Psalm 28
A Prayer to Be Preserved From Being Drawn Away With the Wicked
A Prayer to Be Preserved From Being Drawn Away With the Wicked
Psalm 28. This is another Psalm of David, and it expresses the prayer of the faithful in the midst of an evil generation. The first half of the Psalm (vv.1-5) is the cry for help, and the second half (vv.6-9) describes the joy of the remnant in having their prayer answered! This Psalm gives the spirit of Christ in the remnant, being applicable to Christ Himself, and also the remnant on behalf of Christ.
PSALM 28
A Psalm of David.
1 Unto thee, Jehovah, do I call; my rock, be not silent unto me, lest, if thou keep silence toward 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 the oracle of thy holiness.
3 Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbours, and mischief is in their heart.
4 Give them according to their doing, and according to the wickedness of their deeds; give them after the work of their hands, render to them their desert.
5 For they regard not the deeds of Jehovah, nor the work of his hands: he will destroy them, and not build them up.
vv.1-5 Prayer for Preservation. There is a felt need for the voice of the Lord, such that “if thou keep silence toward me, I become like them that go down into the pit.” In Psalm 27 the remnant are seen in the temple, but here they are seen as away from the temple, lifting up their hands “toward the oracle of thy holiness”. This could indicate that prophetically Psalm 27 is in the first 3 1/2 years, while Psalm 28 is in the last 3 1/2 years, when the Jewish sacrifice and oblation will be made to cease, and the abomination of desolations will stand in the holy place. Their prayer is that they would be preserved from the wicked, who are characterized by dishonesty and treachery; “who speak peace to their neighbours, and mischief is in their heart” (see Micah 7:5-6). These ones are not to be trusted, and not to be associated with. The faithful pray for the demise of the wicked. This is an imprecatory prayer. In v.5, they are confident that Jehovah will destroy the wicked.
6 Blessed be Jehovah, for he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
7 Jehovah is my strength and my shield; my heart confided in him, and I was helped: therefore my heart exulteth, and with my song will I praise him.
8 Jehovah is their strength; and he is the stronghold of salvation to his anointed one.
9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance; and feed them, and lift them up for ever.
vv.6-9 The Prayer Answered. In these verses we have the aspect of the Psalm brought forward in which the remnant is seen speaking about the Messiah. In vv.6-7 it is the remnant speaking, though it could be prophetic of Christ Himself, and it is very individual; “Jehovah is my strength and my shield”. The prayer of the faithful has been answered, and the result of it is exaltation and praise! In vv.8-9 the remnant speak of themselves in the third-person plural; “Jehovah is their strength”. But they also speak of Jehovah’s deliverance of their Messiah; ” he is the stronghold of salvation to his anointed one”. Their Messiah has been saved out of His sufferings, and thus He is able to save His people from their tribulation!