WORD:
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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.
NIV
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Ps 28
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
NLT
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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.
KJV
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Ps 28
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.
ESV
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I. Minor Key
A. Pleas (vv. 1- 3)
1. Hear Me! - v. 1
2. Have Mercy! – v. 2a
3. Help! – v. 2b
B. Imprecation (vv. 4-5)
II. Major Key
A. Praise (vv. 6-8)
B. Supplication (v. 9)
David’s Pleas:
1. Hear Me!
2. Have Mercy!!
3. Help Me!!!
In my last entry, I spoke of the crescendoing aspect of David’s plea which intensified the more prolonged the Lord seamed unresponsive to his entreaties. With a raised voice, he cried out to the Lord for help and mercy. But we see that his voice was not the only thing raised. No, he raised his hands as well.
When I consulted some references on this phrase, I was shocked by the cavalier comments they made. Here are some examples:
· lift up my hands: One of the standard postures for prayer in the Bible (134:2)
Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (Ps 28:1–2). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.
· when I lift up my hands, a common practice while Israel was in prayer (cf. 1 Kgs 8:22, 54; Lam 2:19)
Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1016). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
· When I lift up my hands, the usual attitude of a Hebrew in prayer (see Ex 9:29; 17:11,12; 1 Kings 8:22,54; Ps 63:4; 141:2; Lam 2:19; 3:41).
(from The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
That this was a common practice ignores the fact that, while it might be commonplace for many, it did not start out that way. Undoubtedly, in the beginning, it was and continues to this day to be a visible expression of an inner attitude of praise, worship, and sometimes pleading. The Pulpit commentary posits the theory that the original intent was that of receiving a blessing.
Psalms 28:2Originally, the idea probably was that the hands should be ready to receive the blessings which God would bestow. But, later on, the lifting up of the hands seems to have been regarded as symbolizing the lifting up of the heart (Lam 3:41).
(from The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
This, of course, is plausible, but I think that this practice – which is by no means done only by God’s people – has always had a multiplicity of meanings. The motives for lifting one’s hands are determined by the situation one finds themselves in.
David’s dire circumstance (whatever it might have been) caused him to plead with the Lord in elevated voice and hands.
Calvin has this insightful comment here:
Psalms 28:2
Hear the voice of my prayers when I cry to thee. This repetition is a sign of a heart in anguish. David's ardor and vehemence in prayer are also intimated by the noun signifying voice, and the verb signifying to cry. He means that he was so stricken with anxiety and fear, that he prayed not coldly, but with burning, vehement desire, like those who, under the pressure of grief, vehemently cry out. In the second clause of the verse, by synecdoche,* the thing signified is indicated by the sign. It has been a common practice in all ages for men to lift up their hands in prayer. Nature has extorted this gesture even from heathen idolaters, to show by a visible sign that their minds were directed to God alone. The greater part, it is true, contented with this ceremony, busy themselves to no effect with their own inventions; but the very lifting up of the hands, when there is no hypocrisy and deceit, is a help to devout and zealous prayer.(from Calvin's Commentaries, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2005-2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
* Synecdoche
syn·ec·do·che [səˈnekdəkē]
noun
a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in Cleveland won by six runs (meaning “Cleveland's baseball team”).
Powered byOxfordDictionaries© Oxford University Press
A search of other passages reveals a diversity of motives for the raising of hands.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
Ps 63:4 NIV
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
Ps 134:2 NIV
O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
Ps 141:1-2 ESV
Arise, cry out in the night,
as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart like water
in the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your children,
who faint from hunger
at the head of every street.
Lam 2:19 NIV
Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
to God in heaven, and say:
42 "We have sinned and rebelled
and you have not forgiven.
Lam 3:41-42 NIV
I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.
1 Tim 2:8 NIV
Do You have a need?
Raise your hands and plead.
His praise your desire?
Raise your hands higher!
Committed a transgression?
With raised hands, make your confession.
To the Lord who hears and cares,
Raise up holy hands in prayer.
Witness:
Much rancor has risen over the raising of hands. If you weren’t charismatic and saw lifted hands, you immediately assumed they must be some kind of “holy roller.” If you were charismatic and saw people who worshiped with folded arms or hands at the side, you believed they must be part of the “frozen chosen’ and not the “Spirit-filled.”
Thankfully, such judgments have abated in recent times. Raised hands can be seen in both charismatic and non-charismatic gatherings. It hasn’t disappeared altogether though. I do know of people who feel that if you don’t raise your hands high, your heart is not right. So, if they are held out in front and raised up with a bent elbow, they must be someone who is only half-hearted in their worship or embarrassed to be seen holding them high.
I have been guilty of all these attitudes in my worship life. I have condemned the Charismatic. I have desired to raise my hands but felt too embarrassed to do it. When joyfully I finally found the freedom to lift my hands in praise, I have judged the men who stand and sing (or not) with folded arms.
