To You, O Yahweh, I call;
Psalm 28
My rock, do not be silent to me,
Lest if You are hesitant toward me,
I will become like those who go down to the pit.
Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help,
When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with workers of iniquity,
Who speak peace with their neighbors,
While evil is in their hearts.
Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their actions;
Give to them according to the deeds of their hands;
Return their dealings upon them.
Because they do not regard the works of Yahweh
Nor the deeds of His hands,
He will tear them down and not build them up.
Blessed be Yahweh,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplications.
Yahweh is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart exults,
And with my song I shall thank Him.
Yahweh is their strength,
And He is a strong defense of salvation to His anointed.
Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;
Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.
Introduction
A theme that you will see over and over in the Psalms, particularly those penned by David, is that God alone is able to deliver us from our troubles. Putting hope in anything or anyone else is pure foolishness because it will not stand. That is the basis of Jesus’ parable when He tells His listeners that hearing His words and thinking they are great is akin to building a house on sand without a foundation, but hearing His words and obeying is like building his house on a rock (Luke 6:46-49).
Reading scripture and knowing who God is means little if you are not willing to live the life of a believer. Unless your faith drives you to action, it is no faith at all. And that is why David calls to God as his only option: He is David’s only option.
Hypocrisy in all its slander
But not everyone is as honest as David in this regard. He identifies a type of person you have undoubtedly encountered in your own life. Those are the ones “who speak peace with their neighbors, while evil is in their hearts.” We might call this, “Minnesota Nice,” where the outward niceties mask an inward contempt for one’s neighbor. Or it might be a case of, “Bless your heart,” to shield one’s self from admonishment over mean-spirited criticism.
These are the types of people David describes as ones who are dragged away. They are judged “according to their work and according to the evil of their actions.” The person who hides his true intentions and believes the secret things belong to him rather than God (Deuteronomy 29:29) does “not regard the works of Yahweh nor the deeds of His hands.”
God the just judge
And if such a person has this level of contempt and disregard for God, then why would we think God would deal kindly with such a person? Have you ever heard the phrase, “Only God can judge me,” when addressing reprehensible behavior? If only the people who repeat that platitude would grasp onto the weight it carries. God will judge them. In fact, He will judge all of us. Every single person will stand before the judgement seat on the last day and find himself examined.
All of us are guilty (Romans 3:23), and so only those who are covered by the blood of the lamb will be made safe on that day. Jesus Christ is the One who lived righteously, and by His righteousness, all who believe are made right. By His death, we are healed.
This psalm closes with a blessing upon those who trust in Him. He is your strength and your defense. He is your shepherd, ready to guide you. Do not harbor hatred or vile things in secret, but bring them to the light that they might be put to death (Romans 8:13) and you be healed by His great love.
May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.
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