Psalms 28:2

2 I'm letting you know what I need, calling out for help And lifting my arms toward your inner sanctum.

Psalms 28:2 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 28:2

Hear the voice of my supplications
Which proceed from the Spirit of grace and of supplication, and are put up in an humble manner, under a sense of wants and unworthiness, and on the foot of grace and mercy, and not merit;

when I cry unto thee;
as he now did, and determined he would, and continue so doing, until he was heard;

when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle:
the holy of holies, in the tabernacle and in the temple, which was sometimes so called, ( 1 Kings 6:23 ) ; compared with ( 2 Chronicles 3:10 ) ; where were the ark, the mercy seat, and cherubim, between which the Lord dwelt, and gave responses to his people; or heaven itself, which the holy of holies was a figure of; where is the throne of God, and from whence he hears the prayers of his people directed to him; or else Christ himself, who is the most Holy, and the "Debir", or Oracle, who speaks to the Lord for his people; and by whom the Lord speaks to them again, and communes with them. The oracle had its name, "debir", from speaking. Lifting up of the hands is a prayer gesture, and here designs the performance of that duty to God in heaven, through Christ; see ( Lamentations 3:41 ) ( 1 Timothy 2:8 ) ; it was frequently used, even by the Heathens, as a prayer gesture F18; see ( Psalms 141:2 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F18 "Duplices manus ad sidera tendit--et paulo post--et ambas ad coelum tendit palmas", Virgil. Aeneid. 10. vid. Aeneid. 2. "Ad coelum manibus sublatis", Horat. Satyr. l. 2. satyr. 5. v. 97. "Coelo supines si tuleris manus", ib. Carmin. l. 3. Ode 23. v. 1. "Et pandere palmas ante Deum delubra", Lucretius l. 5. prope finem (dh ceira anascwn) , Homer. Iliad. 5. v. 174.

Psalms 28:2 In-Context

1 Don't turn a deaf ear when I call you, God. If all I get from you is deafening silence, I'd be better off in the Black Hole.
2 I'm letting you know what I need, calling out for help And lifting my arms toward your inner sanctum.
3 Don't shove me into the same jail cell with those crooks, With those who are full-time employees of evil.
4 They talk a good line of "peace," then moonlight for the Devil. Pay them back for what they've done, for how bad they've been. Pay them back for their long hours in the Devil's workshop; Then cap it with a huge bonus.
5 Because they have no idea how God works or what he is up to, God will smash them to smithereens and walk away from the ruins.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.