Slices
Prepare
Reflect on your world and its problems. Cry out to God with his people through time: ‘O God, do not remain silent…’ (Psalm 83:1).
Bible passage
A song. A psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, do not remain silent;
do not turn a deaf ear,
do not stand aloof, O God.
2 See how your enemies growl,
how your foes rear their heads.
3 With cunning they conspire against your people;
they plot against those you cherish.
4 ‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us destroy them as a nation,
so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.’
5 With one mind they plot together;
they form an alliance against you –
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Byblos, Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia, with the people of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them
to reinforce Lot’s descendants.
9 Do to them as you did to Midian,
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,
10 who perished at Endor
and became like dung on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, ‘Let us take possession
of the pasture-lands of God.’
13 Make them like tumble-weed, my God,
like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest
or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your storm.
16 Cover their faces with shame, Lord,
so that they will seek your name.
17 May they ever be ashamed and dismayed;
may they perish in disgrace.
18 Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord –
that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
Explore
Sometimes, as God’s people, we feel under threat by forces in our world which don’t honour God and seem to hate those who do. Songwriter Asaph, in earlier times than Hosea’s, writes this communal song of lament. God’s cherished people are threatened by jealous enemies, and this psalm gives them words to express their prayers (vs 1–4).
The target of their enemies’ destructive hatred isn’t just God’s people, but God himself (‘against you’, verse 5). Tracking back through their history, the psalmist recalls those who have turned against God’s chosen people (eg Edomites, the Ishmaelites*), now joined by Assyria (v 8). He reminds them of God’s victories over their enemies in the past, calling on God to act again, to save them (vs 9–12). Overwhelmed by the state of the world which seems to teeter on the edge, here God’s people find encouragement to call on their God (‘my God,’ v 13) to defeat their enemies again and blow evil forces away. But notice that even in their call for judgement, there is mercy and purpose: ‘so that they will seek your name’ (v 16).
Who are the enemies of God and our faith today? How might we join with others to lament, and to pray for ourselves and them?
Respond
Do that now, remembering how God has worked in the lives of his people in the past.
Deeper Bible study
Start with a time of total quiet. Then pray that God will allow love and grace to flow through you as you soak in biblical promises today.
The heart cry of this psalm is for God to bring a judgement against those who are plotting against Israel. Although Asaph lists some of the historic enemies of Israel, whom he is using to compare with the current threats, the psalm starts with a heart-rending cry. It is here that we can pause and find encouragement. God, the silent one? The deaf one? The aloof one? Can we even say or think such things of the Word, the all-hearing, the ever-present one? Yet here, in this psalm, we can find permission and solace with such a thought.
There have been many times in my life when I have wanted an answer from God. Times when I have felt that many of my personal prayers were being left unanswered. Now I know that God does hear and that God does answer, even if the answer is ‘no’ or ‘later’ – but waiting in silence can be so hard. I am thankful that the psalms are full of examples of people who speak out their frustrated emotions, knowing that God is big enough and gracious enough to take it.
When Elijah was finally given a chance to encounter God, it was in the silence that God spoke.1 Although God can speak to us in the noisy times (‘Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls’),2 there are times when we need to come to a place of quiet, both internally and externally, to hear the voice of the Spirit. Above all, we cling to the promises of God’s Word in the Bible, the promises that God is with us and for us, remembering that it is only through a test that we have a testimony.
Explore different ways of approaching God in your devotions, perhaps borrowing from other Christian traditions. Expect God to meet you as you draw near in faithfulness.
1 1 Kings 19:12 2 Ps 42:7
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Leviticus 13,14; Acts 8
Prepare
Pray for Scripture Union Laos as they deliver ‘How to share the gospel’ training with local churches, and for their preaching engagements in churches.
