Psalms 83:1-18 King James Version (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 Endor: 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 83:1-18 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

¹ [[A Song ^H7892 or Psalm ^H4210 of Asaph.]] ^H623 Keep not thou silence, ^H1824 O God: ^H430 hold not thy peace, ^H2790 and be not still, ^H8252 O God. ^H410

² For, lo, thine enemies ^H341 make a tumult: ^H1993 and they that hate ^H8130 thee have lifted up ^H5375 the head. ^H7218

³ They have taken crafty ^H6191 counsel ^H5475 against thy people, ^H5971 and consulted ^H3289 against thy hidden ones. ^H6845

⁴ They have said, ^H559 Come, ^H3212 and let us cut them off ^H3582 from being a nation; ^H1471 that the name ^H8034 of Israel ^H3478 may be no more in remembrance. ^H2142

⁵ For they have consulted ^H3289 together ^H3162 with one consent: ^H3820 they are ^H3772 confederate ^H1285 against thee:

⁶ The tabernacles ^H168 of Edom, ^H123 and the Ishmaelites; ^H3459 of Moab, ^H4124 and the Hagarenes; ^H1905

⁷ Gebal, ^H1381 and Ammon, ^H5983 and Amalek; ^H6002 the Philistines ^H6429 with the inhabitants ^H3427 of Tyre; ^H6865

⁸ Assur ^H804 also is joined ^H3867 with them: they have holpen ^H2220 the children ^H1121 of Lot. ^H3876 Selah. ^H5542

⁹ Do ^H6213 unto them as unto the Midianites; ^H4080 as to Sisera, ^H5516 as to Jabin, ^H2985 at the brook ^H5158 of Kison: ^H7028

¹⁰ Which perished ^H8045 at Endor: ^H5874 they became as dung ^H1828 for the earth. ^H127

¹¹ Make ^H7896 their nobles ^H5081 like Oreb, ^H6159 and like Zeeb: ^H2062 yea, all their princes ^H5257 as Zebah, ^H2078 and as Zalmunna: ^H6759

¹² Who said, ^H559 Let us take to ourselves the houses ^H4999 of God ^H430 in possession. ^H3423

¹³ O my God, ^H430 make ^H7896 them like a wheel; ^H1534 as the stubble ^H7179 before ^H6440 the wind. ^H7307

¹⁴ As the fire ^H784 burneth ^H1197 a wood, ^H3293 and as the flame ^H3852 setteth ^H3857 the mountains ^H2022 on fire; ^H3857

¹⁵ So persecute ^H7291 them with thy tempest, ^H5591 and make them afraid ^H926 with thy storm. ^H5492

¹⁶ Fill ^H4390 their faces ^H6440 with shame; ^H7036 that they may seek ^H1245 thy name, ^H8034 O LORD. ^H3068

¹⁷ Let them be confounded ^H954 and troubled ^H926 for ever; ^H5703 yea, let them be put to shame, ^H2659 and perish: ^H6

¹⁸ That men may know ^H3045 that thou, whose name ^H8034 alone is JEHOVAH, ^H3068 art the most high ^H5945 over all the earth. ^H776

Psalms 83:1-18 American Standard (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 Thy 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. Psalm 84 For the Chief Musician; set to the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

Psalms 83:1-18 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

¹ A Song, -- A Psalm of Asaph. O God, let there be no silence to Thee, Be not silent, nor be quiet, O God.

² For, lo, Thine enemies do roar, And those hating Thee have lifted up the head,

³ Against Thy people they take crafty counsel, And consult against Thy hidden ones.

⁴ They have said, `Come, And we cut them off from `being' a nation, And the name of Israel is not remembered any more.'

⁵ For they consulted in heart together, Against Thee a covenant they make,

⁶ Tents of Edom, and Ishmaelites, Moab, and the Hagarenes,

⁷ Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia with inhabitants of Tyre,

⁸ Asshur also is joined with them, They have been an arm to sons of Lot. Selah.

⁹ Do to them as `to' Midian, As `to' Sisera, as `to' Jabin, at the stream Kishon.

¹⁰ They were destroyed at Endor, They were dung for the ground!

¹¹ Make their nobles as Oreb and as Zeeb, And as Zebah and Zalmunna all their princes,

¹² Who have said, `Let us occupy for ourselves The comely places of God.'

¹³ O my God, make them as a rolling thing, As stubble before wind.

¹⁴ As a fire doth burn a forest, And as a flame setteth hills on fire,

¹⁵ So dost Thou pursue them with Thy whirlwind, And with Thy hurricane troublest them.

