Psalms 28

¹A Psalm of David. Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.

Psa 28:1-9. An earnest cry for divine aid against his enemies, as being also those of God, is followed by the Psalmist’s praise in assurance of a favorable answer, and a prayer for all God’s people. 1. my rock--(Psa 18:2, 31). be not silent to me--literally, “from me,” deaf or inattentive. become like them, &c.--share their fate. go down into the pit--or, “grave” (Psa 30:3).

²Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.

2. lift up my hands--a gesture of prayer (Psa 63:4; 141:2). oracle--place of speaking (Ex 25:22; Nu 7:89), where God answered His people (compare Psa 5:7).

³Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.

3. Draw me not away--implies punishment as well as death (compare Psa 26:9). Hypocrisy is the special wickedness mentioned.

⁴Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.

4. The imprecation is justified in Psa 28:5. The force of the passage is greatly enhanced by the accumulation of terms describing their sin. endeavours--points out their deliberate sinfulness.

⁵Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.

5. Disregard of God’s judgments brings a righteous punishment. destroy ... build ... up--The positive strengthened by the negative form.

⁶Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.

6. supplications--or, “cries for mercy.”

⁷The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

7. The repetition of “heart” denotes his sincerity.

⁸The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.

8. The distinction made between the people. their strength--and the anointed--may indicate Absalom’s rebellion as the occasion.

⁹Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

9. The special prayer for the people sustains this view. feed them--as a shepherd (Psa 23:1, &c.).