Psalms 28:1-9
1 Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silenta 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: feedb them also, and lift them up for ever.
Gordon Churchyard
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God Answers Prayer
Psalms 28
Gordon Churchyard
Jesus said, "If my words live in your hearts, you can ask for whatever you like, and it will come true for you". (John 15:7 in J B Phillips translation)
().. these words are not in the Hebrew Bible
Psalms 28
(This is a psalm) of David
v1 *LORD, you are my rock. I am *praying to you for help.
Do not turn your ears away from me.
If you hide your answer from me,
I will be as those people that go down into the pit.
v2 Hear my voice when I *pray for *mercy.
I am asking you for help.
I am lifting up my hands towards your most *holy place.
v3 Do not *drag me away with *godless people,
or with people that have done very bad things.
They say kind words to their friends
but plan to do wrong things.
v4 Give them what is fair for what they did
and for the bad things that they have done.
Pay them for the work of their hands
and bring back *justice upon them.
v5 (Do it) because they do not understand
the things that the *LORD has done,
or the work of his hands.
He will tear them down,
he will not build them up again.
v6 I say that the *LORD does good things,
because he heard my voice when I *prayed for *mercy.
v7 The *LORD makes me strong. He is my *shield.
My heart *trusts in him and he gives me help.
Now my heart jumps for *joy and I will thank him with my songs.
v8 The *LORD makes (his people) strong.
He is a safe and strong place for his *Messiah.
v9 Save your people and do good things for your *inheritance.
Be the shepherd of (your people) and always lift them up.
The Story of Psalms 28
We do not know when David wrote Psalms 28. The end of the psalm tells us that there was danger for the whole country. Verse 8 is about the Messiah. In the time of David, this was the king. Later it meant God's special servant and last of all Jesus. At the time of David, if God gave help to the Messiah it meant that he gave help to the whole country. In verses 1-5 David prays for help. In verses 6-9, he thanks God for giving him and his people help. Perhaps the danger was fighting other countries; perhaps it was illness in many homes. Whatever it was, God answered David's prayer. He gave help to David and to his people.What Psalms 28 means
There are some key words in Psalms 28. A key word is the most important word. A key opens a locked door. A key word opens understanding. The key words are:
• verse 1 ~ from me
• verses 2, 6 ~ the sound of my prayers
• verses 3 - 5 ~ hands
• verses 4, 5 ~ work of their/his hands
Verse 1: "Rock" is a name for God. You will find it in Psalms 18:2 and in other psalms. It means that God is a place where people can hide and be safe. Twice David says "from me". He felt that God was looking away from him. This makes us think of Psalms 22:1, "My God, why have you left me by myself? Why is my help far away?" David thinks that he will go down into the pit. The pit is where the Jews believed that very bad people went when they died.
Verse 2: When they prayed, Jews often lifted their hands up to God. This meant that they were lifting themselves to God. It also meant that they had nothing to hide. Christians do the same. Paul wrote, "I want people everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands". (1 Timothy 2:8) The most holy place was part of God's house. There God spoke to the leader of the people.
Verse 3: "Drag" is what they did to bad people. They dragged them to the place where they would kill them. In the psalm, the people were bad because they did not obey God. They were godless.
Verse 4: These people made bad plans. God can make these bad plans hurt the people that made them. "The work of their hands" means the things that people do. In verse 4, the people did bad things with their hands.
Verse 5: Here we read of "the work of his hands". This means the good things that God did. The word "God" is not in Psalms 28. David uses the word "LORD". That is the word that the people of God use for him. It means that they are his servants. And they love him and they obey him. It also means that they have begun to understand God. The godless do not understand God. It means that they do not love him or obey him. In the end God will destroy what they do ("the works of their hands").
Verse 6: The psalm changes here. David has stopped asking for help. This is because God has given him and his people help. Look in verses 2 and 6. You will find the same words in them, "my voice when I prayed for mercy". In verse 2, David makes the prayer, but here he says that the LORD has heard his prayer. In the Hebrew, this also means that he has answered the prayer. The word "mercy" is a special Christian word. It means that God is kind to people that he really should punish or hurt. Only the Christian God does this.
Verse 7: In the Bible, the heart means the place where you think. To jump for joy means that you are very, very happy.
Verse 8: The Hebrew says "the LORD makes them strong". "Them" must mean the people that David is king over. The Messiah when David wrote the psalm was David himself, the king. To Christians, the Messiah is Jesus.
Verse 9: "Your inheritance" here means "your people". "Be the shepherd" gives us help to remember that Jesus (LORD in the psalm) is the good shepherd. "Lift them up" may mean "carry them" or it may mean "make them great".
Something to do
Learn to say verse 8 by heart. This means that you can say it without looking at the words.
LORD ~ a special word for God; only his people use it
Lord ~ someone with authority, sometimes a name for God
mercy ~ being kind to bad people
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy
drag ~ pull in a way that is not kind
godless ~ people that do not obey God
godless ~ the same as "godless people", see list after Psalm 41
justice ~ when right is the winner and not wrong
shield ~ something soldiers used; when it covered them nothing hit them
trust ~believe that someone cares for you
joy ~ when you feel really happy deep inside you
Messiah ~ a special servant of God; Jesus was the true Messiah
inheritance ~ money and things our parents give us when they die
inheritance ~ what our parents give us when they die