LORD Most High

that they may know that you alone,

whose name is the LORD,

are the Most High over all the earth.

Psalm 83:18

The psalms manage to worship God, even in complaint. In the case of this psalm by Asaph, Israel is beset by enemies. Asaph appeals for God to come to the aid of His people. His rationale is three-fold: 1) When the nations threaten Israel they are really conspiring against God and His work (Psalm 83:2-8), 2) God has handily dealt with Israel's enemies in the past and should do so again (Psalm 83:9-12), and 3) God's power should be known so that these insolent nations may know that God is sovereign over all the nations of the earth (Psalm 83:13-18).

This is all strangely confirming of Israel's mission to be a light to the Gentiles. It affirms God's sovereign care and control over all the earth. It helps us to realize God has always wanted the world to know Him. It is thus a resource for missional focus for us today.

As bad as some worldlings rail against the gospel and disobey God's truth and its most fundamental natural reality, God still loves the world. He is sovereign in both salvation and the display of His justice. He judges the souls of all men in Christ. He offers salvation to all sinners. He rewards those who come to Him in repentance and faith with eternal life. He faithfully calls us to bring and live the gospel so that people might come to repentance.

Yet we know that not all people will do this. And God will be worshiped and glorified, even in the execution of His final judgment. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. It will happen either in life or in final judgment. God is indeed the Most High over all the earth.