AUGUST 1, 2026 FACILITATOR

Psalm 83:1-3 (PDF)

CONNECT WITH YOUR STORY

Discover more about your heart, life, family, and/or community.

  1. Relax. Breathe. Ask the Spirit to show you what emotions you have been feeling and why.

  2. Write out a few “I feel/felt (emotion) because of (circumstance)” statements.

  3. If you are with a group, simply share your sentences with one another.

SURRENDER TO THE LIVING AND ACTIVE WORD

Pray for the gift of understanding and believing God’s Word.

LISTEN TO THE SCRIPTURES

Read the passage out loud several times.

[Psalm 83:1] O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
[2] For behold, your enemies make an uproar; those who hate you have raised their heads.
[3] They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against your treasured ones.

MEDITATE ON THE PASSAGE

Learn about the Passage. Reflect on the Questions. Consider the Examples.

  • The occasion for Psalm 83 is a coordinated attack (v5) on then nation of Israel (v4) by a multitude of Gentile nations (vs6-8) who, out of a hatred for God consulted together and laid crafty plans to completely wipe out God’s people (v4). The Israelites who sang this song, over 2,500 years ago, asked God to deal with this Gentile coalition in the same way he dealt with previous enemies (vs9-12). The Israelites ask God to make them like whirling dust (v13), to make them like a forest consumed by fire (v14), to terrify them like those facing a hurricane (v15), and to fill their faces with shame (v16). And the Israelites ask God to do all of this “that they may seek the Lord’s name” (v16) and “know that the Lord is alone the Most High over all the earth” (v18).

  • How should believers today understand this Psalm and apply it to their lives? To start, God still has enemies (spiritual and human) who desire to wipe out his people. But his people are no longer “the nation of Israel” (the geopolitical entity we know today) or any other current nation. His people now, his Israel now, is the True Israelite (Jesus) and all those united to Jesus by faith (from a multitude of tribes, nations, and tongues). Ironically, various leaders in the nation of Israel tried to wipe out the New Israel (the church) when they realized that Jesus was not there to conquer Rome and reinforce their leadership. (Think Saul, before becoming Paul, who was seeking to wipe out Jesus’ People…before Jesus terrified him on the road to Damascus, showed him his supremacy and glory, and brought him into his people…a people who are hated and persecuted by various enemies.) So, believers today apply this Psalm by praying for God to not keep silence and to not hold his peace or be still as his enemies make an uproar, raise their heads in hatred, and lay crafty plans against his people, his treasured ones.

  • Notice how v3 ends with treasured ones, not “treasured one” as if there is only one and not “treasured people” as if his people are not individuals who enjoy an intimate relationship with God.

What does this passage teach us about God?

  • God, in his timing and way, defends his people, deals with his enemies, and showcases his supremacy.

  • God’s people are his treasured ones. God cherishes, values, and enjoys his each of his people.

  • Throughout history, God has battled enemies (spiritual and human) who have hated him and wanted to wipe out his people.

What can we learn from this passage about a godly life and a sinful life?

  • Regularly remembering that God’s enemies take out their hatred for him on his people, the godly pray for God to wipe out his enemies.

  • Even as their current circumstances seem to indicate otherwise, the godly trust that they are one of his treasured ones.

  • The godly know that the weapons given to them by God to fight his enemies are prayer, faith, and perseverance.

  • Knowing that God is supremely glorified when his enemies repent, believe the gospel, and worship him, the godly pray for God to convert, save, and transform his enemies.

How does this text display (and/or create a need for) Jesus’ saving work in our lives?

  • God will fully, in his time and way, eradicate his human enemies. When he does, his people (who were his enemies, Romans 5:10) will be saved and blessed because Jesus paid the penalty their rebellion deserved.

  • God will fully, in his time and way, eradicate his spiritual enemies. When he does, his people will live in paradise, no longer under attack by those beings who seek to devour them.

  • Believers, the children of God, are his treasured ones. They are cherished by God because they are clothed in the righteousness of his beloved Son. Believers are given the righteousness of Jesus because he took their sin and the wrath it deserved on the cross.

PRAY THE GOSPEL

Massage these prayers into and through your heart as they are read aloud.

ADORATION – Father, we praise your power to deal with your enemies in your timing and way and we praise your grace to reconcile us to you when we were your enemies.

CONFESSION – Lord, we confess that we often allow your Gospel to be overshadowed by our circumstances. Please forgive us for when make a bigger deal of our present situation than our future hope.

THANKSGIVING – Jesus, thank you for dying for our rebellion and animosity so we can be saved when you return and completely eradicate your enemies.

SUPPLICATION – Spirit, cause us to remember the war that continues. Do not let us forget those suffering because they are Christians. And lead us into faithful prayer as we long for Jesus’ return.

CLOSE IN PRAYER

Thank God for this time and the Gospel.