Psalm 83 Devotional

Shame That Leads to Seeking

“May they know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, are Most High over all the earth.”Psalm 83:18 (BSB)

Psalm 83 is a cry for God to break his silence (83:1). A coalition of nations, from Edom and Moab to Philistia, Tyre, and even Assyria, has formed to wipe Israel out so that its name is forgotten (83:4-8). Asaph sees that the alliance is not only against Israel but against God himself (83:5).

His prayer is fierce. He asks God to do to them what he did to Midian and to Sisera, and to drive them like tumbleweed before a storm (83:9-15). These lines are hard, and the psalm does not soften them; it even asks that they perish in disgrace (83:17). But notice the purpose tucked into the request. Asaph asks God to fill their faces with shame so that they will seek his name (83:16), and the psalm ends hoping they will know that the LORD alone rules the whole earth (83:18). The judgment is left in God's hands, and even this prayer carries a longing that God be known. Enemies are not beyond the hope of turning and seeking him.

To think about: Is there someone opposed to you or to your faith for whom you could pray that they would come to know God?