Psalm 28: 1 – 9
Thanks for answering my Prayer Lord
A Psalm of David.
1 To You I will cry, O LORD my Rock: Do not be silent to me, lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary. 3 Do not take me away with the wicked and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors, but evil is in their hearts. 4 Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors; Give them according to the work of their hands; Render to them what they deserve. 5 Because they do not regard 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 has 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 rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. 8 The LORD is their strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed. 9 Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, and bear them up forever.
Has the Lord answered any of your prayers? I am sure that he has but does it take you some time to think about some of the biggie prayers that He graciously responded to your pleas? Have any of these answered prayers fall into the ‘miracle’ category?
Over my life, I have personally discovered from Scripture and experience that our Holy Father God loves to answer our prayers. We must, however, be clear in exactly what it means what our loving Creator does in answering our prayers.
We must stop and realize that His answer to our prayers does not always match exactly our petitions. His answer might come back to us in a manner we did not expect.
Let me get this answer our Holy Master might give us out first. His answer might be ‘No’.
The Sovereign Lord of the universe isn't under obligation to say "yes" to every prayer we bring before Him. That's a good thing, considering some of the things we request!
Sometimes our Holy God says "no" to our most heartfelt requests. Have you discovered this to be true in your own life? I certainly have.
If He does not give us the answer we have been begging Him many times our sinful nature being inspired by the enemy of our souls try to persuade us that we shouldn't bother to pray anymore? Heck, we think, He might answer the small requests but the major ones He will not help us out. Just the opposite is true about our Loving Holy Master.
He might answer ‘Yes, but you'll have to wait.
Immediate answers to prayer: You want them. I want them. But God simply does not always work that way. And to get his best, we must be patient. In some cases, we must wait for his answer to come. We are the McDonald’s generation where we drive up and want our food right now. A couple minute wait is too long.
We must be persistent in petitioning our Holy God to help. He says to us in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 7 verse 7, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you".
We also come across another unique answer from our Holy Lord ‘Yes, but not what you expected.’
Have you ever asked God to use you? If so, expect the unexpected!
In the book of Proverbs 3 verses 5 – 6 we are instructed to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight".
Another one which we might throw us off is His answer ‘Yes, and here's more!’
Ever wonder if the Lord really knows what you want and need? You ask for a ‘want’ and He gives you what you ‘need’ instead.
All along—no surprise—God knew what he was doing!
The prophet Jeremiah declares in chapter 29 verse 11 of his book, "For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.
Many people think prayer is complicated. The simplest prayer can bring you the miracle you need, when you need it.
To encourage you in your prayer life try doing what I have begun in my own life. I have a document on my computer titled ‘Great things my God has done for me.’ In it I have listed over the years each time He has done something so special that you know without any doubt it was His direct answer to my prayers.
Give it a try. When you are down and frustrated for any reason just look at your list and I guarantee that your spirit will be lifted.
Today we are going to review a Psalm that speaks about the joy in receiving our Holy Gracious God answer to our prayer requests.
This Psalm commences with an earnest appeal and finishes in the triumphant knowledge of God’s salvation and watch over both the Psalmist himself, and His people.
We should note that as in Psalm 26.4-5 the Psalmist is again concerned with the company he keeps (verses 3-5). This should act as a warning to us that if we would keep company with the Lord we cannot also keep company with those who oppose Him. For God will take note of the company that we keep.
The Psalm splits neatly into four.
1). The Psalmist earnestly calls on God to hear his prayer (1-3).
2). He prays that he might not be counted among those who go astray after their own ways (3-5).
3). He rejoices because he knows that YHWH has heard him and will be his strength (28.6-7)
4). He finally rejoices because he knows that YHWH will also be the protector of all His people (28.8-9).
A Psalm of David.