¹⁶ Fill their faces `with' shame, And they seek Thy name, O Jehovah.

¹⁷ They are ashamed and troubled for ever, Yea, they are confounded and lost.

¹⁸ And they know that Thou -- (Thy name `is' Jehovah -- by Thyself,) `Art' the Most High over all the earth!

Psalms 83:1-18 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

¹ {A Song; a Psalm of Asaph.} O God, keep not silence; hold not thy peace, and be not still, O Ã¹God:

² For behold, thine enemies make a tumult; and they that hate thee lift up the head.

³ They take crafty counsel against thy people, and consult against thy hidden ones:

⁴ They say, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, and let the name of Israel be mentioned no more.

⁵ For they have consulted together with one heart: they have made an alliance together against thee.

⁶ The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagarites;

⁷ Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia, with the inhabitants of Tyre;

⁸ Asshur also is joined with them: they are an arm to the sons of Lot. Selah.

⁹ Do unto them as to Midian; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the torrent of Kishon:

¹⁰ Who were destroyed at Endor; they became as dung for the ground.

¹¹ Make their nobles as Oreb and as Zeeb; and all their chiefs as Zebah and as Zalmunna.

¹² For they have said, Let us take to ourselves God's dwelling-places in possession.

¹³ O my God, make them like a whirling thing, like stubble before the wind.

¹⁴ As fire burneth a forest, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire,

¹⁵ So pursue them with thy tempest, and terrify them with thy whirlwind.

¹⁶ Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek thy name, O Jehovah.

¹⁷ Let them be put to shame and be dismayed for ever, and 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.

Psalms 83:1-18 World English Bible (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, "and 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 pasturelands."

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 83:1-18 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

¹ <A Song. A Psalm. Of Asaph.> O God, do not keep quiet: let your lips be open and take no rest, O God.

² For see! those who make war on you are out of control; your haters are lifting up their heads.

³ They have made wise designs against your people, talking together against those whom you keep in a secret place.

⁴ They have said, Come, let us put an end to them as a nation; so that the name of Israel may go out of man's memory.

⁵ For they have all come to an agreement; they are all joined together against you:

⁶ The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagarites;

⁷ Gebal and Ammon and Amalek; the Philistines and the people of Tyre;

⁸ Assur is joined with them; they have become the support of the children of Lot. (Selah.)

⁹ Do to them what you did to the Midianites; what you did to Sisera and Jabin, at the stream of Kishon:

¹⁰ Who came to destruction at En-dor; their bodies became dust and waste.

¹¹ Make their chiefs like Oreb and Zeeb; and all their rulers like Zebah and Zalmunna:

¹² Who have said, Let us take for our heritage the resting-place of God.

¹³ O my God, make them like the rolling dust; like dry stems before the wind.

¹⁴ As fire burning a wood, and as a flame causing fire on the mountains,

¹⁵ So go after them with your strong wind, and let them be full of fear because of your storm.

¹⁶ Let their faces be full of shame; so that they may give honour to your name, O Lord.

¹⁷ Let them be overcome and troubled for ever; let them be put to shame and come to destruction;

¹⁸ So that men may see that you only, whose name is Yahweh, are Most High over all the earth.

Commentary on Psalms 83 Matthew Henry Commentary

John Gill Keil & Delitzsch Robert Jamieson: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Psalm 83

This psalm is the last of those that go under the name of Asaph. It is penned, as most of those, upon a public account, with reference to the insults of the church's enemies, who sought its ruin. Some think it was penned upon occasion of the threatening descent which was made upon the land of Judah in Jehoshaphat's time by the Moabites and Ammonites, those children of Lot here spoken of (v. 8), who were at the head of the alliance and to whom all the other states here mentioned were auxiliaries. We have the story 2 Chr. 20:1, where it is said, The children of Moab and Ammon, and others besides them, invaded the land. Others think it was penned with reference to all the confederacies of the neighbouring nations against Israel, from first to last. The psalmist here makes an appeal and application,

I. To God's knowledge, by a representation of their designs and endeavours to destroy Israel (v. 1-8).
II. To God's justice and jealousy, both for his church and for his own honour, by an earnest prayer for the defeat of their attempt, that the church might be preserved, the enemies humbled, and God glorified (v. 9-18).

This, in the singing of it, we may apply to the enemies of the gospel-church, all anti-christian powers and factions, representing to God their confederacies against Christ and his kingdom, and rejoicing in the hope that all their projects will be baffled and the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church.

