Psalms 28 KJV
A Prayer for Help
About This Psalm
Crying out to God who seems silent. The relief when He finally answers is like a weight lifted off your chest.
1nto 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.
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Did You Know?
The phrase 'thy holy oracle' in verse 2 alludes to the inner sanctuary housing the Ark, implying the psalmist directs prayer toward the mercy seat as the locus of divine revelation rather than a generic temple space.
Verse 5's reference to those who 'regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands' subtly invokes creation theology, framing the wicked's moral blindness as a failure to perceive God's ordered cosmos, akin to motifs in Job and Isaiah.
The abrupt transition from desperate petition in verse 5 to thanksgiving in verse 6 suggests an intervening cultic oracle of assurance, a performative element in ancient Israelite worship where a priestly response would have signaled divine hearing.
By moving from individual deliverance to a closing prayer for 'thine inheritance' and 'thy people' in verses 8-9, the psalm casts the speaker as a royal mediator whose personal vindication secures blessing for the entire covenant community.
The pairing of 'rock' (verse 1) with 'shield' (verse 7) draws on ancient Near Eastern military imagery of fortified high places and handheld defense, merging static refuge with active protection to portray Yahweh as both unassailable stronghold and dynamic warrior.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain my rock โ (Ps 18:2, 31). be not silent to me โ literally, "from me," deaf or inattentive. become like them, &c. โ share their fate. go down into the pit โ or, "grave" (Ps 30:3)โฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Psalms 28 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: An earnest cry for divine aid against his enemies, as being also those of God, is followed by the psalmist's praise in assurance of a favorable answer, and a prayer for all God's people.
- 1
- my rock โ (Ps 18:2, 31). be not silent to me โ literally, "from me," deaf or inattentive. become like them, &c. โ share their fate. go down into the pit โ or, "grave" (Ps 30:3).
- 2
- lift up my hands โ a gesture of prayer (Ps 63:4; 141:2). oracle โ place of speaking (Ex 25:22; Nu 7:89), where God answered His people (compare Ps 5:7).
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