There is a great deal of difference between God being silent, and our having to go through the valley of thick darkness trusting God along the way (23.4). Sometimes we have to learn to trust God in the dark. It is not then that God is being silent, but that He is teaching us to trust Him even when the lights are off. We must not think that our spiritual lives are dependent on our feelings. They are dependent on the gracious activity of God. So even when our feelings are at a low point, we must continue to look to Him with trust and confidence. ‘In returning and rest you will be saved, in quietness and in confidence will be your strength’ (Isaiah 30.15). The valley will not turn out to be endless, and we will emerge from it the stronger.
1 To You I will cry, O LORD my Rock: Do not be silent to me, lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.
He commences by calling on YHWH as his Rock. The idea of YHWH as a Rock is common in Scripture, especially as the rock on which we are founded so that nothing can move us, and therefore as the source of our strength. He is regularly described as the Rock of our salvation, and this is often connected with the idea of an impregnable fortress. It is in this Rock that we must put our confidence. What we have to do is ensure that we are ‘in Him’. And then we will be secure.
This idea of the Rock on which we are built is then also applied to our Lord Jesus Christ, where He describes Himself as the chief cornerstone of His church (Mark 12.10). Those who are founded on Him, and what He has done for them on the cross, and through the resurrection, will withstand every earthquake shock (1 Corinthians 3.11). Nothing will move them for they are founded on a rock.
For we must not only be founded on Him, but ‘in Him’. We must recognize that ‘we’ are dead and that our lives are hid with Christ in God (Colossians 3.3).
His fear that his Rock, even YHWH, may be deaf to him, and be silent towards him when he prays, for in his eyes that would simply result in a living death. To go down into the Pit is to enter Sheol, the grave world. It is the world of those who do not hear YHWH. And to him the thought of being out of touch with YHWH is unbearable. It would be like joining the living dead. And the test of that is not our feelings. It is the test of the genuineness of our hearts towards Him.
2 Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
But the thoughts of his heart are in a far different direction. They are directed towards the inner sanctuary in which is the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH, the earthly throne of the heavenly King, and it is to there that he cries out and lifts his hands in prayer (a regular way of praying. And even while he does this he is aware that he is speaking to the One Whom even the heaven of heavens cannot contain (1 Kings 8.27).
For us there is an even greater privilege, for our Lord Jesus Christ has made a way for us into God’s very presence, a new and living way established through Himself and the offering of Himself on our behalf, and we can ever therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, (the throne from which God reveals His compassion and lovingkindness) where we can obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 10.19)
But those who would enter His presence and walk with Him, must also be careful of the company they keep (1 Corinthians 5.11). And he especially has in mind here those who pretend to be one thing, while all the time having the intention in their hearts to be very different. On the one hand they speak peace with their neighbours, but on the other their intentions towards them are not for their good. And this is because they have no concern for YHWH and His works and ways. They are not out to love their neighbours as themselves, but rather to squeeze out of their neighbors as much as they can. They are selfish and concerned only for their own good.
But the problem with enjoying such company will be that we enjoy also their end when they receive their final deserts. And they will be broken down, rather than being built up.
3 Do not take me away with the wicked and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors, but evil is in their hearts.
So the Psalmist does not want to be counted among those who are deliberately misleading or downright dishonest, those who are ‘workers of iniquity’, while all the time putting on the appearance of being the opposite. He does not want to, as it were, be arrested along with them and dragged off for sentence (‘drawn away’). For he does not approve of their ways. This is a warning that we should consider people’s motives and well as their outward actions before we involve ourselves with them. How easy it is to be led astray by those who outwardly appear only to be concerned for what is good, while having a hidden agenda in their hearts.
They speak peace with their neighbors while their intention towards them is very different. Like him therefore we must always consider the genuineness of our thoughts and actions. We must ensure that our hearts are true.
4 Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors; Give them according to the work of their hands; Render to them what they deserve.
The Psalmist wants to have no time for such people. He agrees that they should receive their full deserts because of the ways in which they behave. Centrally their doings are wicked, as are the operations of their hands, ideas which are contained within the envelope of giving them according to their works and rendering to them what they deserve.