Now, I struggle with it turning into a new kind of formalism. What was once entirely a reaction linked to the heart, is now sometimes an external reaction to others raising their hands. I have raised hands when singing because I realized I had not lifted them during the previous song. I have raised them because my brother in the Lord next to me is raising theirs and I don’t want them to think less of me.
It’s time for me to get back to the heart of worship. Back to the King of hearts. Back to worshipping our triune God, whether it be with hands folded or unfurled. My heart and mind focused on His glory and His desire to bless His people. I cannot lift up to Him anything but a hungry heart and empty hands, which He in His grace and mercy and love seeks to fill with the priceless pleasure and treasure of Himself. To be satiated by God is the highest glory I can give to Him.
Heavenly
Worship: King of Hearts by Randy Stonehill
Much rancor has risen over the raising of hands. If you weren’t charismatic and saw lifted hands, you immediately assumed they must be some kind of “holy roller.” If you were charismatic and saw people who worshiped with folded arms or hands at the side, you believed they must be part of the “frozen chosen’ and not the “Spirit-filled.”
Thankfully, such judgments have abated in recent times. Raised hands can be seen in both charismatic and non-charismatic gatherings. It hasn’t disappeared altogether though. I do know of people who feel that if you don’t raise your hands high, your heart is not right. So, if they are held out in front and raised up with a bent elbow, they must be someone who is only half-hearted in their worship or embarrassed to be seen holding them high.
I have been guilty of all these attitudes in my worship life. I have condemned the Charismatic. I have desired to raise my hands but felt too embarrassed to do it. When joyfully I finally found the freedom to lift my hands in praise, I have judged the men who stand and sing (or not) with folded arms.
Now, I struggle with it turning into a new kind of formalism. What was once entirely a reaction linked to the heart, is now sometimes an external reaction to others raising their hands. I have raised hands when singing because I realized I had not lifted them during the previous song. I have raised them because my brother in the Lord next to me is raising theirs and I don’t want them to think less of me.
It’s time for me to get back to the heart of worship. Back to the King of hearts. Back to worshipping our triune God, whether it be with hands folded or unfurled. My heart and mind focused on His glory and His desire to bless His people. I cannot lift up to Him anything but a hungry heart and empty hands, which He in His grace and mercy and love seeks to fill with the priceless pleasure and treasure of Himself. To be satiated by God is the highest glory I can give to Him.
Heavenly
Father
Glorious
Lord
Precious
Spirit
Let this be my
desire
Let this be my
prayer
Let this be a holy
fire
A steady flame not a
flare
To seek You as my
treasure
And for Your presence
burn
To pursue this eternal
pleasure
And temporal amusements
spurn
— AmenWorship: King of Hearts by Randy Stonehill
All alone drifting wild
Like a ship that's lost out on the ocean
Everyone's a homeless child
And it's not hard to understand
Why we need a Father's hand
There's a rainbow somewhere
You were born to be there
You're just running in circles
Till you reach out your hand to the King of hearts.
Pockets full of pain and fear
That's a load there's just no need to carry
Let it go and leave it here
Now there's no price that's left to pay
With one more mile or one more day
There's a rainbow somewhere
You were born to be there
You're just running in circles
Till you reach out your hand to the King of hearts.
You can try to catch the wind
But in the end you're only
Wasting precious time
Life can really be so kind
Once you find the truth and follow,
go on follow, go on follow
(Repeat 1st Verse)
There's a rainbow somewhere
You were born to be there
You're just running in circles
Till you reach out your hand
Till you reach out your hand
Till you reach out your hand to the King of hearts
There's a rainbow somewhere
There's a rainbow somewhere
There's a rainbow somewhere
https://www.letssingit.com/randy-stonehill-lyrics-king-of-hearts-9259v3z
LetsSingIt - The Internet Lyrics Database
Video: https://youtu.be/d-FBNbP7InQ
King of My Heart by John McMillan and Sarah McMillan
Verse 1
Let the King of my heart
Be the mountain where I run
The fountain I drink from
Oh He is my song
Let the King of my heart
Be the shadow where I hide
The ransom for my life
Oh He is my song
Chorus
You are good good oh
You are good good oh
You are good good oh
You are good good oh
Verse 2
Let the King of my heart
Be the wind inside my sails
The anchor in the waves
Oh He is my song
Let the King of my heart
Be the fire inside my veins
The echo of my days
Oh He is my song
Bridge
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
Ending
When the night is holding on to me
God is holding on
When the night is holding on to me
God is holding on
Copyright:
Meaux Jeaux Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing), Raucous Ruckus Publishing (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing), McMillan, Sarah
Video: https://youtu.be/-jkMnq2Hfzo – Kutless version
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