O God, Do Not Keep Silence
Devotional
Companion to the Psalter
A Devotional Guide to the Psalms
Object:
O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
Even now your enemies ...
... lay crafty plans against your people ...
They say, "Come, let us wipe them out as a nation ..."
Let them know that you alone,
whose name is the Lord,
are the Most High over all the earth.
-- Psalm 83:1-2a, 3a, 4, 18
Theme: Plea for God to defeat the enemy
Outline
1-4 -- Plea that God will not be still while enemies are closing in to destroy Israel.
5-8 -- We are threatened by a confederacy of surrounding nations.
9-12 -- Destroy them like you did the Midianites.
13-18 -- Overcome them, that they may acknowledge Yahweh as the most high over all the earth.
Notes
• Liturgy
• Their situation is like the one described in 2 Chronicles 20.
• The Midianite defeat by Gideon is told in Judges 7-8.
For Reflection
• Compare and contrast a New Testament prayer, when the Lord's followers faced frightening opposition. (See Acts 4:29-30.) What is the goal sought in the prayer? What are the means to it?
Prayer
Lord God, as we struggle in the conflict with evil and unbelief, keep before us the goal to be sought: not triumphalism but the redemption of all who are estranged from you and who need to hear the gospel. May your Holy Spirit encourage us to share with others humbly and gratefully the living Word of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
Even now your enemies ...
... lay crafty plans against your people ...
They say, "Come, let us wipe them out as a nation ..."
Let them know that you alone,
whose name is the Lord,
are the Most High over all the earth.
-- Psalm 83:1-2a, 3a, 4, 18
Theme: Plea for God to defeat the enemy
Outline
1-4 -- Plea that God will not be still while enemies are closing in to destroy Israel.
5-8 -- We are threatened by a confederacy of surrounding nations.
9-12 -- Destroy them like you did the Midianites.
13-18 -- Overcome them, that they may acknowledge Yahweh as the most high over all the earth.
Notes
• Liturgy
• Their situation is like the one described in 2 Chronicles 20.
• The Midianite defeat by Gideon is told in Judges 7-8.
For Reflection
• Compare and contrast a New Testament prayer, when the Lord's followers faced frightening opposition. (See Acts 4:29-30.) What is the goal sought in the prayer? What are the means to it?
Prayer
Lord God, as we struggle in the conflict with evil and unbelief, keep before us the goal to be sought: not triumphalism but the redemption of all who are estranged from you and who need to hear the gospel. May your Holy Spirit encourage us to share with others humbly and gratefully the living Word of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
