Ps 83: 16,18 (17,19 Heb)  . . . that they may seek Your Name, YHVH. . . that they may know that You, whose name alone is YHVH, are Most  High over all the Earth

Asaph, who wrote this psalm, was a priest and a prophet.  King David assigned Asaph to be one of the priests who led praise and worship in the Tabernacle of Meeting (משכן אוהל מועד) even before Solomon built the House of YHVH (בית יהוה) in Jerusalem (1Chron 6:31-39; 15:16-19; 16:4-7,37; 25:1-2;  2Chron 5:12).  Asaph also wrote 11 other psalms, including #73, where he discovers that only in the sanctuary of God (מקדשי אל) is there understanding regarding the fate (אחרית) of the wicked (רשעים). 

I want us to consider briefly just a few thoughts from Ps 83: 

–crying out to God to act against His and His people’s enemies; His people are Israel and believers in Yeshua

–“let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”; compare Israel’s effort to cut off the name and memory of Yeshua/Jesus Christ; God is righteous: what you reap you will sow; as you judge you shall be judged

–an Islamic confederation opposing the God of Israel – YHVH

–calling on God to completely destroy their strength and the credibility of their leaders and heroes, those, who through covetousness and envy, want to take the “pastures of God for [their own] inheritance”.

Compare the Jewish leadership and sages who thought that by killing God’s Son, the true heir, they would inherit His inheritance (Mt 21:38)

—so that they will seek the true name of the one true God—YHVH—who alone saves and is Most High over all the Earth

We, too, are priests and prophets in Messiah.  We, too, need the discernment of Asaph to see through the lies of a culture established in direct opposition to the truth of God the Father and His Anointed One – the Lord Jesus the Messiah.  There is an evangelistic imperative to proclaim and confess the Name of YHVH, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, which is His memorial name forever

(Ex 3:14-16).  Most Bible translations remove YHVH’s name from the Bible, thus causing many in our generation to forget who He is.  When a false prophet comes and deceives people into believing that another name is the same God, then the enemy succeeds to destroy the identity and calling of the people upon whom YHVH has placed His Name! (Num 6:22-27).

All who call upon the Name of YHVH will be saved.  Jesus Christ the Nazarene (Acts 4:10 Gr) is the only name given under Heaven by which persons and peoples may be saved.  Yeshua is YHVH!  When we pray for Muslims, Jews, and other people of faith, we should learn by the Holy Spirit from Asaph that strongholds of lies and envy and murderous hatred must be broken through prayer and preaching of the gospel if they will be truly delivered from the powers of darkness and so turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God.  We wait for God’s Son Jesus, whom He raised from the dead, to return from Heaven and deliver us from the wrath to come (1Thes 1:9-10).

Jesus told the devil, “Away with you!  For it is written, ‘You shall worship YHVH your God, and Him only you shall serve!’”