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Psalm Twenty-eight
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO Psalm 28
cf15I A Psalm of David. This psalm
Aben Ezra says
David
either composed himself
or one of the singers for him; the former seems most
likely; and it might be made by him when he was persecuted by Saul
or when
delivered from him; or at least when he had faith and hope that he should be
delivered: the psalm consists of two parts
petitions and thanksgivings.
Psalm 28:1 To
You I will cry
O Lord
my Rock: Do not be silent to me
Lest
if You are silent to me
I become
like those who go down to the pit.
YLT
1By David. Unto Thee
O
Jehovah
I call
My rock
be not silent to me! Lest Thou be silent to me
And I
have been compared With those going down to the pit.
Unto thee will I cry
.... This denotes the
distress the psalmist was in
fervency and ardour in prayer
resolution to
continue in it
and singularity with respect to the object of it; determining
to cry to the Lord only; to which he was encouraged by what follows;
O Lord my rock; he being a strong tower and place of
defence to him
in whom were all his safety
and his trust and confidence
and
in whom he had an interest;
be not silent to me; or "deaf"F17אל תחרש "ne
obsurdescas"
Vatablus
Tigurine version
Gejerus; so Ainsworth
Junius
& Tremellius
Michaelis. ; persons that do not hear are silent
and make no
answer; as the Lord seems to be
when he returns no answer to the cries of his
people; when he does not arise and help them; when he seems not to take any
notice of his and their enemies
but stands at a distance from them
and as if
he had forsaken them; see Psalm 39:12; the
words may be considered
as they are by some
as an address to Christ his rock
his advocate and intercessor; that he would not be silent
but speak for him
and present his supplications to God
with the much incense of his mediation; see
1 Samuel 7:8;
lest
if thou be silent to me
I become like them that go
down into the pit; either like such that fall into a ditch
and cannot help themselves
out
and they cry
and there is none to take them out from thence; or like such
that die in battle
and are cast into a pit
and there buried in common with
others; which David might fear would be his case
through Saul's violent
pursuit after him; or lest he should be like the dead
who are not regarded
and are remembered no more; or lest he should really die by the hands of his
enemies
and so be laid in the grave
the pit of corruption; or be in such
distress and despair as even the damned in hell be
the pit out of which there
is no deliverance.
Psalm 28:2 2 Hear the voice of my
supplications When I cry to You
When I lift up my hands toward Your holy
sanctuary.
YLT
2Hear the voice of my
supplications
In my crying unto Thee
In my lifting up my hands toward thy
holy oracle.
Hear the voice of my supplications
.... Which proceed from
the Spirit of grace and of supplication
and are put up in an humble manner
under a sense of wants and unworthiness
and on the foot of grace and mercy
and not merit;
when I cry unto thee; as he now did
and
determined he would
and continue so doing
until he was heard;
when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle: the holy of
holies
in the tabernacle and in the temple
which was sometimes so called
1 Kings 6:23;
compared with 2 Chronicles 3:10;
where were the ark
the mercy seat
and cherubim
between which the Lord dwelt
and gave responses to his people; or heaven itself
which the holy of holies
was a figure of; where is the throne of God
and from whence he hears the
prayers of his people directed to him; or else Christ himself
who is the most
Holy
and the "Debir"
or Oracle
who speaks to the Lord for his
people; and by whom the Lord speaks to them again
and communes with them. The
oracle had its name
"debir"
from speaking. Lifting up of the hands
is a prayer gesture
and here designs the performance of that duty to God in
heaven
through Christ; see Lamentations 3:41;
it was frequently used
even by the Heathens
as a prayer gestureF18"Duplices
manus ad sidera tendit--et paulo post--et ambas ad coelum tendit palmas"
Virgil. Aeneid. 10. vid. Aeneid. 2. "Ad coelum manibus sublatis"
Horat. Satyr. l. 2. satyr. 5. v. 97. "Coelo supines si tuleris
manus"
ib. Carmin. l. 3. Ode 23. v. 1. "Et pandere palmas ante Deum
delubra"
Lucretius l. 5. prope finem δη
χειρα ανασχων
Homer. Iliad. 5. v. 174. ; see Psalm 141:2.
Psalm 28:3 3 Do not take me away with
the wicked And with the workers of iniquity
Who speak peace to their
neighbors
But evil is in their hearts.
YLT
3Draw me not with the
wicked
And with workers of iniquity
Speaking peace with their neighbours
And
evil in their heart.
