Let's turn to Psalm 83, Psalm 83. Now you have an outline in front of you this evening and my hope and my prayer is to magnify God. I want to exalt God in faithfully preaching his word and his plan. It is a very dangerous place to be In fact, maybe I could rephrase that. One of the most dangerous places to be is to hate God and the people of Israel. God declares in the Abrahamic covenant, that is in Genesis 12, that the one who insults or verbally slights The chosen people of God will be cursed unto destruction. That's my translation of Genesis 12, verse 3. The English says, the one who curses me, I will curse, but they're different Hebrew words. The one who lightly insults the Jews will be annihilated by God. Just like yesterday, the Iranian regime launched hundreds of ballistic missiles into Israel, but that hatred is really nothing new. Not too long ago, Dave Horowitz, the editor of the Times of Israel, said, to the north, Israel has a lot of enemies, Syria, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Turkey, and even Russia. To our east, we have the mother, that is Iran, and the regime. to enrich and perfect its nuclear program as they threaten to annihilate Israel. And then to the south, he said, we have Hamas and other enemies all across the Jordan. And of course, on the west, you have the Gaza and other seaports that import goods from other Islamic groups to Gaza against Israel. Of course, we know that there have been many leaders through the centuries, and including even in recent days and weeks and hours, the Iranian leaders, the Ayatollahs, that say, we must kill all the Jews and annihilate Israel. If I could preach a sermon with the title, how do you destroy the Jewish people, I would, and say, you can't, because you can't destroy God and his sovereign election and his purposes. But this is nothing new. The hatred for God and the hatred for Israel and the hatred for the Jewish people. I mean, you can barely turn on a headline nowadays before seeing riots and hatred toward Jews, especially on college university campuses. Now, the name Israel is used 2,568 times in the Bible. It is a prominent subject from the beginning of the scriptures all the way through the book of Revelation. And in particular, in the last days, Daniel 9, 24, the nation of Israel, the Jewish people, come to the prominent position in God's plan. But many of the plans of God regarding his people Israel involve war. Many of the plans involve war. I mean, that's the Israelite history from Exodus all the way through Kings and Chronicles. But even in Psalm 2, there are nations and kings that rise up against the Messiah. In Ezekiel 38-39, we have the war of Gog and Magog coming from the area of Russia. We have Zechariah 12 and 14 speaking of war against the Jews, Revelation 16, which talks about Armageddon, and then Revelation 19, which deals with the second coming of the Messiah. All of these are in some way related to war against Israel in some way. Psalm 83 should be part of that number. Psalm 83 is a hymn written by Asaph. You see it there in the title of the psalm. It's written by Asaph. It is a God-inspired hymn on the getith. That's a Hebrew word for a stringed instrument, like a guitar or a lyre. It was intended for congregational worship. That's interesting. We'll look at the psalm in a moment, but yet it was intended to be sung by the congregation as a whole. It's a prayer, it's a lament, and a desperate cry to God. In your outline, I give you three little marks there. I need to sort of give you a quick footnote on where I'm going and why I do what I do. Number one, as an interpreter, I hold to the literal, grammatical, historical method of interpretation, meaning I'm concerned with the words of the text and I interpret them literally, normally, plainly at face value. We interpret it historically in context as the author intended. That's how I interpret the text of scripture. Second, as an exegete, As an exegete, I am committed to the very words, the meaning of words, and how the words fit together within a discourse in order to convey meaning. is not found in what you think and what I think and what the postmoderns think and all the differences. Meaning is always bound and fixed to what the author intended by what he wrote. And then third, as an expositor, I take the meaning of the text, and this is every day of my life, I take the meaning of the text And I seek to proclaim the truth of that passage faithfully, clearly, understandably, and with application to all of our lives. that sort of clues you as to why I'm going to say what I say from this psalm this evening. I believe that Psalm 83 is more than just a prayer or a plea to God for vengeance upon Israel's enemies, although that's included. What Psalm 83 teaches, hear this, this is one of the main points of the psalm, Psalm 83 teaches that there is a ten-nation confederacy that will join together wanting to destroy the people of Israel and they want to possess the promised land. All commentators, all of them agree. That has not happened yet. All of them agree. Now, what they do with that is a different thing, but everybody acknowledges a ten-nation confederacy that is mentioned here has not happened yet. But before someone is Israel's enemy, before somebody is your or my enemy, they are God's enemy. We don't want to forget that. The psalm that we have this evening teaches a very profound and a serious occasion that I want to make you aware of. I want to make you aware of it. We're living in very interesting days. We are living in very difficult times for Israel. It's not going to get easier. It's going to get tougher. The Bible makes that very clear. But let's look at it through the lens of this psalm so that we can understand God's plan for Psalm 83 in the Jewish people. Notice in your outline, number one, the coalition of the nations against Israel in verses one to eight. Follow with me as I read the text, beginning in verse one. Oh God, do not remain quiet. Do not be silent. And oh God, do not be still. 