t be still, God.
2 For, behold, your enemies are stirred up. Those who hate you have lifted up their heads.
3 They conspire with cunning against your people. They plot against your cherished ones.
4 “Come,” they say, “let’s destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
5 For they have conspired together with one mind. They form an alliance 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 is joined with them. They have helped the children of Lot. Selah.
9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the river Kishon;
10 who perished at Endor, who became as dung for the earth.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb; yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna;
12 who said, “Let us take possession of God’s pasture lands.”
13 My God, make them like tumbleweed; like chaff before the wind.
14 As the fire that burns the forest, as the flame that sets the mountains on fire,
15 so pursue them with your tempest, and terrify them with your storm.
16 Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek your name, Yahweh.
17 Let them be disappointed and dismayed forever. Yes, let them be confounded and perish;
18 that they may know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalms 83 (KJV)
1 Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:
6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.
9 Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison:
10 Which perished at En–dor: they became as dung for the earth.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:
12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
13 O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;
15 So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.
16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord.
17 Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:
18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.
Psalms 83 (ASV)
1 O God, keep not thou silence: Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult; And they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
3 They take crafty counsel against thy people, And consult together against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; That the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent; Against thee do they make a covenant:
6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre:
8 Assyria also is joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. [Selah
9 Do thou unto them as unto Midian, As to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the river Kishon;
10 Who perished at Endor, Who became as dung for the earth.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb; Yea, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna;
12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves in possession The habitations of God.
13 O my God, make them like the whirling dust; As stubble before the wind.
14 As the fire that burneth the forest, And as the flame that setteth the mountains on fire,
15 So pursue them with thy tempest, And terrify them with thy storm.
16 Fill their faces with confusion, That they may seek thy name, O Jehovah.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever; Yea, let them be confounded and perish;
18 That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah, Art the Most High over all the earth.
Summary
This psalm of Asaph is a communal lament composed under the shadow of a fearsome coalition. The prayer opens with an urgent plea: "God, don't keep silent. Don't keep silent, and don't be still, God." For God's enemies are stirred up; they conspire with cunning against his cherished people and openly say, "Come, let's destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more." The psalmist names a sweeping alliance—Edom, the Ishmaelites, Moab, the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia, Tyre, and Assyria—all joined with one mind against God. In response, the psalm appeals to God's past victories, asking him to deal with these foes as he once did with Midian, Sisera, and Jabin, to make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, to scatter them like tumbleweed and chaff before the wind. Yet the prayer's deepest aim is not mere destruction but conversion and recognition: that they may seek God's name and, whether in repentance or in judgment, finally know "that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth." The psalm teaches God's people to bring their fear of overwhelming opposition to him, trusting that his glory and his name will prevail over every alliance arrayed against his kingdom.
Voices
- The praying people of God — Israel, surrounded by enemies, crying out that God would not stay silent but defend his cherished ones.
- The conspiring nations — A coalition of surrounding peoples united with one mind to wipe out the name of Israel.
- Yahweh, the Most High — The God appealed to as the One whose past victories assure his triumph and whose name is supreme over all the earth.
Key Verse
Psalm 83:18 (WEB)
that they may know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth.
Lessons Learned
- When overwhelming opposition gathers, God's people are right to cry out for him to act.
- The silence of God can feel unbearable, yet we may plead with him to break it.
- Remembering God's past victories steadies faith against present threats.
- The highest aim of our prayers against evil is that God's name and supremacy would be known.
- We may ask God to break his silence. "God, don’t keep silent. Don’t keep silent, and don’t be still, God" (Psalm 83:1, WEB). Crying out against God's apparent quiet is itself an act of faith.
- God's people are his cherished ones. "They conspire with cunning against your people. They plot against your cherished ones" (Psalm 83:3, WEB). An attack on God's people is an affront to God himself.
- Remembered victories fuel present prayer. "Do to them as you did to Midian" (Psalm 83:9, WEB). The psalmist prays history forward, asking God to act now as he has before.
- God's glory is the goal of judgment. "that they may know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth" (Psalm 83:18, WEB). Even judgment aims at the recognition of God's supremacy.
- Why does the psalm open by pleading three times that God would not keep silent?
- What is the enemies' stated goal in verses 2-4, and why is it so serious?
- Why does the psalmist recall victories like those over Midian, Sisera, and Jabin?
- How do verses 16 and 18 reveal a deeper purpose than mere revenge?
- When you feel surrounded by opposition, how can this psalm reshape what you ask God to do?
- The threefold plea expresses the agony of feeling that God is doing nothing while enemies advance (83:1). Repetition presses the urgency; the psalmist will not let God's apparent silence go unchallenged, and turns that anguish into prayer.
- Their goal is to destroy Israel as a nation so that its name is remembered no more (83:4). It is serious because it targets not only a people but God's covenant promises and the line through which the Messiah would come.
- He recalls them as proof that God has defeated overwhelming coalitions before (83:9-12). Past deliverances become the basis for present confidence; the God who scattered Israel's enemies then can do so again.
- Verses 16 and 18 ask that the enemies' confusion would lead them to seek God's name and know him as Most High over all the earth. The deepest desire is not their ruin for its own sake but the universal recognition of God's glory.
- This is a gentle personal-application question. Encourage members to bring real fears of opposition to God and to make his glory, not just their own relief, the aim of their prayers. As leader, model praying even for the conversion of those who oppose the gospel.