It is remarkable how one’s vision becomes limited to nearby objects and what we expect to see.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Ferguson Rifle)
“O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.”
–Daniel 9:18 (NKJV)
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Psalm 28 is a psalm from the cry of a heart. A heart that knows that survival only comes from being rooted in the Lord. A cry for retribution to one’s enemies. One thing for sure, you cannot read this psalm and not realize that David says it is the Lord who is his strength.
1 – Lord, I call to You; my rock, do not be deaf to me. If You remain silent to me, I will be like those going down to the Pit.
2 – Listen to the sound of my pleading when I cry to You for help, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
3 – Do not drag me away with the wicked, with the evildoers, who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.
4 – Repay them according to what they have done—according to the evil of their deeds. Repay them according to the work of their hands; give them back what they deserve.
5 – Because they do not consider what the Lord has done or the work of His hands, He will tear them down and not rebuild them.
6 – May the Lord be praised, for He has heard the sound of my pleading.
7 – The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I praise Him with my song.
8 – The Lord is the strength of His people; He is a stronghold of salvation for His anointed.
9 – Save Your people, bless Your possession, shepherd them, and carry them forever.
Verse one shows a person who is in a pitiful situation, whether real or imagined. If the Lord doesn’t answer him, he might as well be in hell. The NLT puts it this way, “Please help me; don’t refuse to answer me. For it you are silent, I might as well give up and die.” But, wait, stop and think of what is being said. Isn’t it true? If the Lord would forsake us what would be the use of going on, of living? One thing we should be eternally grateful for is that God is never silent. He is always there to speak with us, if we would only turn to His Word. Because we have the Bible, and we can turn to the inspired Scriptures we can hear the voice of the Lord speaking.
Look around you, if you dare. Look at how people mock God. Look at the liars, and those who spew hate. Look at those who take the life away from innocent ones. Look at the terror that is upon the earth. Go get them God! Get them good! Do is now! Ahh, but that is not the way the Lord works. We want punishment and justice now, but the Lord is patient. Eventually God will judge.
Then there is that other bunch. Those that walk around almost in a daze; those that are not tied into the real world. It is hard for me to understand how people can ignore God or be so nonchalant and lackadaisical about life. How can people be so blind that they cannot see the works of His hands, or is it that they choose not to?
In all of this, David turns back to recognize that God is his strength, his Rock of safety. He looks at the world around him then, he must smile, goes back to God. It is always back to trust and faith knowing that God is there and will never forsake His people.
“Strong in the Lord of Hosts,
And in his mighty power,
Who in the strength of Jesus trust
Is more than a conqueror.”
–Charles Wesley
Trust in the Lord and in His might. Ponder the words of the following prayer by George O. Wood. See if it might fit you in your circumstance this day.
“Lord, my emotions seem so much more powerful than my faith. In my heart, I know You’ll help me, but sometimes I get so desperate I scream inside myself for Your immediate intervention. As my Rock, You are the solid ground floor of my life and I thank You for stabalizing, strengthening, shielding, and shepherding me.”