1 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.
2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
3 Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
4 Give 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.
5 Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
6 Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
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.
8 The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.
1 [[A Psalm of David.]] H1732 Unto thee will I cry, H7121 O LORD H3068 my rock; H6697 be not silent H2814 to me: lest, if thou be silent H2790 to me, I become H4911 like them that go down H3381 into the pit. H953
2 Hear H8085 the voice H6963 of my supplications, H8469 when I cry H7768 unto thee, when I lift up H5375 my hands H3027 toward thy holy H6944 oracle. H1687
3 Draw me not away H4900 with the wicked, H7563 and with the workers H6466 of iniquity, H205 which speak H1696 peace H7965 to their neighbours, H7453 but mischief H7451 is in their hearts. H3824
4 Give H5414 them according to their deeds, H6467 and according to the wickedness H7455 of their endeavours: H4611 give H5414 them after the work H4639 of their hands; H3027 render H7725 to them their desert. H1576
5 Because they regard H995 not the works H6468 of the LORD, H3068 nor the operation H4639 of his hands, H3027 he shall destroy H2040 them, and not build them up. H1129
6 Blessed H1288 be the LORD, H3068 because he hath heard H8085 the voice H6963 of my supplications. H8469
7 The LORD H3068 is my strength H5797 and my shield; H4043 my heart H3820 trusted H982 in him, and I am helped: H5826 therefore my heart H3820 greatly rejoiceth; H5937 and with my song H7892 will I praise H3034 him.
8 The LORD H3068 is their strength, H5797 and he is the saving H3444 strength H4581 of his anointed. H4899
9 Save H3467 thy people, H5971 and bless H1288 thine inheritance: H5159 feed H7462 them also, and lift them up H5375 for ever. H5769
1 Unto thee, O Jehovah, will I call: My rock, be not thou deaf unto me; Lest, if thou be silent unto 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 thy holy oracle.
3 Draw me not away with the wicked, And with the workers of iniquity; That speak peace with their neighbors, But mischief is in their hearts.
4 Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings: Give them after the operation of their hands; Render to them their desert.
5 Because they regard not the works of Jehovah, Nor the operation of his hands, He will break them down and not build them up.
6 Blessed be Jehovah, Because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
7 Jehovah is my strength and my shield; My heart hath trusted in him, and I am helped: Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; And with my song will I praise him.
8 Jehovah is their strength, And he is a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.
9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: Be their shepherd also, and bear them up for ever. Psalm 29 A Psalm of David.
1 By 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.
2 Hear the voice of my supplications, In my crying unto Thee, In my lifting up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
3 Draw me not with the wicked, And with workers of iniquity, Speaking peace with their neighbours, And evil in their heart.
4 Give 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.
5 For 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.
6 Blessed `is' Jehovah, For He hath heard the voice of my supplications.
7 Jehovah `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.
8 Jehovah `is' strength to him, Yea, the strength of the salvation of His anointed `is' He.
9 Save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance, And feed them, and carry them to the age!
1 {[A Psalm] of David.} 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.
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.
1 > To you, Yahweh, I call. My rock, don't be deaf to me; Lest, if you are silent to me, I would become like those who go down into the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my petitions, when I cry to you, When I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Don't draw me away with the wicked, With the workers of iniquity who speak peace with their neighbors, But mischief is in their hearts.
4 Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings. Give them according to the operation of their hands. Bring back on them what they deserve.
5 Because they don't regard the works of Yahweh, Nor the operation of his hands, He will break them down and not build them up.
6 Blessed be Yahweh, Because he has heard the voice of my petitions.
7 Yahweh is my strength and my shield. My heart has trusted in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices. With my song I will thank him.
8 Yahweh is their strength. He is a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.
9 Save your people, And bless your inheritance. Be their shepherd also, And bear them up forever.
1 <Of David.> My cry goes up to you, O Lord, my Rock; do not keep back your answer from me, so that I may not become like those who go down into the underworld.
2 Give ear to the voice of my prayer, when I am crying to you, when my hands are lifted up to your holy place.
3 Do not take me away with the sinners and the workers of evil, who say words of peace to their neighbours, but evil is in their hearts.
4 Give them the right reward of their acts, and of their evil doings: give them punishment for the works of their hands, let them have their full reward.
5 Because they have no respect for the works of the Lord, or for the things which his hands have made, they will be broken down and not lifted up by him.
6 May the Lord be praised, because he has given ear to the voice of my prayer.
7 The Lord is my strength and my breastplate, my heart had faith in him and I am helped; for this cause my heart is full of rapture, and I will give him praise in my song.
8 The Lord is their strength, and a strong place of salvation for his king.
9 Be a saviour to your people, and send a blessing on your heritage: be their guide, and let them be lifted up for ever.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on Psalms 28
Commentary on Psalms 28 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. .
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.
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.
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.
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.