Matthew 10 records one time when Jesus sent out His disciples on a mission to the neighbouring towns. He knew they would face violent opposition. He said, ″I am sending you out like sheep among wolves″ (Matthew 10:16). It's a surprising and unsettling picture. The shepherd's job is to protect his sheep from wolves. But here the Good Shepherd deliberately sends His servants into danger. Sheep among wolves are defenceless against wolves' sharp teeth and claws. This picture of power and savagery against weakness and frailty is, for many Christians, a depiction of the world they live in today. It was also the world of Psalm 83.

The lament of Psalm 83 is familiar to readers of the psalms. Israel's enemies are threatening to destroy her (v. 4). The psalmist begs God to come and save them but God remains silent (v. 1). He reminds God of how He saved them in the past. This time he recalls some of God's powerful victories in the days of the judges. God defeated the Canaanites when Deborah was the judge (vv. 9-10), and the Midianites when Gideon was leader of the army (vv. 11-12). Finally, he prays for the humiliating overthrow of these nations (vv. 13-18).

The psalm provides us with two truths to cling to as we live in this perilous world. First, the psalmist acknowledges that Israel's enemies are God's enemies (vv. 2, 5). When the nations plot against Israel, they are plotting against God. On another occasion when Jesus sent His disciples out on a mission trip, He told them, ″whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me″ (Luke 10:16). What was true of Israel is true of the church today. To attack the people of God is to attack God himself.

Second, there will be a day when God's enemies will be terrified by His judgment (Psalm 83:15). The ultimate purpose is not for vengeance, but so that they will know that ″you alone are the Most High over all the earth″ (v. 18). As Christians, it should be our desire to see God's enemies repent of their evil ways and joyfully submit to the Lord. We proclaim the wrath to come so that unbelievers may ″serve the living and true God″ (1 Thessalonians 1:9).

There's a story of an American Coast Guard who was sent out into a hurricane to rescue a ship that was breaking up just off the coast. The captain told his men to prepare to go out to sea. One sailor replied, ″But Captain, we may never come back.″ The Captain said, ″Son, you don't have to come back. You have to go out.″ God calls us to serve Him in a hostile and dangerous world, whatever the cost.