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Illustration for Psalm 83: Do Not Be Silent, God

Psalm 83

Do Not Be Silent, God

When AfraidComfort

The people pray urgently because many enemies are plotting against them all at once. They ask God not to be silent but to rise up and act! Their greatest hope is that these enemies would come to know the one true God.

  1. 1O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God.
  2. 2See how Your enemies growl, how Your foes rear their heads.
  3. 3With cunning they conspire against Your people; they plot against those You cherish.
  4. 4"Come," they say, "let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel's name is remembered no more."
  5. 5With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against You—
  6. 6the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites,
  7. 7Byblos, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre.
  8. 8Even Assyria has joined them to reinforce Lot's descendants.
  9. 9Do to them as You did to Midian, as You did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
  10. 10who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.
  11. 11Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
  12. 12who said, "Let us take possession of the pastures of God."
  13. 13Make them like tumbleweed, my God, like chaff before the wind.
  14. 14As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
  15. 15so pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your storm.
  16. 16Cover their faces with shame, LORD, so that they will seek Your name.
  17. 17May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace.
  18. 18Let them know that You, whose name is the LORD— that You alone are the Most High over all the earth.

What it means

The people were surrounded by trouble and asked God not to stay silent. But look how the prayer ends — they wanted their enemies to come to know the true God. Even while asking for rescue, they wanted good for the people who were against them.

A little prayer

God, when trouble comes from lots of directions at once, please do not be silent. Help me. And even when people are unkind to me, help me to want them to know You. Amen.

Memory verse

“O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God.”

Psalm 83:1 (BSB)

It asks for God's voice rather than God's army, which is the more interesting request.

Talk about it

Questions with no single right answer — for a family table or a Sunday-school circle.

  1. The psalm lists many enemies plotting at once. Have you ever felt like everything came at the same time?
  2. It asks God not to be silent. Which is worse — a hard answer or no answer?
  3. The psalm wants the enemies to end up seeking God, not just defeated. Does that change how you read it?
  4. Who do you find it hardest to want good things for?

Try this

The silence test

Ask someone a question and have them say nothing for thirty seconds. Then ask again and let them answer. Talk about which was harder to sit through.

Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB)