Psalm PSALM—NOTE ON Psalms 83:1. This is a community lament, responding to a situation in which God’s people are threatened by Gentile enemies (vv. Psalms 83:6) who aim to destroy them. The psalm asks that God will make these enemies fail miserably, be put to shame, and perish—so that they might come to know the Lord. It is possible (see note on vv. 9–18) that the psalm assumes that Israel must defend themselves, and the prayer is for military victory. Christians use this psalm rightly when they ask God to defeat the enemies of their faith in such a way that even those enemies might come to seek God’s name.

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