1 To You I will cry, O LORD my Rock:
Do not be silent to me,
Lest, if You are silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplications
When I cry to You,
When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
3 Do not take me away with the wicked
And with the workers of iniquity,
Who speak peace to their neighbors,
But evil is in their hearts.
4 Give them according to their deeds,
And according to the wickedness of their endeavors;
Give them according to the work of their hands;
Render to them what they deserve.
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.
6 Blessed be the LORD,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.
8 The LORD is their strength,
And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
9 Save Your people,
And bless Your inheritance;
Shepherd them also,
And bear them up forever.—Psalm 28
You have seen, O LORD; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me! "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers. Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!" Be not silent, O God of my praise!
Answer me speedily, O LORD;
My spirit fails!
Do not hide Your face from me,
Lest I be like those who go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.—Psalm 143:7-8
Beloved...our God is alive....He is all powerful, all knowing and all seeing AND He sees YOU. He understands your circumstances, and He hears the voice of your laments and your supplications. David here in the beginning of Psalm 28 feels like God is dragging him away with the wicked. He felt like a dead man walking...like one who has gone down into the pit. He prays that God would not be silent to his cries and that he would not take him away with the wicked men that surrounded him. For himself David prays for mercy...for his enemies justice. Give then, David prays, according to their deeds...render to them what they deserve.
In verses 6 and 7 David suddenly transitions from lamentation and prayer to praise. Warren Wiersbe aptly says he goes from sobbing to singing. The reason for David’s heart change is found in verse 7.
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.
Faith, once again, is the right response. Trust In Him at all times, you people, our God is a refuge for us! Jesus Himself, both in the Garden and on the cross, committed Himself into the hands of His Father...into the hands of Him who judges righteously. In regard to David’s circumstances, nothing had changed, but God’s grace had given him the strength he needed to sing, to praise and to obey no matter what would come. He knew His God was for Him and with his song he praised Him.
Beloved...the just shall live by his faith. Rest your heart upon the promises found in the word and give your soul to the One through whom they have been given...our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Lord is your Shepherd...in Him, you have everything you need.
1 The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.—Psalm 23
In all their affliction He was afflicted,
And the Angel of His Presence saved them;
In His love and in His pity He redeemed them;
And He bore them and carried them
All the days of old.—Psalm 63:9
