The Treasury of David
by C.H. Spurgeon
EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS
(Psalms 83 Verse 9)
EXPOSITION
Verse 9. Do unto them as unto the Midianites. Faith delights to light upon precedents, and quote them before the Lord; in the present instance, Asaph found a very appropriate one, for the nations in both cases were very much the same, and the plight of the Israelites very similar. Yet Midian perished, and the psalmist trusted that Israel's present foes would meet with the like overthrow from the hand of the Lord.
As to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison. The hosts were swept away by the suddenly swollen torrent, and utterly perished; which was a second instance of divine vengeance upon confederated enemies of Israel. When God wills it, a brook can be as deadly as a sea. Kishon was as terrible to Jabin as was the Red Sea to Pharaoh. How easily can the Lord smite the enemies of his people. God of Gideon and of Barak, wilt thou not again avenge thine heritage of their bloodthirsty foes?
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Verse 9. Do unto them as unto the Midianites. That is, dash their heads together, make their policies to cross one another. Walter Cradock.
Verse 9. The brook of Kison. The river Kishon traverses the plain (of Esdraelon) and terminates in the Bay of Acre or Akka. This is the stream regarding which it is written, after Barak and Deborah had gained their victory over Sisera, "The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength." Although it is now no insignificant stream, yet it needs heavy rains to make it really considerable in magnitude: it is very unequal in size, and seems to be only temporary in its character. At any rate, when Robinson passed its head waters in midsummer, he found the channels all dry, and they had been so for a whole year. On the other hand, in the winter the waters are often exceedingly abundant; particularly in the northern and southern chief tributaries; so that, in 1799, at the time of the French invasion, many of the vanquished Turks perished in the floods which swept down from Deburieh, and which inundated the plain. It was a scene like that described in Judges 5 regarding the fate of Sisera's hosts. Carl Ritter (1779-1859), in "The Comparative Geography of Palestine and the Sinaitic Peninsula." Translated by William L. Gage. 1866.
HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS
None.