WORD:
Ps 28:1-29:1
28 To you I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. 2 Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts. 4 Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back upon them what they deserve. 5 Since they show no regard for the works of the Lord and what his hands have done, he will tear them down and never build them up again.
6 Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. 7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. 9 Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.
A psalm of David.
NIV
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Ps 28
A psalm of David.
28 1 I pray to you, O Lord, my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die. 2 Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked—with those who do evil—those who speak friendly words to their neighbors while planning evil in their hearts. 4 Give them the punishment they so richly deserve! Measure it out in proportion to their wickedness. Pay them back for all their evil deeds! Give them a taste of what they have done to others 5 They care nothing for what the Lord has done or for what his hands have made. So he will tear them down, and they will never be rebuilt!
6 Praise the Lord! For he has heard my cry for mercy. 7 The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
8 The Lord gives his people strength. He is a safe fortress for his anointed king. 9 Save your people! Bless Israel, your special possession. Lead them like a shepherd, and carry them in your arms forever.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
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Ps 28
A Psalm of David.
28 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.
2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
3 Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
4 Give 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.
5 Because they regard not 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 hath 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 rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
8 The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.
KJV
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Ps 28
The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield
Of David.
28 To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts. 4 Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward 5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more.
6 Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. 7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed 9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
ESV
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The outline of this Psalm became clear to me as I listened to the song I have included below in my worship portion. It is a simple outline that goes something like this.
I. Minor Key
A. Pleas (vv. 1- 3)
B. Imprecation (vv. 4-5)
II. Major Key
A. Praise (vv. 6-8)
B. Supplication (v. 9)
In Psalm 27 David goes from praise to the pit. In Psalm 28 he goes from the pit to praise. Such is our life. We find ourselves in a verdant field one day and a dark valley the next. Even at the table of abundance, we are surrounded by our adversaries, be they be people or pestilence. Our responses fluctuate too. One day we are reigning down fire over our enemies, and the next day we are running in fear for our lives.
The Psalms center us. They allow us to express our doubts and fears and they allow us to regain our confidence and faith. And at the Center is God our stronghold and strength, our provider and protector.
The Psalms center us. They allow us to express our doubts and fears and they allow us to regain our confidence and faith. And at the Center is God our stronghold and strength, our provider and protector.
Much of what is said in this Psalm has been or will be said in other Psalms. It testifies to our frail nature and the need to be reminded over and over again of the verity found in the last sentence in the previous paragraph. The Word is replete with the word “remember.” Look up the word “remember” in a concordance and see for yourself. The word is used in exhortation no less than 14 times in Deuteronomy itself. Unfortunately, the Israelite did forget which led to corruption, calamity, and captivity.
Here are a few examples from Scripture of remembering:
Deut 4:10Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, "Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children."
NIV
Deut 5:15aRemember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
NIV
1 Chron 16:12-1312 Remember the wonders he has done,his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,13 O descendants of Israel his servant,O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
NIV
Ps 63:6On my bed I remember you;I think of you through the watches of the night.
NIV
Neh 4:14After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."
NIV
Ps 42:6My soul is downcast within me;therefore I will remember youfrom the land of the Jordan,the heights of Hermon — from Mount Mizar.
NIV
Ps 77:11-1211 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.12 I will meditate on all your worksand consider all your mighty deeds.
NIV
2 Tim 2:8-108 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.NIV
Witness:
So when you are in the pit pour out your heart. Set your complaint before the Lord. Call for justice. Wait on the Lord to answer and deliver. But also praise Him from the pit and remember this promise:
He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.
Ps 126:6 NIV
He will surely deliver....in His time!
He has made everything beautiful(appropriate – HCSB) in its time.
Eccl 3:11a NIV
who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will
Eph 1:11 NIV
You may be in the pit for only a day (Paul in Prison in Philippi – see Acts 16) or for years (Joseph in Prison – see Gen. 39-41) but in His time He will deliver you.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.
Ps 40:1-3 NIV
Wait... Worship... then Witness
I can testify to the pit and the emotions that pour forth from being in it. When my wife left me, I was in a deep pit. But God reached down and drew me out. However, whenever I take my eyes off of Him and forget His providential hands, I am transported back into the pit and must cry out again for deliverance. What a patient and faithful God You are my Savior and Shepherd. The lifter of my head and Lord of my heart!
1 O Lord, how many are my foes!How many rise up against me!2 Many are saying of me,"God will not deliver him."Selah3 But you are a shield around me, O Lord;you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.4 To the Lord I cry aloud,and he answers me from his holy hill.Selah5 I lie down and sleep;I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.6 I will not fear the tens of thousandsdrawn up against me on every side.7 Arise, O Lord!Deliver me, O my God!Strike all my enemies on the jaw;break the teeth of the wicked.8 From the Lord comes deliverance.May your blessing be on your people.SelahFor the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.Ps 3:1-4:1 NIV
Worship: Psalm 28 (Blessed Be the Lord) (feat. Benjamin Ady) - The Psalms Project*
To You, O Lord, I call
Do not be deaf to me, my Rock
Lest if You be silent to me
I become like those who go down to the pit
Hear the voice of my plea for mercy
When I cry to You for help
When I lift my hands toward Your holy place
Draw me not away with the wicked
With the workers of evil who speak peace to their neighbors
While evil is in their hearts
Give them according to their works, the evil of their deeds
According to the work of their hands
Render unto them their just and due reward
For they do not regard the wonders of the Lord
Nor the work of His hands
He will tear them down and build them up no more
He will tear them down and build them up no more
No more
Blessed be the Lord
He has heard the voice of my plea for mercy
He is my strength and shield
My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped
My heart exults, and with my song, I give thanks to Him
My heart exults, and with my song, I give thanks to Him
The Lord is the strength of His people
He is the saving refuge of His anointed
Save Your people! Bless Your children!
Be their shepherd and carry them forever
* Note: There were several songs on YouTube that sing all or a part of the words to Psalm 28. The tunes they were composed to range from the traditional to blues to soul. The reason I chose this version was that not only did it include all the words to the Psalm, but the music also captured the pathos, passion, and praise of its author. A noticeable change in the key is heard beginning with the words “Blessed be the Lord.” It moves from the minor to the major key which punctuates the break between verses 1-5 (pleas & imprecation) and 6-9 (praise & supplication). When this change occurred, I suddenly found myself lifting up my hands, and my heart was exulting in the Lord my Savior and Shepherd and Sovereign.
Lyrics: https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/The-Psalms-Project-feat-Benjamin-Ady/Psalm-28-Blessed-Be-the-Lord
Video: https://youtu.be/MDLoA9j_ULc
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