Psalms · Chapter 28 of 150

Psalm 28

A prayer in distress. · Thanksgiving for deliverance.

1A Psalm of David. 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. 2Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle. 3Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts. 4Give 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. 5Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.

6Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. 7The 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. 8The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed. 9Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

King James Version (1769) · public domain

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Psalm 28 commentary

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706), public domain.

Verses 1-5

David is very earnest in prayer. Observe his faith in prayer; God is my rock, on whom I build my hope. Believers should not rest till they have received some token that their prayers are heard. He prays that he may not be numbered with the wicked. Save me from being entangled in the snares they have laid for me. Save me from being infected with their sins, and from doing as they do. Lord, never leave me to use such arts of deceit and treachery for my safety, as they use for my ruin. Believers dread the way of sinners; the best are sensible of the danger they are in of being drawn aside: we should all pray earnestly to God for his grace to keep us. Those who are careful not to partake with sinners in their sins, have reason to hope that they shall not receive their plagues. He speaks of the just judgments of the Lord on the workers of iniquity, ver. #(4). This is not the language of passion or revenge. It is a prophecy that there will certainly come a day, when God will punish every man who persists in his evil deeds. Sinners shall be reckoned with, not only for the mischief they have done, but for the mischief they designed, and did what they could to effect. Disregard of the works of the Lord, is the cause of the sin of sinners, and becomes the cause of their ruin.

Verses 6-9

Has God heard our supplications? Let us then bless his name. The Lord is my strength, to support me, and carry me on through all my services and sufferings. The heart that truly believes, shall in due time greatly rejoice: we are to expect joy and peace in believing. God shall have the praise of it: thus must we express our gratitude. The saints rejoice in others' comfort as well as their own: we have the less benefit from the light of the sun, nor from the light of God's countenance, for others' sharing therein. The psalmist concludes with a short, but comprehensive prayer. God's people are his inheritance, and precious in his eyes. He prays that God would save them; that he would bless them with all good, especially the plenty of his ordinances, which are food to the soul. And direct their actions and overrule their affairs for good. Also, lift them up for ever; not only those of that age, but his people in every age to come; lift them up as high as heaven. There, and there only, will saints be lifted up for ever, never more to sink, or be depressed. Save us, Lord Jesus, from our sins; bless us, thou Son of Abraham, with the blessing of righteousness; feed us, thou good Shepherd of the sheep, and lift us up for ever from the dust, O thou, who art the Resurrection and the Life.

Key verses in Psalm 28

  • Psalms 28:7

    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.

  • Psalms 28:2

    Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.

  • Psalms 28:6

    Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.

  • Psalms 28:8

    The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.

  • Psalms 28:1

    A Psalm of David. 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.