John Calvin Commentary Psalms 83:1

"O God, keep not thou silence: Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God." — Psalms 83:1 (ASV)

O God! hold not thy peace. It is very generally agreed among commentators that this psalm was composed during the reign of King Jehoshaphat, and I readily concur with this opinion. That godly king, as is well known, had to engage in dreadful wars against multiplied hosts of enemies.

Although the Ammonites and Moabites were the originators of the principal war in which he was engaged, yet they mustered forces not only from Syria but also from distant countries, and the troops thus brought together nearly overwhelmed Judea with their multitude. It would then appear, from the long list of enemies, enumerated here, who had conspired together to destroy the people of God, that the conjecture referring the composition of this psalm to that occasion is well-founded; and sacred history informs us that one of the Levites, under the influence of the Spirit of prophecy, gave the king assurance of victory, and that the Levites sang before the Lord.

In the midst of such great dangers, the whole nation, as well as the holy king, must have been in the deepest distress; and, accordingly, we have here a prayer full of earnestness and solicitude.

These feelings prompted the repetition of the words which occur in the very opening of the psalm: Hold not thy peace, Keep not silence, be not still. By this, the faithful would intimate that if God intended to help them, He needed to make haste; otherwise, the opportunity to do so would be lost.

It is unquestionably our duty to wait patiently when God at any time delays His help; but, in condescension to our infirmity, He permits us to supplicate Him to make haste.

What I have rendered keep not silence with yourself, is literally keep not silence to yourself, which some translate by the paraphrase, Hold not your peace in your own cause—an exposition that is too refined to be discussed in more detail here. This form of expression is equivalent to saying, Hold not yourself in. Perhaps the particle here is superfluous, as it is in many other places.