Psalms 28:1

1 Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent unto me lest, if thou be silent unto me, I become like those that go down into the grave.

Psalms 28:1 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 28:1

Unto thee will I cry
This denotes the distress the psalmist was in, fervency and ardour in prayer, resolution to continue in it, and singularity with respect to the object of it; determining to cry to the Lord only; to which he was encouraged by what follows;

O Lord my rock;
he being a strong tower and place of defence to him, in whom were all his safety, and his trust and confidence, and in whom he had an interest;

be not silent to me;
or "deaf" F17; persons that do not hear are silent, and make no answer; as the Lord seems to be, when he returns no answer to the cries of his people; when he does not arise and help them; when he seems not to take any notice of his and their enemies, but stands at a distance from them, and as if he had forsaken them; see ( Psalms 39:12 ) ( Psalms 35:22 Psalms 35:23 ) ( Psalms 50:3 Psalms 50:21 ) ( Isaiah 65:6 ) ; the words may be considered, as they are by some, as an address to Christ his rock, his advocate and intercessor; that he would not be silent, but speak for him, and present his supplications to God, with the much incense of his mediation; see ( 1 Samuel 7:8 ) ;

lest, [if] thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into
the pit;
either like such that fall into a ditch, and cannot help themselves out, and they cry, and there is none to take them out from thence; or like such that die in battle, and are cast into a pit, and there buried in common with others; which David might fear would be his case, through Saul's violent pursuit after him; or lest he should be like the dead, who are not regarded, and are remembered no more; or lest he should really die by the hands of his enemies, and so be laid in the grave, the pit of corruption; or be in such distress and despair as even the damned in hell be, the pit out of which there is no deliverance.


FOOTNOTES:

F17 (vrxt la) "ne obsurdescas", Vatablus, Tigurine version, Gejerus; so Ainsworth, Junius & Tremellius, Michaelis.

Psalms 28:1 In-Context

1 Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent unto me lest, if thou be silent unto me, I become like those that go down into the grave.
2 Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward the oracle of thy holiness.
3 Do not catch me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbours, but evil is in their hearts.
4 Give them according to their deeds and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render unto them their desert.
5 Because they do not regard the works of the LORD nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them and not build them up.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010