Keep Not Silence, O God

Asaph opens this psalm with a cry for help in the middle of the night: keep not silence. This is not quiet meditation but the alarm of a watchman on the wall — ten nations gathering against one.

The first part (verses 1-9) draws the whole conspiracy: the secret counsel against the people, the single heart that joined enemies nothing else could join, and then the roll of names — from Edom in the south to Assyria in the north.

The verse that gives the song its name and beats in its chorus:

"Keep not silence, O God: hold not your peace, and be not still, O God"

Three verbs for one silence: not silent in word, not still in deed, not at rest as one whom nothing concerns. The prayer knocks three times on the same door.