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
|
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.
|
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
|
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
|
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)
David’s Pleas
The psalm begins with a very unusual use of an ascription of God. David calls Him his “rock.” Now that might not seem so strange. David uses “rock” as an appellation for God at least 22 times in the Psalms.
Here are a few examples:
Ps 18:1-2
1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
NIV
Ps 62:2
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
NIV
Ps 71:3
Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
NIV
We see from these verses that to David, God is a rock who protects and delivers from trouble. It refers to His strength as an impenetrable fortress and shield and thus a Savior from one’s enemies. Rock refers to transcendence and exaltation as well. Remember what David said in Psalm 27:5-6, “he will ... set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me...” NIV. But David knew there was a rock that was elevated and exalted above even him, God’s anointed king of Israel, for in Psalm 61:2 he prays, “lead me to the rock that is higher than I” NIV.
So why do I say the ascription of God as his “rock” is used in an “unusual” way? One that seems out of place? Because David is calling upon God his Rock to “hear” him. Rocks don’t hear. We can understand rock being used to represent a fortress or for strength, but for hearing a prayer? Why not God as a shepherd or a mighty warrior? These appellations certainly have ears to hear and bespeak of rescue and strength. But David chooses to call upon God as his rock. Perhaps it’s because rocks had become a dear friend to David when he was fleeing and hiding from his enemies. They came to symbolize God’s strength, protection, and deliverance from danger. Therefore, David calls upon God, his living rock or stone* to save him. Later in the Psalm, we discover that the idea of strength and protection is not out of his purview in verse 1 but the premise on which he prays. In fact, all the ingredients that are associated with “rock” turn up in this Psalm:
· Strength
· Shield
· Fortress
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.
NIV
Notice what description David uses at the end of the Psalm – Shepherd!
* In 1 Peter 2:4 Christ is called the “living Stone.”
Witness:
Question: Why are frogs so hard to get along with?
Answer: Because they like to spring things on you and jump to conclusions.
Okay, bad joke. I just made it up today and told it to one of my grandkids. They said “stop it” as fast as a frog says “ribbit.”
How often are we guilty of jumping to conclusions? I know I am, and it gets me in trouble sometimes. Today was no exception (except the trouble part). I jumped to a conclusion about somebody that I shouldn’t have, and the worry and bad feelings that came with it stuck with me until my suspicions were proven wrong.
Jumping to conclusions before all the facts are in demonstrates a lack of faith. Yes, you say, it reflects your lack of trust in that person. Perhaps, but I would go a step further. I believe the Lord showed me this truth today when I was in a frenzy over what I thought was taking place. As I was shaming myself over the fact of my lack of trust in this person, the Lord interrupted my thoughts and pointed out that the problem was more profound than that. I was not trusting God himself.
If I say I trust in God’s sovereignty and providential hand in all things, how can I fret beyond reason when I think some things are taking place. If I believe God is working His plan out in their life, then prayer, not perplexity should be my response. Surely part of the admonition to “Be anxious for nothing” (Phil. 4:6 NASB) is the fact that there may be “nothing” to your anxiousness. But notice what follows, “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (NASB). I may be entirely correct in my assumptions about a person, and still, my response should be prayer. When godly concern turns into worry or anger, it demonstrates a lack of trust in the One who rules the Universe. It is doubt and unbelief disguised as care and concern.
Worry has a deleterious effect on your body (Matt. 6:27), but it also deters the protection of God to your soul. Notice the outcome of yielding apprehension to prayer.
And the peace of God,
which surpasses all comprehension,
shall guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:7 NASB
Not only is prayer tied to overcoming anxiety and trusting in God’s sovereignty but a change in our thinking is as well. See what Paul says next in verse 8.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true,
whatever is honorable, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is of good repute,
if there is any excellence
and if anything worthy of praise,
dwell on these things.
Phil. 4:8 NASU
There is a “practical” aspect that also needs to take place. God’s sovereignty must be acknowledged by our actions.
The things you have learned
and received and heard and seen in me,
practice these things,
and the God of peace will be with you.
Phil 4:9 NASU
I have always seen these verses as separate exhortations. However, I believe I see a connection between verses 7-9 which tie all them together resulting in the peace of God surrounding us and ultimately in the God of peace residing with us.
Paul was saying: pray and plead and praise (v. 7) and as you do this, think on these things (v. 8) – for example, “the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me” (v. 9) - then put them into practice.
GOD OF PEACE
↑
PEACE OF GOD
PRAY... PONDER... PRACTICE
|
Worship: It is Well With My Soul by Horatio Spafford
In thinking about what song to sing, my mind immediately thought of this song. It speaks of peace, and each verse is unquestionably an “excellent” thing we can meditate on.
I have a principle I follow – I never try to use a song I have used already. I was sure I had used this song since it was one of my favorite hymns. I even had sung it at my dad’s funeral. However, upon checking, I discovered that, while I was going to use it in my worship portion I never did. I had used other songs that were based on the song but not the song itself. May the Lord bless you as He has for me when singing this venerable old hymn.
Author: Horatio G. Spafford
Composer: Philip P. Bliss
Tune: Ville Du Havre (Bliss)
Scripture: Ps 49:15; 3 Jn 2
1 When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like the sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
‘It is well with my soul.’
2 Tho’ Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
3 My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious tho’t!—
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
4 And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend,
‘Even so,’ it is well with my soul.
Chorus It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.[1]
Video: https://youtu.be/GkmrWgGy1zY