Commentary on Psalms - Volume 3 - Bible Study Guides

Comm on Psalms (V3)John CalvinPSALM 83The prophet implores the divine aid against the enemies of the Church, and, as an argument forobtaining this the more easily, he enumerates the many nations which had conspired together forthe express purpose of exterminating the people of Israel, and thereby extinguishing the very nameof the Church of God. To stir up himself and others to greater earnestness and confidence in prayer,he shows, by many examples, how mightily God had been wont to succor his servants.A Song or Psalm of Asaph.Psalm 83:1-41. O God! keep not silence with thyself; hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God! 2. For,behold! Thy enemies are tumultuous: and those who hate thee have lifted up the head. 3. Theyhave formed a crafty design against thy people, and have consulted against thy hidden ones. 4.They have said, Come and let us cut them off from being a nation; and let the name of Israel beno more remembered.1 O God! hold not thy peace. It is very generally agreed among commentators, that this psalmwas composed during the reign of king Jehoshaphat; and in this opinion I readily concur. Thatgodly king, as is well known, had to engage in dreadful wars against multiplied hosts of enemies.Although the Ammonites and Moabites were the originators of the principal war in which he wasengaged, yet they mustered forces not only from Syria, but also from distant countries, and thetroops thus brought together well nigh overwhelmed Judea with their multitude. It would thenappear, from the long list of enemies, here enumerated, who had conspired together to destroy thepeople of God, that the conjecture is well-founded which refers the composition of this psalm tothat occasion; 430 and sacred history informs us, that one of the Levites, under the influence of theSpirit of prophecy, gave the king assurance of victory, 431 and that the Levites sang before the Lord.In the midst of so great dangers, the whole nation, as well as the holy king, must have been involvedin the deepest distress; and, accordingly, we have here a prayer full of earnestness and solicitude.These feelings prompted the repetition of the words which occur in the very opening of the psalm,Hold not thy peace, Keep not silence, be not still By this, the faithful would intimate, that if Godintended to succor them, it behoved him to make haste, else the opportunity for doing so would belost. It is unquestionably our duty to wait patiently when God at any time delays his help; but, incondescension to our infirmity, he permits us to supplicate him to make haste. What I have rendered,keep not silence with thyself, is literally keep not silence to thyself, which some translate by theparaphrase, Hold not thy peace in thy own cause, — an exposition which is too refined to be moreparticularly noticed. This form of expression is equivalent to saying, Hold not thyself in. Perhapsthe particle is here superfluous, as it is in many other places.2 For, behold! thy enemies are tumultuous. As an argument for enforcing the prayer of thepreceding verse, it is affirmed that the faithful are oppressed both by the impetuous violence and430 Compare the 6th, 7th, and 8th verses of the psalm with 2 Chronicles 20:1, 10, 22; and the 12th verse of the psalm with the11th verse of that chapter.431 The name of this Levite was Jahaziel, and he is expressly said to be a prophet of the race of Asaph, 2 Chronicles 20:14. Itis not unlikely that he is the same with Asaph, the author of this psalm.203