Psalm 83 describes a prayer from Asaph to God, pleading that He tarry no longer. A prayer that He would speak up, defending Israel, since she was surrounded by her enemies, who were seeking her destruction. The prayer remains applicable today, because Israel is still surrounded by her enemies, who breathe threats continually against the nation, and therefore against the Lord Almighty. But this needs to be our prayer as well, as we followers of Christ are grafted into the tree of God, and therefore are part of His family, and represent His name in the present world. From the mild opposition in the USA where the government is branding as haters those who support God’s law, to the Islamic world, where people are beheaded for claiming the name of Jesus, we are surrounded by those in power who seek to destroy the kingdom of God! It is in this context that I repeat aloud the words of Asaph:
Fill their faces with shame,
that they may seek your name, O Lord.
Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
let them perish in disgrace,
that they may know that you alone,
whose name is the Lord,
are the Most High over all the earth.
We who have read to the end of the book know that this His ultimate plan. We pray that the Lord may speak sooner, and may stay His final wrath, so that many more may turn to Him in the time between, in this time of the gentiles. Oh Lord, may you grant us more time to be your instruments, by staving off the growing army against your children. Push back the armies of the evil one today!
Amen.