A song or psalm of Asaph.

Psa 83:1-8

The Israel of God were now in danger, and fear, and great distress, and yet their prayer is called, A song or psalm; for singing psalms is not unseasonable, no, not when the harps are hung upon the willow-trees.

I. The psalmist here begs of God to appear on the behalf of his injured threatened people (v. 1): "Keep not thou silence, O God! but give judgment for us against those that do us an apparent wrong.' Thus Jehoshaphat prayed upon occasion of that invasion (2 Chr. 20:11), Behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession. Sometimes God seems to connive at the unjust treatment which is given to his people; he keeps silence, as one that either did not observe it or did not concern himself in it; he holds his peace, as if he would observe an exact neutrality, and let them fight it out; he is still, and gives not the enemies of his people any disturbance or opposition, but seems to sit by as a man astonished, or as a mighty man that cannot save. Then he gives us leave to call upon him, as here, "Keep not thou silence, O God! Lord, speak to us by the prophets for our encouragement against our fears' (as he did in reference to that invasion, 2 Chr. 20:14, etc.); "Lord, speak for us by the providence and speak against our enemies; speak deliverance to us and disappointment to them.' God's speaking is his acting; for with him saying and doing are the same thing.
II. He here gives an account of the grand alliance of the neighbouring nations against Israel, which he begs of God to break, and blast the projects of. Now observe here,
- 1. Against whom this confederacy is formed; it is against the Israel of God, and so, in effect, against the God of Israel. Thus the psalmist takes care to interest God in their cause, not doubting but that, if it appeared that they were for God, God would make it to appear that he was for them, and then they might set all their enemies at defiance; for whom then could be against them? "Lord,' says he, "they are thy enemies, and they hate thee.' All wicked people are God's enemies (the carnal mind is enmity against God), but especially wicked persecutors; they hated the religious worshippers of God, because they hated God's holy religion and the worship of him. This was that which made God's people so zealous against them-that they fought against God: They are confederate against thee, v. 5. Were our interest only concerned, we could the better bear it; but, when God himself is struck at, it is time to cry, Help, Lord. Keep not thou silence, O God! He proves that they are confederate against God, for they are so against the people of God, who are near and dear to him, his son, his first-born, his portion, and the lot of his inheritance; he may truly be said to fight against me that endeavours to destroy my children, to root out my family, and to ruin my estate. "Lord,' says the psalmist, "they are thy enemies, for they consult against thy hidden ones.' Note, God's people are his hidden ones, hidden,
  - (1.) In respect of secresy. Their life is hid with Christ in God; the world knows them not; if they knew them, they would not hate them as they do.
  - (2.) In respect of safety. God takes them under his special protection, hides them in the hollow of his hand; and yet, in defiance of God and his power and promise to secure his people, they will consult to ruin them and cast them down from their excellency (Ps. 62:4), and to make a prey of those whom the Lord has set apart for himself, Ps. 4:3. They resolve to destroy those whom God resolves to preserve.
- 2. How this confederacy is managed. The devil is at the bottom of it, and therefore it is carried on,
  - (1.) With a great deal of heat and violence: Thy enemies make a tumult, v. 2. The heathen rage, Ps. 2:1. The nations are angry, Rev. 11:18. They are noisy in their clamours against the people whom they hope to run down with their loud calumnies. This comes in as a reason why God should not keep silence: "The enemies talk big and talk much; Lord, let them not talk all, but do thou speak to them in thy wrath,' Ps. 2:5.
