John Calvin Commentary Psalms 83:13

"O my God, make them like the whirling dust; As stubble before the wind." — Psalms 83:13 (ASV)

O my God! make them like a whirling ball. As the ungodly, when they prepare themselves for destroying the Church, are usually inflated with intolerable pride, the inspired psalmist implores God to put them to shame, since it is impossible to reduce their pride until they are laid prostrate, confounded, and shamefully disappointed.

When he declares (Psalms 83:16) that, as a result of this, they will seek the name of God, this should not be understood as meaning they are brought to true repentance or genuine conversion. I indeed admit that the first step to genuine repentance is when people, brought low by affliction, willingly humble themselves.

But what is meant here is nothing more than a forced and slavish submission, like that of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. It frequently happens that the wicked, when subdued by adversity, give glory to God for a short period. But they are soon again carried away with a frantic madness, which clearly reveals their hypocrisy and brings to light the pride and rebellion that lurked in their hearts.

What the prophet desires is that the wicked may be compelled by punishments to acknowledge God, whether they want to or not, so that their fury, which erupts because they escape with impunity, may at least be kept under restraint. This is more clearly apparent from Psalm 83:17, where he distinctly prays that they may be destroyed forever; this would not at all correspond with his previous statement if it were regarded as a prayer for their repentance.

Nor does he needlessly use such a multitude of words. He does this partly because the reprobate, though often chastised, are nevertheless so incorrigible that time and again they muster new strength and courage, and partly because there is nothing more difficult to convince people of than that those who wallow at ease in great outward prosperity will soon perish. The reason for this is simply our not sufficiently grasping the dreadful character of God’s vengeance that awaits the oppressors of the Church.