Psalms 28:1 - Meaning and Application

In these verses, David is very earnest in prayer. He asks God to hear him now that he is in trouble, in Psalm 28:1-2. Notice his faith in prayer: “O Lord, my rock.” That means he trusts God’s power and depends on it, as one builds on a solid rock.

Notice also his urgency. “To you I cry,” he says, like a man who is about to sink unless help comes quickly. He also longs for an answer, not silence. He asks God to speak to him with good and comforting words (Zechariah 1:13), and to speak for him by defending his cause and commanding rescue.

David gives two reasons for this prayer. First, if God were silent, he would be in deep despair. If God did not show favor, he would be like those who go down to the pit, or even to hell, as some understand it. For a faithful heart, nothing is more painful than losing the sense of God’s favor and feeling his displeasure.

Second, David has good hope that God will answer. He says, “I lift up my hands toward your holy oracle,” meaning he looks in earnest expectation for a word of peace. The “oracle” was the most holy place, where the ark and mercy seat were, where God was said to dwell between the cherubim and speak to his people (Numbers 7:89). That place pointed to Christ, and we must look to him for every good gift from God. It also points to heaven (Hebrews 9:24), and reminds us to expect answers from God our Father in heaven. The Scriptures are also called God’s oracles, and we should pray with our eyes on them and our hearts fixed on the hope they give.

David then asks not to be counted with wicked people, as in Psalm 26:9: “Gather not my soul with sinners.” He says, in effect, “Do not drag me away with the wicked and with workers of evil” (Psalm 28:3). He wants protection from their traps, because they speak kindly but mean harm. They may flatter him, but they are planning trouble, and even destruction. He asks God not to let him be pulled into their schemes, because they can have no power or success except what is allowed from above.

He also asks to be kept from their sins. He does not want to be drawn by their false arguments or temptations away from the holy place where he wants to live all his life, to do evil works (Psalm 141:4). He does not want to be left to himself, using dishonest and treacherous methods for safety, the same kinds of methods they use for ruin. Good people fear the path of sinners, and even the best people know how easily they can be pulled aside. So we should all ask God to keep us by his grace and preserve our integrity.

David further asks to be kept from their judgment. He says, “Do not lead me away with the workers of evil, for I am not one of those who speak peace while war is in their hearts.” Those who avoid sharing in sinners’ sins may hope they will not share in their plagues either (Revelation 18:4).

Then David calls for God’s just judgment on the workers of evil, in Psalm 28:4: “Give them according to their deeds.” This is not angry revenge, and it does not conflict with praying for our enemies. It shows that David wants nothing to do with such people. It also shows his zeal for God’s justice in ruling the world. These sinners act as if their conduct is fine and justify themselves, so David asks God to repay them according to their work and expose their false confidence (Psalm 94:1-2).

This prayer also points ahead to the fact that God will, in time, repay every stubborn sinner according to what he deserves. If wrong is not turned from by repentance, there will certainly be a day of reckoning. This is especially true of those who destroy others. They speak peace to their neighbors, but evil is in their hearts. So David asks, “Let the spoilers be spoiled, and let the treacherous be dealt with treacherously” (Isaiah 33:1; Revelation 18:6; Revelation 13:10). God will judge not only what they did, but what they tried to do. He will weigh their evil plans as well as their actions.

If God deals with the wicked that way, he will surely deal with the righteous that way too. He will reward not only the good they managed to do, but also the good they tried to do, even when they could not complete it.

Finally, David says that destruction will come because these people ignore God and his works, in Psalm 28:5. They do not regard what the Lord has done or the works of his hands, by which he shows himself and speaks to people. Because of that hard and careless spirit, God will destroy them in this world and the next, and he will not build them up. A stubborn refusal to notice God’s works is the road to ruin.

Why do people question whether God exists, or what he is like? It is because they do not truly consider his works, which show his glory, and in which his unseen qualities are clearly seen. Why do people forget God and live as if he were not there, even to the point of insulting him and rebelling against him? It is because they do not think about the signs of his anger, which is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and wrongdoing among people.

Why do God’s enemies hate and persecute his people, and plot evil against them? It is because they do not pay attention to the works God has done for his church, by which he has shown how precious it is to him. See (Isaiah 5:12). As we sing this psalm, we should brace ourselves against every temptation to join with people who do wrong. We should also strengthen our hearts against every trouble those same people may threaten us with.