4. Behold, your enemies make an uproar, and those who hate you have exalted themselves. They make shrewd plans against your people. They conspire together against your treasured ones. They have said, come and let us wipe them out as a nation, so that the name of Israel be remembered no more. For they have conspired together with one mind. Against you they make a covenant. The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, Gebel and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre, Assyria also has joined them. They have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah. I mean, verse one. Talk about a prayer, urgent prayer request. God, don't be silent. You and I could pray that after reading the headlines yesterday. 181 rockets from Iran coming into Israel. God, don't be silent. Don't be quiet. God, don't be still. It's anthropomorphic figure of speech language. God, Get up and act. Do something. Deliver your people. And the big idea, I mean, you could rip this off headline after headline is verse 4. What's verse 4? They are saying, let's wipe out these people as a nation, and more specifically, the name of Israel. We want the name of Israel to be remembered no more. That happens almost on a daily basis from Israel's enemies. The Hebrew word in verse four, let us wipe them out. That's a fascinating Hebrew word. Let us make them a non-existence. We want to hide them, conceal them so that they exist no more. And this is nothing new. I mean, this is Israel's history. This is what they've gone through. Many, many, many, many, many have wanted to wipe out the Jewish people. What is the intention? I suppose we have to ask the question, what's going on? I mean, they're all over the headlines. You cannot open a news site without reading something or about this. And we ask the question, what's going on? Verse two answers, behold, Your enemies are making an uproar. Those who hate you have exalted themselves. Meaning, there is a loud uproar that stems from proud arrogance. Verse three, they are making shrewd plans against your people, that is the Jews, Israel, and they are conspiring together against your treasured ones. They are plotting, plotting and planning and conspiring. Verse four, again, what do they want to do? What is Russia? What is Turkey? What does Iran want to do? just like the enemies of Israel of old, they want to annihilate Israel. And verse 5, they conspire together with one mind, with one unified accord, all these nations, they are unifying together against you, verse 5, they even make a covenant. So, hear this, there's a unified, planned, arrogant, bloodthirsty, we could call it anti-Semitic, God-hating plots. Now, I read these verses and I think they're conspiring together. They're making a covenant together. They're plotting together. Whatever these nations are, in verses six all the way through eight, there is a 10-nation coalition that is a unified, planned, arrogant, anti-Semitic, God-hating plot. Let's wipe out the nation of Israel. It hasn't happened yet. Church family. I take it to mean it's a prophecy about a future battle. A future battle. Now, I don't read the headlines saying, oh, maybe today's the Psalm 83 war. I don't know. And we don't know when exactly, but I think it's a future prophecy. Well, what are these nations? Look at verses six to eight. Look at the identity of these nations. And you've got a map and color on your outline there. You've got a description chart that gives all these nations and their modern counterparts. I mean, from the north to the south, to the east, even to the west, Israel is raided. I mean, verse six, Edom. Well, they're on the east, east of the Jordan. And then you have the Ishmaelites. Well, those are the nomadic tent dwellers in the southern wilderness. And then you have Moab and the Hagrites. They are also east of the Jordan. And then you have Gebel in verse seven. Well, that's north, that's Tyre and Phoenicia, modern day Lebanon, interestingly enough. And then you have, In verse 7, you have the Amalekites and the Ammonites. These are those who live in the southern desert region. Then the Philistines, they're on the west in Gaza. Tyre, that's north in Lebanon. Assyria, that's modern-day Iraq, Iran, and Syria. What's really fascinating about this, it's not that they're just the enemies of the Jews. If you get that, I think we missed the main punchline of the psalm. They're not just Israel's enemies. They are God's enemies. Do you see it there in verse 2? Behold God, your enemies are making an uproar. Do you see, in verse 5, against you they are making a covenant? This is a 10-member coalition of nations that is totally united to make action against Israel because they hate Israel's God. I want to give a brief comment or two sort of thinking about this even in our modern mind. One commentator said, there has never been a comprehensive anti-Israel alliance mentioned in the Bible nor in history of this magnitude. This hasn't happened yet. Another point that we need to consider is that hatred for Israel is nothing new. Hatred for Israel is nothing new. The same spirit has always predominated through all the conflicts in Israel's history. The book of Obadiah is all about this. The book of Zechariah is all about this. Let me give you one verse. Ezekiel 35, verse 5. Ezekiel the prophet says, that the descendants of Esau have everlasting hatred against Israel. They have an everlasting hatred against