3 Against Thy people they take crafty counsel, And consult against Thy hidden ones. 4 They have said, 'Come, And we cut them off from 'being' a nation, And the name of Israel is not remembered any more.' 5 For they consulted in heart together, Against Thee a covenant they make,
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 83:3-5
Commentary on Psalm 83:1-8
(Read Psalm 83:1-8)
Sometimes God seems not to be concerned at the unjust treatment of his people. But then we may call upon him, as the psalmist here. All wicked people are God's enemies, especially wicked persecutors. The Lord's people are his hidden one; the world knows them not. He takes them under his special protection. Do the enemies of the church act with one consent to destroy it, and shall not the friends of the church be united? Wicked men wish that there might be no religion among mankind. They would gladly see all its restraints shaken off, and all that preach, profess, or practise it, cut off. This they would bring to pass if it were in their power. The enemies of God's church have always been many: this magnifies the power of the Lord in preserving to himself a church in the world.