Psalm 28:1

A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.

1 To You, O LORD, I call; My ¹rock, do not be deaf to me, For if You ²are silent to me, I will become like those who ³go down to the pit.

Psalm 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

Psalm 28:1 In-Context

1 To You, O LORD , I call; My rock, do not be deaf to me, For if You are silent to me, I will become like those who go down to the pit.

2 Hear the voice of my supplications 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 And with those who work iniquity, Who speak peace with their neighbors, While evil is in their hearts.

4 Requite them according to their work and according to the evil of their practices; Requite them according to the deeds of their hands; Repay them their recompense.

5 Because they do not regard the works of the LORD Nor the deeds of His hands, He will tear them down and not build them up.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 18:2
• 2. Psalms 35:22; Psalms 39:12; Psalms 83:1
• 3. Psalms 88:4; Psalms 143:7; Proverbs 1:12