Israel. Now, let's pause right there for a minute and leave that and ask the question, why? Why are there all of the anti-Israel protests everywhere? Why is there the attacks on the synagogues and the rabbis and the Jewish people all around the world? Why are there the anti-Semitic laws and hatred and propagation all across the globe? Why? I know the answer. Number one, Deuteronomy 7 says that God chose and elected Israel to be his covenant nation forever. But with that, God tied his character, his reputation, and his person with the Jewish people. If you hate the nation of Israel, you hate God. Second of all, not only did God elect Israel, Deuteronomy 7, verses 6 to 8, second of all, Israel is the apple of God's eye and the very promise of God's heart, Zechariah 2, in verse 8. So whoever afflicts the Jewish people is poking into God's eye. Third, God has given all the land of Israel to Abraham and his descendants. The whole land battle nowadays, church family, has nothing to do with politics. It had nothing to do with politics. The whole land of a two-state and Gaza and West Bank and all that, it's clear biblically. Israel owns it and they'll have it. Genesis 12, Genesis 15, Genesis 17, make that clear. And finally, God will never break his covenant with his people. He'll never break his covenant with his people. Jeremiah 31 and Romans 11. Why all the hatred? Well, it's all these reasons. but it's fueled by Satan. Satan is the anti-Christ. He hates the Messiah. He hates God. He hates the Jews. He hates all of the perfect plans of the Lord. So let me just review that by saying this. It has been very well said by one commentator, to make war on God's people, Israel, is to make war on God. Remember that these days when we see all that's going on. So what's the big issue? Verse 5, they have done this against you. In verse 2, they are your enemies. They are those who hate you, O Lord. Genesis chapter 12, Abrahamic covenant, those who insult Israel will be utterly annihilated. by God, Genesis 12 and verse three. That is number one in your outline, the coalition of nations against Israel. I hope that helps clarify a little bit, not only what the psalm is teaching, but what is going on everywhere in our day currently. But in your outline, number two, I want you to see the intervention of God for Israel. I want you to see the intervention of God for Israel. Now, these verses, the whole rest of the psalm is this. God, we know that you've delivered your people in the past. Will you do it again now? That's all these verses are saying. Lord, just like you delivered your people of old, do it again now. Our Bible gives myriads of deliverances of God, his power and majesty and ability and timing and mercy. Our God loves to deliver the weak. More on that in a little bit. These are prayers. Verse nine, deal with them. Look at verse 13. Oh God, make them like the whirling dust. Verse 15. Pursue them with your storm. Terrify them with your hurricane. Verse 16. Fill their faces with dishonor. Verse 17. Let them be ashamed. End of verse 17. Let them be humiliated. These are prayers. It's prayers. God, we want you to intervene. You know, verse 9 to 12 talks about the past history. And Asaph goes all the way to the Book of Judges, the Book of Judges. And in verse 6, do you see it here in verse 6 that, pardon me, in verse 9, deal with them as with Midian, as with Sisera and Jabin at the torrents of Kishan, who were destroyed at Endor, who became as dung for the ground. God, remember way back in the book of Judges? The time of Gideon, Judges 6, 7, and 8, when there were four Midianite rulers that were mentioned? I love these guys. Their names, Oreb, Ze'eb, Zeba, and Zalmunah. And yet Gideon pursued them, and God gave his people the victory. It was won by Gideon with a couple hundred eager and willing soldiers. I love Judges 7.22. Listen to this little phrase. The Lord set the sword of one against the other. God gave the victory in the time of Gideon, not because Gideon was so great, but because God was so merciful to deliver his people. Lord, remember how you delivered them when the odds were so against them? Do that again now. And then he gives another example. And the other example is now speaking of Sisera and Jabin, like in Judges 4 and 5. Remember, Sisera was the commander of the Canaanite army. Jabin was the king. And they come against Israel with 900 chariots, and they're terrorizing the land. And Deborah and Barak are the leaders. Actually, not Barak. It was more Deborah. Cicero was forced to abandon and flee on foot, and Cicero was exhausted and came into the tent of a person named Jael, or Yael, and she drove a tent peg, what a fun account that is, right through his skull. Why? Because God gave the victory to his people. What's the author doing here? Asaphus says, remember the book of Judges? When your people were so outnumbered, we had no hope physically. We had no hope. We were totally, totally outnumbered. We were going to be destroyed. And yet, God, you gave victory then. Do it again now. Let me give one more. A hopeless situation. In some time in the history past, you want to know what it is? your sin, dealing with your sin, your sin. God, at the cross, where you paid our sin debt, where you satisfied your own wrath, where all of your just demands were met in Christ, you intervened powerfully, supernaturally, gloriously, mercifully, in accordance with your reputation and your character. We can pray this. Deliver now like you've done then. Well, back to Psalm 83. Lord, deal with them. Deal with our enemies. Bring them down. Don't let our enemies have the victory. Verse 13, look at the passionate inquiries. Oh God, make them like whirling dust. Make them like chaff. What's that? Make