Confident Praise
1 To you I call, O LORD my Rock;
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.
2 Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
Psalm 28:1-2
When you're a kid, silly, mean, obnoxious things can be hysterical. The famous whoopie cushion is always good for a laugh or putting toothpaste on someone when they are sleeping. And then there is pulling a chair out from underneath someone when they sit down. Do you remember that frightening feeling that hits you as you fall backwards to the ground? Perhaps you've walked in the dark and stepped off the edge of the stairs. You thought there was something there on which to ground yourself.
The psalmist here once again refers to God as his rock. He is the foundation on which his life is built, on which his life rests. And so when God isn't there, when God turns a deaf ear, when God remains silent, it is as if the whole bottom falls out and he stumbles into the pit.
I have had long periods of time when God seems all but silent. There are times when I really need to hear from him but find nothing. So this psalm is very comforting. For whatever reason, in the mystery of God's wisdom and providence, the rock of our salvation appears at times to move from underneath us. The Word of God does not try to hide the darkness that God's people can sometimes experience. But it encourages us to trust Him nonetheless. Despite the psalmist's frustration, he goes on to say "Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusts him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy, and I will give thanks to him in song." (28:6-7) Perhaps this section was written after the psalmist experienced God's deliverance firsthand. I think it more likely that this comes at the same time as the prayer of despair. But the psalmist has such confidence in God that despite God's apparent absence he can praise Him as if He's already delivered him.
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.
2 Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
Psalm 28:1-2
When you're a kid, silly, mean, obnoxious things can be hysterical. The famous whoopie cushion is always good for a laugh or putting toothpaste on someone when they are sleeping. And then there is pulling a chair out from underneath someone when they sit down. Do you remember that frightening feeling that hits you as you fall backwards to the ground? Perhaps you've walked in the dark and stepped off the edge of the stairs. You thought there was something there on which to ground yourself.
The psalmist here once again refers to God as his rock. He is the foundation on which his life is built, on which his life rests. And so when God isn't there, when God turns a deaf ear, when God remains silent, it is as if the whole bottom falls out and he stumbles into the pit.
I have had long periods of time when God seems all but silent. There are times when I really need to hear from him but find nothing. So this psalm is very comforting. For whatever reason, in the mystery of God's wisdom and providence, the rock of our salvation appears at times to move from underneath us. The Word of God does not try to hide the darkness that God's people can sometimes experience. But it encourages us to trust Him nonetheless. Despite the psalmist's frustration, he goes on to say "Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusts him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy, and I will give thanks to him in song." (28:6-7) Perhaps this section was written after the psalmist experienced God's deliverance firsthand. I think it more likely that this comes at the same time as the prayer of despair. But the psalmist has such confidence in God that despite God's apparent absence he can praise Him as if He's already delivered him.
posted by Kevin Hanly at
4:03 AM
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