Draw me not away with the wicked
.... That is
with those
who are notoriously wicked; who are inwardly and outwardly wicked; whose inward
part is very wickedness
and who sell themselves and give up themselves to work
wickedness: the sense is
that God would not suffer him to be drawn away
or
drawn aside by wicked men
but that he would deliver him from temptation; or
that he would not give him up into their hands
to be at their mercy; who he
knew would not spare him
if they had him in their power; or that he might not
die the death of the wicked
and perish with them; see Psalm 26:9;
and with the workers of iniquity; who make it the trade
and business of their lives to commit sin; and which may be applied
not only
to profane sinners
but to professors of religion
Matthew 7:23; since
it follows
which speak peace to their neighbours
but mischief is in
their hearts; hypocrites
double minded men
who have a form of godliness
but
deny the power of it; pretend to religion
and have none; and speak fair to the
face
but design mischief and ruin; as Saul and his servants did to David
1 Samuel 18:17.
Psalm 28:4 4 Give them according to
their deeds
And according to the wickedness of their endeavors; Give them
according to the work of their hands; Render to them what they deserve.
YLT
4Give to them according to
their acting
And according to the evil of their doings. According to the work
of their hands give to them. Return their deed to them.
Give them according to their deeds
.... According to the
demerit of them
which is death
even death eternal;
and according to the wickedness of their endeavours; for though
wicked men do not always succeed; yet their want of success does not excuse
their wickedness;
give them after the work of their hands; see 2 Timothy 4:14;
render to them their desert; what their iniquities
in thought
word
and deed
deserve: such petitions are not contrary to that
Christian charity which the Gospel recommends; nor do they savour of a spirit
of revenge
which is condemned by the word of God; for it should be observed
that these things are said with respect to men given up to a reprobate mind;
and that the psalmist does not seek to avenge himself
nor to gratify his own mind;
but he sought the glory of God
and moreover spoke by a prophetic spirit
knowing what was the will of God in this case; see Psalm 28:5; and
therefore these petitions of his are not to be drawn into an example in common
and ordinary cases.
Psalm 28:5 5 Because they do not regard
the works of the Lord
Nor the operation of His hands
He shall destroy them And not build them up.
YLT
5For they attend not to the
doing of Jehovah
And unto the work of His hands. He throweth them down
And
doth not build them up.
Because they regard not the works of the Lord
.... Neither
the work of creation
as if there was no first cause of all things; nor the
work of Providence
taking no notice either of the judgments or of the mercies
of God; as though they believed that God had forsaken the earth
and would do
neither good nor evil; and still less the work of redemption
which in
covenant
promise
and prophecy
was appointed for the Messiah to work out; and
as for the work of the Spirit of God upon the soul
they had no notion of that
of the nature and necessity of it; the things of the Spirit of God being
foolishness to them
and undiscernible by them; see Isaiah 5:12.
Perhaps the psalmist may have some regard to his being anointed by Samuel
according to the will of God
and to the victory which he obtained over
Goliath
and over others
which justly gained him great esteem among some
and
created envy in others; and also the wonderful protection of him from time to
time; the Chaldee paraphrase is
"because they do not understand the law
of the Lord". It follows
nor the operation of his hands; in which his hand was so
very apparent
that nothing less could be said than that this was the finger of
God; wherefore
he shall destroy them
and not build them up; that is
they
shall be irrecoverably lost; they shall be punished with everlasting
destruction; there will be no help or remedy for them: someF19Kimchi
in loc. Vid. Aben Ezram in loc. understand this as a prayer
that God would
destroy them in such a manner
and render it
"let him destroy them"
&c.F20יהרסם "destruat eos"
Vatablus; so the Arabic version. .
Psalm 28:6 6 Blessed be the Lord
Because He
has heard the voice of my supplications!
YLT
6Blessed [is] Jehovah
For
He hath heard the voice of my supplications.
Blessed be the Lord
.... Which must be
understood
not as invoking nor as conferring a blessing on him
neither of
which can be done by a creature; nor does he stand in need of any
he being
Elshaddai
God all sufficient
God over all
blessed for ever; but as ascribing
all blessedness to him
congratulating his greatness and happiness
and giving
him praise and glory for mercies received; and particularly for the following:
because he hath heard the voice of my supplications; what he had
prayed for
Psalm 28:2; an
answer was quickly returned
even while he was speaking
Isaiah 65:24;
though this may be an expression of faith
being fully persuaded and assured
that he was heard
and would be answered
and may be said by a prophetic
spirit; knowing that what he had humbly asked for would be granted; so Aben
Ezra and Kimchi understand it in a way of prophecy.