If we see this as harsh we must remember that these words are on the mouth of one who has been called to act as a judge in Israel. He has a responsibility for law and order. It is a cry that God will enable him to ensure sound justice without fear or favor, and to remove criminals from the streets, while at the same time ensuring that he only gives them what they deserve. He is aware that he must ever remember that he is acting on behalf of God.
5 Because they do not regard the works of the LORD, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them and not build them up. 5 Because they do not regard the works of the LORD, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them and not build them up.
In the end their behavior is the result of the fact that they have no concern for YHWH and are not interested in His doings. They are like the fool who says in his heart, ‘there is no God’ (14.1). And the result will be that they will be dismantled rather than being built up. Their lives will come to nothing. Note the contrast with verse 4. The operation of their hands is precisely because they do not take notice of the operation of His hands. Their doings are wicked because they ignore His works. We can compare here Isaiah 1.16, ‘put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do well’. It is not that God has not given them a chance to repent. If they are willing to do so there is always a way back.
Note also the impact of the illustration taken from the idea of pulling down and erecting buildings. They have had no interest in what God is achieving, and act contrary to it, and so, although they may stand proud for a time, He will dismantle them and whatever they are achieving, for it is contrary to His ways. Rather than building them up and making them eternally useful, he will bring them crashing down. In the end their lives will count for nothing. Compare 73.17, ‘until --- I considered their latter end’. Many a building stands proud, tall and immovable, until the arrival of the demolition squad. We should look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen, for the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4.18).
His thoughts now become more positive. The negative was necessary, but now he begins to look upward. He has prayed through to a point of confidence and faith. And the more he prays the greater his faith.
6 Blessed be the LORD, because He has heard the voice of my supplications!
He begins by blessing God for having heard his pleas. The fears of verse 1 have departed, and he praises Him for listening to his supplications. It is a reminder to us that however dead our prayers might appear, if we genuinely approach Him in Jesus’ Name (with His good in mind, not ours), we can be sure that they are being attended to.
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore, my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him.
And having blessed God, he now firmly establishes himself on what he knows about Him. It is He Who is the source of his strength, and is the great shield behind which he can take shelter. He knows that YHWH the Mighty Warrior, the God of battle, is acting on his behalf, both positively to give him the victory, and negatively to keep him from all harm, and that he is being helped. No wonder then that his heart rejoices, and he is filled with praise. He knows that one with God is a majority. Note the order. He meditates on what God is on His behalf, then he is helped, and this causes him to rejoice in his heart, with the result that the praises break forth from his mouth.
But the Psalmist is not only concerned for himself. His concern is for all God’s people. And he rejoices because what God is for him, He also is for them. He has now become one of God’s intercessors. But that is also our privilege too, for we have become sons of the King, called upon to reign with Him (Revelation 5.10; 20.4; 1 Corinthians 4.8).
8 The LORD is their strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Note the change to ‘their’. What YHWH has been for him (his strength and shield,) He is also for His people. He is their strength and their stronghold, the strength on which they can constantly draw, the stronghold into which they can enter in order to be saved. He is a strong refuge (71.7; 61.3). The righteous run into it and are safe (Proverbs 18.10).
‘To His anointed.’ This may refer to the king as the anointed of YHWH and the representative of his people, or to the people themselves, whom God has set apart for Himself under the shelter of His Name. Our blessing too comes because we are sheltered under the Name of His Anointed, even Jesus in Whom we trust.
9 Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, and bear them up forever.
So he finishes by calling on God to save His people and bless His inheritance. They are not only His people but of value to Him as well (Exodus 19.5-6). And they are something for which He has a responsibility. Thus, he asks Him also to be their shepherd and to uphold His people forever, bearing them up in His arms (Isaiah 40.11).
But David could never have dreamed that one day this very Shepherd would come down from above to be the good Shepherd Who would die for His sheep, so that they might follow Him and be given eternal life and total security (John 10.11). How much more then should we praise the Name of Him When we consider how much He has done for us.
