Have you in your Christian journey gotten so close to the ungodly and distanced yourself so far from God’s precepts that you feared for your life? Maybe you thought that if God punished your enemies, because of the close proximity, you would be affected in the same way and would be counted as one of them.
Jeremiah prophesied something about a similar circumstance. The people were behaving so badly that if they died they would be in deep trouble. Here is the text: “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved. Jeremiah 8:20.” Have you ever been in a situation that if you died at that moment you feared for your eternal destination? Psalm 28 illustrates a situation like that. David is still fleeing from Saul and his enemies. Sometimes they were very close to each other, and it was so ugly that David thought that if he died at that moment he would go to the pit with his enemies. The pit here means the grave. David was not only concerned about his life per se; he was also concerned about his reputation. He would be counted as ungodly and because of that he cried out to the Lord.
This Psalm is marked by the phrase “Hear my cry” and “He heard my cry”. In the first part David argues with God that even though he was close to his enemies they were not the same. The differences were enormous; they were “wicked”, “do evil”, and “harbor malice in their hearts”. In this first part he also asks God to punish his enemies.
Sometimes, even being a Christian, we act in the same way as the ungodly. Our deeds do not glorify God; our words hurt people; and our hearts are cold toward the needs of our brothers and sisters. We are selfish and preoccupied with our wellbeing.
David knew that this kind of attitude was wrong and he pleaded with God to not let him die like that. In the middle of his tribulation he has time to seek the Lord: “Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. Psalm 28:2.” He cries for help and he lifts his hands toward the Temple. With this attitude he recognizes that he does not have nor deserve anything from God. He depends totally on God’s grace and mercy.
The beauty of this psalm is that it shows us how good, merciful, kind, and loving our God is. In verse 6 we have a 180-degree turn. Here is the text: “Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. Psalm 28:6.” We learn here that when we turn to God, He turns to us immediately. Before David finished his prayer he already had the answer that God heard him. From that point on David praises God, exalts His power, and confesses that he trusts in Him. He also intercedes for God’s people.
My friend, sometimes during our journey we will get very close to the enemy camp, so close that we will think that if God decides to act against them we will go down with them. It is for these times that we have this psalm. Cry to the Lord, ask for mercy, and know that He will answer you instantaneously, even before you finish your prayer.
Have a blessed week,
Pastor Lucas