To you, Lord, I call;
you are my Rock,
do not turn a deaf ear to me,
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who go down to the pit.
It is futile to call to rocks for deliverance, but our Rock will save us and give us peace. It is vain to rely on words to rescue us from judgment, but the eternal Word died so that we could have eternal life. We can call on our Rock: a steady, immovable deliverance. This verse starts on a desperate note, pleading with God to hear and answer the Psalmist’s prayer. If God remains silent, if he does not answer our prayers and cries for mercy, we will be no better off than those who are dead. Spurgeon said of this verse, “We must have answers to prayer: ours is an urgent case of dire necessity; surely the Lord will speak peace to our agitated minds, for he never can find it in his heart to permit his own elect to perish.”
Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
The Psalmist is distraught and fervently petitions God to be his salvation. Many of us can probably relate to these desperate cries for mercy in times of illness or despair. When hard times hit, it's crucial to turn to the only thing that can deliver us. Nothing else can fully answer our calls for help. At these times, we can beseechingly lift up our empty hands to God our refuge.
Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
but harbor malice in their hearts.
Repay them for their deeds
and for their evil work,
repay them for what their hands have done
and bring back on them what they deserve.
Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord
and what his hands have done,
he will tear them down
and never build them up again.
God is just and will repay men for the evil things they have done; justice will be done to the men who “speak cordially with their neighbors” and wear a mask of righteousness while their hearts are full of malice. God sees the hearts of men and no thought, word, or deed escapes his omnipresent gaze. Even if the wicked seem to prosper in this life, God will deal justly with them in the life that is to come. He won’t reward them for their cordial speech but according to their evil thoughts and deeds. They have no regard for the works that God has done, so He will have no regard for their work, but will make it futile. It's probably not news to many that we live in an evil and perverse generation. Psalm 28 is a prayer that we would not be like those who go down to the pit but that we would be spared from being judged along with the wicked.
Praise be to the Lord,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me,
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
The Psalm of prayer turns to praise, illustrating the Puritan William Jenkyn’s words: “Praise shall conclude that work which prayer began.” The trusting, reliant soul will find an answer and be lead to joyfully worship God for His marvelous provision. We can be certain that if we pray fervently and unceasingly now, joyous and unending praise will follow, if not in this sin cursed world then throughout eternity. God heard the prayers of Jesus Christ, and we have assurance that He hears our prayers as well if we are God's anointed. Psalm 34:15 confirms: "The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears are open to their cry." Our Rock will hear us and deliver us from His and our enemies.
The Lord is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.
God grants to His people these two main things: salvation and blessing. He saves us from death and our sin and blesses us by making our lives and labors fruitful. The answer to this prayer is fully answered in the ministry of the good shepherd. Christ shepherds, teaches, and guides us as God protects and makes our labors flourish. We also learn that we shouldn't just pray that God will bless us and our personal life, but all His people—the church militant. Spurgeon said of this verse’s petition: “Carry them in thine arms on earth, and then lift them into thy bosom in heaven. Elevate their minds and thoughts, spiritualise their affections, make them heavenly, Christlike, and full of God. O Lord, answer this our petition, for Jesus' sake.”
This one brief verse in a relatively short Psalm holds enough promise and hope for a lifetime- even for an eternity. I pray that God will continue to carry us forever, guiding us constantly even to death (Psalm 48:14).
Resource: The Treasury of David by C.H. Spurgeon.
As a young scholar you have stayed within the text and placed the summary of the Psalm at the end of the prayer. those are chessboard moves.
ReplyDeletehere is the question
you have broken the Psalm into 5 sections, your sources betray your diligence.
How many sections was it written in?
I suspect David wrote 5 verses with Jonathon and 4 verses with Rehoboam:)
DeleteThank you for reading and commenting, but I'm not sure I understand your question. Would you mind clarifying?
DeleteI'm saying Psalm 28 is a summary of 1 Samuel 17 through 2nd Samuel 24. Davids whole life takes place between verse 5 and 6.. we all live our whole lives between prayer and praise:)
ReplyDeleteLovely job Lydia!! I'm excited to see you post more articles in the future. Great job with this one. :)
ReplyDelete