  - (2.) With a great deal of pride and insolence: They have lifted up the head. In confidence of their success, they are so elevated as if they could over-top the Most High and overpower the Almighty.
  - (3.) With a great deal of art and policy: They have taken crafty counsel, v. 3. The subtlety of the old serpent appears in their management, and they contrive by all possible means, though ever so base, ever so bad, to gain their point. They areprofound to make slaughter (Hos. 5:2), as if they could outwit Infinite Wisdom.
  - (4.) With a great deal of unanimity. Whatever separate clashing interest they have among themselves, against the people of God they consult with one consent (v. 5), nor is Satan's kingdom divided against itself. To push on this unholy war, they lay their heads together, and their horns, and their hearts too. Fas est et ab hoste doceri-Even an enemy may instruct. Do the enemies of the church act with one consent to destroy it? Are the kings of the earth of one mind to give their power and honour to the beast? And shall not the church's friends be unanimous in serving her interests? If Herod and Pilate are made friends, that they may join in crucifying Christ, surely Paul and Barnabas, Paul and Peter, will soon be made friends, that they may join in preaching Christ.
- 3. What it is that is aimed at in this confederacy. They consult not like the Gibeonites to make a league with Israel, that they might strengthen themselves by such a desirable alliance, which would have been their wisdom. They consult, not only to clip the wings of Israel, to recover their new conquests, and check the progress of their victorious arms, not only to keep the balance even between them and Israel, and to prevent their power from growing exorbitant; this will not serve. It is no less than the utter ruin and extirpation of Israel that they design (v. 4): "Come, let us cut them off from being a nation, as they cut off the seven nations of Canaan; let us leave them neither root nor branch, but lay their country so perfectly waste that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance, no, not in history;' for with them they would destroy their Bibles and burn all their records. Such is the enmity of the serpent's seed against the seed of the woman. It is the secret wish of many wicked men that the church of God might not have a being in the world, that there might be no such thing as religion among mankind. Having banished the sense of it out of their own hearts, they would gladly see the whole earth as well rid of it, all its laws and ordinances abolished, all its restraints and obligations shaken off, and all that preach, profess, or practise it cut off. This they would bring it to if it were in their power; but he that sits in heaven shall laugh at them.
- 4. Who they are that are drawn into this confederacy. The nations that entered into this alliance are here mentioned (v. 6-8); the Edomites and Ishmaelites, both descendants from Abraham, lead the van; for apostates from the church have been its most bitter and spiteful enemies, witness Julian. These were allied to Israel in blood and yet in alliance against Israel. There are no bonds of nature so strong but the spirit of persecution has broken through them. The brother shall betray the brother to death. Moab and Ammon were the children of righteous Lot; but, as an incestuous, so a degenerate race. The Philistines were long a thorn in Israel's side, and very vexatious. How the inhabitants of Tyre, who in David's time were Israel's firm allies, come in among their enemies, I know not; but that Assur (that is, the Assyrian) also is joined with them is not strange, or that (as the word is) they were an arm to the children of Lot. See how numerous the enemies of God's church have always been. Lord, how are those increased that trouble it! God's heritage was as a speckled bird; all the birds round about were against her (Jer. 12:9), which highly magnifies the power of God in preserving to himself a church in the world, in spite of the combined force of earth and hell.

