Psalms 28

My Strength

1

Davidic.

1 Lord, I call to You; my rock, do not be deaf to me. If You remain silent to me, I will be like those going down to the Pit.

2 Listen to the sound of my pleading when I cry to You for help, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.

3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with the evildoers, who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors, while malice is in their hearts.^[a]

4 Repay them according to what they have done- according to the evil of their deeds. Repay them according to the work of their hands; give them back what they deserve.

5 Because they do not consider what the Lord has done or the work of His hands, He will tear them down and not rebuild them.

6 May the Lord be praised, for He has heard the sound of my pleading.

7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I praise Him with my song.

8 The Lord is the strength of His people;^[b] He is a stronghold of salvation for His anointed.

9 Save Your people, bless Your possession, shepherd them, and carry them forever.

Psalms 28 Commentary

Chapter 28

A prayer in distress. (1-5) Thanksgiving for deliverance. (6-9)

Verses 1-5 David is very earnest in prayer. Observe his faith in prayer; God is my rock, on whom I build my hope. Believers should not rest till they have received some token that their prayers are heard. He prays that he may not be numbered with the wicked. Save me from being entangled in the snares they have laid for me. Save me from being infected with their sins, and from doing as they do. Lord, never leave me to use such arts of deceit and treachery for my safety, as they use for my ruin. Believers dread the way of sinners; the best are sensible of the danger they are in of being drawn aside: we should all pray earnestly to God for his grace to keep us. Those who are careful not to partake with sinners in their sins, have reason to hope that they shall not receive their plagues. He speaks of the just judgments of the Lord on the workers of iniquity, ver. Verse 4 . This is not the language of passion or revenge. It is a prophecy that there will certainly come a day, when God will punish every man who persists in his evil deeds. Sinners shall be reckoned with, not only for the mischief they have done, but for the mischief they designed, and did what they could to effect. Disregard of the works of the Lord, is the cause of the sin of sinners, and becomes the cause of their ruin.

Verses 6-9 Has God heard our supplications? Let us then bless his name. The Lord is my strength, to support me, and carry me on through all my services and sufferings. The heart that truly believes, shall in due time greatly rejoice: we are to expect joy and peace in believing. God shall have the praise of it: thus must we express our gratitude. The saints rejoice in others' comfort as well as their own: we have the less benefit from the light of the sun, nor from the light of God's countenance, for others' sharing therein. The psalmist concludes with a short, but comprehensive prayer. God's people are his inheritance, and precious in his eyes. He prays that God would save them; that he would bless them with all good, especially the plenty of his ordinances, which are food to the soul. And direct their actions and overrule their affairs for good. Also, lift them up for ever; not only those of that age, but his people in every age to come; lift them up as high as heaven. There, and there only, will saints be lifted up for ever, never more to sink, or be depressed. Save us, Lord Jesus, from our sins; bless us, thou Son of Abraham, with the blessing of righteousness; feed us, thou good Shepherd of the sheep, and lift us up for ever from the dust, O thou, who art the Resurrection and the Life.

Footnotes

• [a]. Ps 26:9-10
• [b]. Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr; other Hb mss read strength for them

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 28

\\<<[A Psalm] of David>>\\. This psalm, Aben Ezra says, David either composed himself, or one of the singers for him; the former seems most likely; and it might be made by him when he was persecuted by Saul, or when delivered from him; or at least when he had faith and hope that he should be delivered: the psalm consists of two parts, petitions and thanksgivings.