Psalm 28:7 7 The Lord is my
strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him
and I am helped; Therefore my
heart greatly rejoices
And with my song I will praise Him.
YLT
7Jehovah [is] my strength
and my shield
In Him my heart trusted
and I have been helped. And my heart
exulteth
And with my song I thank Him.
The Lord is my strength
.... That is
the author
both of natural and spiritual strength; that gave him strength of body
and
fortitude of mind
to bear up under all the exercises he was tried with; the
strength of his life
spiritual and temporal
and of his salvation; the
strength of his heart under present distresses
and who he knew would be so in
the hour of death
when his heart and strength would fail;
and my shield; to protect and defend him; as were the
love
power
and faithfulness of God
and the Lord Jesus Christ
his power and
fulness
his blood
righteousness
and salvation;
my heart trusted in him; in the Lord as his
strength and shield; not in any creature
nor in his own strength and
righteousness; but in the Lord God
in whom are righteousness and strength: and
it is plain he did not trust in his own heart
since his heart trusted in the
Lord; and which shows that his trust was an hearty one
his faith was a faith
unfeigned
he believed with the heart unto righteousness;
and I am helped: this was the fruit of his trust
even a
gracious experience of divine assistance: saints are helpless in themselves
and are also as to the help of man; God is the only helper of them; he helps
them out of all their troubles; in whatsoever he calls them unto
and to what
they want; and the help he affords is sometimes quick
and always seasonable;
and sometimes by means
and sometimes without them;
therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; that is
in
the Lord
the ground of which was the help he had from him; and this joy was
very great
a joy unspeakable
and full of glory; it was not carnal
but
spiritual
a heart joy
joy in the Holy Ghost;
and with my song will I praise him; praise is due to God
what glorifies him
and is acceptable to him; it becomes the saints
is comely
for them
and it is pleasant work to them
when grace is in exercise; see Psalm 69:30; this
may be understood of one of his songs
and one of the best of them
and of one
better than this
as a Jewish writerF21R. Moseh in Aben Ezra in loc.
observes.
Psalm 28:8 8 The Lord is
their strength
[a] And He is
the saving refuge of His anointed.
YLT
8Jehovah [is] strength to
him
Yea
the strength of the salvation of His anointed [is] He.
The Lord is their strength
.... The strength of his
people
mentioned in Psalm 28:9; not
only the strength of David in particular
but of all his people in general; see
Psalm 37:39;
and he is the saving strength of his anointed; meaning
either himself
as before
who was anointed by Samuel king of Israel
and
therefore had not invaded and thrust himself into an office he had no call and
right unto; or the Messiah
the Lord's Anointed
whom he heard
helped
and
strengthened in the day of salvation
and delivered him from the power of death
and the grave
and raised him from thence
and gave him glory; see Psalm 20:6.
Psalm 28:9 9 Save Your people
And
bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also
And bear them up forever.
YLT
9Save Thy people
and bless
Thine inheritance
And feed them
and carry them to the age!
Save thy people
.... The psalmist begins the psalm with
petitions for himself
and closes it with prayers for the people of God; whom
God has chosen for his people
taken into covenant to be his people
and given
them to his son as such; these he has resolved to save
and has appointed
Christ
and sent him into the world
to be the Saviour of them; and to them he
makes known and applies the great salvation by his Spirit: so that this prayer
was a prayer of faith
as are also the following petitions;
and bless thine inheritance; the people whom the Lord
has chosen for his inheritance
and has given to Christ as his portion
and are
his peculiar possession; and these he blesses with all spiritual blessings
with grace here
and glory hereafter
as is requested;
feed them also; as the shepherd does his flock
by leading
them into green pastures
by giving them the bread of life
by nourishing them
with the word and ordinances
by the means or his ministering servants
who are
under-shepherds appointed to feed the saints with knowledge and understanding;
and lift them up for ever; above their enemies
and
out of the reach of them; bear and carry them now
as the shepherd does his
lambs
in his arms and bosom; and raise them out of their graves
and give them
the dominion in the morning of the resurrection
and cause them to reign as
kings and priests with Christ
as they ever will.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)