Psa 83:9-18

The psalmist here, in the name of the church, prays for the destruction of those confederate forces, and, in God's name, foretels it; for this prayer that it might be so amounts to a prophecy that it shall be so, and this prophecy reaches to all the enemies of the gospel-church; whoever they be that oppose the kingdom of Christ, here they may read their doom. The prayer is, in short, that these enemies, who were confederate against Israel, might be defeated in all their attempts, and that they might prove their own ruin, and so God's Israel might be preserved and perpetuated. Now this is here illustrated,

I. By some precedents. Let that be their punishment which has been the fate of others who have formerly set themselves against God's Israel. The defeat and discomfiture of former combinations may be pleaded in prayer to God and improved for the encouragement of our own faith and hope, because God is the same still that ever he was, the same to his people and the same against his and their enemies; with him is no variableness.
- 1. He prays that their armies might be destroyed as the armies of former enemies had been (v. 9, 10): Do to them as to the Midianites; let them be routed by their own fears, for so the Midianites were, more than by Gideon's 300 men. Do to them as to the army under the command of Sisera (who was general under Jabin king of Canaan) which God discomfited (Jdg. 4:15) at the brook Kishon, near to which was Endor. They became as dung on the earth; their dead bodies were thrown like dung laid in heaps, or spread, to fatten the ground; they were trodden to dirt by Barak's small but victorious army; and this was fitly made a precedent here, because Deborah made it so to aftertimes when it was fresh. Jdg. 5:31, So let all thy enemies perish, O Lord! that is, So they shall perish.
- 2. He prays that their leaders might be destroyed as they had been formerly. The common people would not have been so mischievous if their princes had not set them on, and therefore they are particularly prayed against, v. 11, 12. Observe,
  - (1.) What their malice was against the Israel of God. They said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession (v. 12), the pleasant places of God (so the word is), by which we may understand the land of Canaan, which was a pleasant land and was Immanuel's land, or the temple, which was indeed God's pleasant place (Isa. 64:11), or (as Dr. Hammond suggests) the pleasant pastures, which these Arabians, who traded in cattle, did in a particular manner seek after. The princes and nobles aimed to enrich themselves by this war; and their armies must be made as dung for the earth, to serve their covetousness and their ambition.
  - (2.) What their lot should be. They shall be made like Oreb and Zeeb (two princes of the Midianites, who, when their forces were routed, were taken in their flight by the Ephraimites and slain, Jdg. 7:25), and like Zeba and Zalmunna, whom Gideon himself slew, Jdg. 8:21. "Let these enemies of ours be made as easy a prey to us as they were to the conquerors then.' We may not prescribe to God, but we may pray to God that he will deal with the enemies of his church in our days as he did with those in the days of our fathers.
II. He illustrates it by some similitudes, and prays,
- 1. That God would make them like a wheel (v. 13), that they might be in continual motion, unquiet, unsettled, and giddy in all their counsels and resolves, that they might roll down easily and speedily to their own ruin. Or, as some think, that they might be broken by the judgments of God, as the corn is broken, or beaten out, by the wheel which was then used in threshing. Thus, when a wise king scatters the wicked, he is said to bring the wheel over them, Prov. 20:26. Those that trust in God have their hearts fixed; those that fight against him are unfixed, like a wheel.
- 2. That they might be chased as stubble, or chaff, before the fierce wind. "The wheel, though it continually turn round, is fixed on its own axis; but let them have no more fixation than the light stubble has, which the wind hurries away, and nobody desires to save it, but is willing it should go,' Ps. 1:4. Thus shall the wicked be driven away in his wickedness, and chased out of the world.
- 3. That they might be consumed, as wood by the fire, or as briers and thorns, as fern or furze, upon the mountains, by the flames, v. 14. When the stubble is driven by the wind it will rest, at last, under some hedge, in some ditch or other; but he prays that they might not only be driven away as stubble, but burnt up as stubble. And this will be the end of wicked men (Heb. 6:8) and particularly of all the enemies of God's church. The application of these comparisons we have (v. 15): So persecute them with thy tempest, persecute them to their utter ruin, and make them afraid with thy storm. See how sinners are made miserable; the storm of God's wrath raises terrors in their own hearts, and so they are made completely miserable. God can deal with the proudest and most daring sinner that has bidden defiance to his justice, and can make him afraid as a grasshopper. It is the torment of devils that they tremble.
III. He illustrates it by the good consequences of their confusion, v. 16-18. He prays here that God, having filled their hearts with terror, would thereby fill their faces with shame, that they might be ashamed of their enmity to the people of God (Isa. 26:11), ashamed of their folly in acting both against Omnipotence itself and their own true interest. They did what they could to put God's people to shame, but the shame will at length return upon themselves. Now,
- 1. The beginning of this shame might be a means of their conversion: "Let them be broken and baffled in their attempts, that they may seek thy name, O Lord! Let them be put to a stand, that they may have both leisure and reason to pause a little, and consider who it is that they are fighting against and what an unequal match they are for him, and may therefore humble and submit themselves and desire conditions of peace. Let them be made to fear thy name, and perhaps that will bring them to seek thy name.' Note, That which we should earnestly desire and beg of God for our enemies and persecutors is that God would bring them to repentance, and we should desire their abasement in order to this, no other confusion to them than what may be a step towards their conversion.
- 2. If it did not prove a means of their conversion, the perfecting of it would redound greatly to the honour of God. If they will not be ashamed and repent, let them be put to shame and perish; if they will not be troubled and turned, which would soon put an end to all their trouble, a happy end, let them be troubled for ever, and never have peace: this will be for God's glory (v. 18), that other men may know and own, if they themselves will not, that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH (that incommunicable, though not ineffable name) art the Most High over all the earth. God's triumphs over his and his church's enemies will be incontestable proofs,
  - (1.) That he is, according to his name JEHOVAH, a self-existent self-sufficient Being, that has all power and perfection in himself.
  - (2.) That he is the most high God, sovereign Lord of all, above all gods, above all kings, above all that exalt themselves and pretend to be high.
  - (3.) That he is so, not only over the land of Israel, but over all the earth, even those nations of the earth that do not know him or own him; for his kingdom rules over all. These are great and unquestionable truths, but men will hardly be persuaded to know and believe them; therefore the psalmist prays that the destruction of some might be the conviction of others. The final ruin of all God's enemies, in the great day, will be the effectual proof of this, before angels and men, when the everlasting shame and contempt to which sinners shall rise (Dan. 12:2) shall redound to the everlasting honour and praise of that God to whom vengeance belongs.

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