Psalms 28:2

2 Lord, hear thou the voice of my beseeching, while I pray to thee; while I raise mine hands to(ward) thine holy temple. (Lord, hear thou the words of my plea, when I pray to thee; when I raise up my hands toward thy holy Temple.)

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 ) .

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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 To David. [The psalm to this David.] Lord, I shall cry to thee; my God, be thou not still from me, be thou not still any time from me; and I shall be made like to them, that go down into the pit. (The song of David. Lord, I shall cry to thee. My God, be thou not deaf to me, and never be thou silent with me; or I shall be made like those who go down into the pit.)

2 Lord, hear thou the voice of my beseeching, while I pray to thee; while I raise mine hands to(ward) thine holy temple. (Lord, hear thou the words of my plea, when I pray to thee; when I raise up my hands toward thy holy Temple.)

3 Betake thou not me together with sinners; and lose thou not me with them that work wickedness. Which speak peace to their neighbour(s); but evils be in their hearts. (Take thou me not away with the sinners; and destroy thou me not with those who do evil. Yea, those who speak peacefully to their neighbours; but evil is in their hearts.)

4 Give thou to them after the works of them; and after the wickedness of their findings. Give thou to them after the works of their hands; yield thou their yielding to them. (Punish thou them according to their works; yea, according to the wickedness of their deeds. Punish thou them according to the works of their hands; give thou them their just reward.)

5 For they understood not the works of the Lord, and by the works of his hands thou shalt destroy them; and thou shalt not build them. (Because they do not respect the works of the Lord, or the works of his hands, he shall destroy them; and he shall not build them up again.)