Day 496: Psalm 83- Hope In Final Victory

O God, do not keep silence;
    do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2 For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
    those who hate you have raised their heads.
3 They lay crafty plans against your people;
    they consult together against your treasured ones.
4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”

5 For they conspire with one accord;
    against you they make a covenant--
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
    Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
    Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Asshur also has joined them;
    they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah
9 Do to them as you did to Midian,
    as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10 who were destroyed at En-dor,
    who became dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
    of the pastures of God.”
 
13 O my God, make them like whirling dust,
    like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest,
    as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so may you pursue them with your tempest
    and terrify them with your hurricane!

16 Fill their faces with shame,
    that they may seek your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
    let them perish in disgrace,
18 that they may know that you alone,
    whose name is the Lord,
    are the Most High over all the earth.
 
Meditation
God’s word orients the eyes of your heart to His final victory, a demonstration of His authority over all people (even His enemies). Philippians 2:10-11 says, “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”  Revelation 1:7 speaks of the return of Jesus on clouds, “every eye will see Him…” God is King and when He returns winter will turn to spring, death to life, and difficulty to victory.
 
The situation for the Psalmist is bleak- surrounded by enemies who are looking to devour and destroy God’s people.  You cannot help but think of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20, surrounded by enemies the king prays, “Lord we know not what to do but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12). Then the people sing and see the deliverance only God can bring, pointing to the trajectory of Scripture and God’s story of victory.
 
God will demonstrate His rule and reign over all people.  All people will see our King return in victory! And they will acknowledge He is Lord, seeking refuge in His name. God alone is “the Most High over all the earth”(18).  God wants the eyes of our hearts to see the good news of heaven over and above the difficulty and discouragement of a world where it seams like evil will win.
 
Lord, we believe. Help us see your victory! We know not what to do- Our eyes are upon you!
 
Richly Dwelling
-Does it seem like darkness and discouragement are prevailing? Where do you look when the situations of this world overwhelm? Where are the eyes of your heart?
 
-Does the end of the story strengthen your hope today?
 
-Take time now to pray for those in your life that need to seek God’s name and come to know Him. May the Lord make His name great among all peoples and nations!
 
Key Verse
16 Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O Lord.