them like tumbleweed, just sort of blown down the road. It's worthless. It's meaningless. God, just blow the enemies. Make them like fire. Make them like a flame. Verse 13 and 14, that sets the mountains on fire. Everybody runs from a fire, right? Verse 15, pursue your enemies with your tempest. and terrify them with your storm. I like the ESV, terrify them with your hurricane. Listen to what one commentator, he has a commentary on looking at the Hebrew text. He says, the Hebrew word for storm or hurricane says that God reserves his most severe judgment for those who would annihilate his people. What's the warning? Don't mess with God and the people of God. Don't meet God in his storm. By the way, what a call to all. You don't want to meet this God in the storm of his judgment. You don't want to meet God in the almighty hurricane. We've seen a lot about hurricanes in recent days, haven't we? People flee. People run. People hide. People try to escape. but you can't from God's ultimate hurricane. This is a message to all of the wicked, not to doubt, not to disbelieve, not to be indifferent, not to turn on God's people, but to find a refuge in the Lord. There's hope in Him. Now, that's a pretty tough and pretty graphic illustration. Destroy them with your hurricane. But I love how God in his mercy opens the door of grace. Look at verse 16. Fill their faces with dishonor. Why? Because Lord, we want them to seek you. Lord, there are some who may seek you. The door of grace is open. The door of opportunity is available. The door of salvation is there. You can seek the Lord. Verse 17, let them be ashamed and dismayed forever. Let them be humiliated and perish. Verse 18, so that all may know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, you are the most high over all the earth. What a door of mercy. What a door of hope. What a door of grace. Lord, we want them to seek you. We want them to know that you are God most high. Maybe in New Testament theology terms, we might say, We want them to find shelter in Christ, because there's no shelter outside of Christ. We want them to hide in the cross of Christ, because there's no hope without the cross of Christ. We want these people to trust in the righteousness of God by faith, because there's no hope and rest without it. Come. Come by faith. Even all of us who are here today, what a needed question. The storm of God is coming. Are you sure that you'll be spared from that hurricane? And boys and girls, men and women, all of us, there's only one way to be spared from that hurricane, and that is to hide in Jesus who went through it for you. Hide in Him. Trust in Him. And that's the song. I mean, that's Psalm 83. It's meant to be a congregational hymn for the people of Israel in temple worship to remember God and know why are all these nations coming against the Jews? The psalm tells us why. Now, I do want to be clear. The question has been asked, and I do want to answer it. Well, is what's going on now in Israel The Psalm 83 war. Well, I don't know if what's going on now is the coalition of ten nations against Israel, but I do know one thing. God is providentially setting the stage. I don't know when the battle's gonna happen, and I don't know how long it will last and all the different details, but we know that God is at work. He is setting the stage, and we know from this psalm how to pray when the battle occurs, when the battle occurs. Israel, the Jews, oh, they have difficult, difficult days ahead. They have very difficult days ahead. But in closing, I want you to turn with me to Psalm 121. Let's end with this. Psalm 121, and it's only a couple of verses long that I want to read and focus our attention upon our God by way of conclusion. Time is short. We need to prepare to meet the Lord. We gotta make sure that we are saved from the storm of God's hurricane as we are hiding in Christ. Oh, Israel, even though so many of them now do not believe in their Messiah, you know what your job is as a Gentile believer? Love your Messiah so much that you provoke the Jewish people to jealousy. You are to love the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and their Messiah so much. And you are to proclaim this God so much that Jewish people are brought to jealousy. They're provoked by your love for Him. Psalm 121 helps. I lift up my eyes to the mountains, from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil. He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out. and you're coming in from this time forth and forevermore. Hallelujah. You and I can have confidence in a covenant-keeping God because He has shown Himself to be reliably faithful to His people Israel all along. Let's pray. Father, thank You that You have given help and clarity in the Word not only to have a God-inspired hymn for congregational worship that brings us to you, but Lord, we understand so much of what's going on nowadays, because there's such hatred for Israel, there's such hatred for you, and our psalm tells us why. We ask, O Lord, in faith, believing that you will protect your people, Israel, So watch over them, guard them, protect them. We pray that their leadership would look to the Lord just like Joshua did. We ask, O Lord, that we would pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We pray, O Lord, that as we gather together this evening in our small groups and we pray that you would meet with us, that you would fill our hearts with joy, that we would be utterly caught up with the great love of God that has delivered us by such almighty power revealed at Calvary in the cross of our Redeemer and the empty tomb that gives us life. We thank you for the hope that we have in our great God and in our Messiah Jesus. In his name we pray.