Psalm 83 (82):14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

O Lord, grant that I may emulate the humble nature of a reed. May they not stay stagnant, but instead endure the very adversity that contrasts this stillness. Like a staff resisting the gusts of wind, let them be swayed just as the slender stalk of grain is moved.

Consider the prophet's humility: instead of condemning them, he intercedes on their behalf. Observe his words: My God, the God of all creation, is undoubtedly my God. My God, strike them down like a wheel. Those who find themselves entrenched in wickedness, permit their foundation to be shaken, that they may not persist in sin. "Like straw in the face of the wind, like a fire that consumes the wood" (Psalm 82:14-15). "Like straw": not like the golden grain, but rather like its useless stalks. This is the essence of the psalmist's message: let those who are like straw and chaff face destruction. Another interpretation suggests they should not remain steadfast, but instead remain in a state of instability, without a solid footing, causing them to roll easily.

My God, strengthen me like a soldier, meaning instruct them to endure all forms of hardship while enveloping them in constant trials. Like a reed swaying in the gusts, You will disperse them as a reed blown by the wind.

They may assert their claims, yet I beseech You, O Lord, to thwart their plans and position them in such a way that they neither rise nor stabilize, but continuously rotate like a wheel that never halts, as Didymus noted. Similarly, like a stalk of wheat or straw scattered by a fierce wind, as Athanasius described, may they be dispersed. Isychius expresses a desire for their existence to be utterly eradicated, blown away by the very force of the wind that generates it. Theodoret implores that they be condemned to perpetual afflictions and surrounded by unending sorrow, scattered like reeds blown apart by the tempest.

The experience of fluctuation and instability, much like a wheel in motion, reflects a state of perpetual change. Just as chaff is carried away by the breeze, they find no solid ground, unable to take form or make an appearance as they are swept along by the winds.

The prophet aptly illustrates the downfall and destruction of the unrighteous, which ensues from the just decrees of God. He compares it to a wheel tumbling down a mountainside into a swift current, ceaselessly spinning and never pausing until it is reduced to powder; or like a staff that sways back and forth in a strong wind, eventually being uprooted and brought to ruin. In this way, God, he emphasizes, will deal with those who persecute the just. This truth is borne out by observation, as nothing is more precarious than the prosperity of the wicked, whose ultimate fate is everlasting separation from life.

The Psalm, inspired by the Holy Spirit through David, was entrusted to Asaph, the leader of the singers, to declare the message contained within it about the impending trials faced by the Jewish people, particularly the faithful followers of Christ during various eras, with a strong emphasis on the time of the Antichrist. In this context, the prophet of God earnestly seeks guidance, echoing the heartfelt supplications of the Holy Church amid persecution (Theodoret). Malevolence serves as a demonic seduction that draws individuals towards idolatry and sin. Because of God's forbearance, the adversaries grew so arrogant that they became brazen in their actions. Those who rage against God’s children and His saints wage war against Him, their servant and brother.