Psalms 28 — with JFB Commentary
The King James text with the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary (1871, public domain) directly beneath the verses it explains. Verses without a JFB note stand alone.
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1Unto 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.
PSALM 28
Psa 28:1-9. 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--(Psa 18:2, 31).
be not silent to me--literally, "from me," deaf or inattentive.
become like them, &c.--share their fate.
go down into the pit--or, "grave" (Psa 30:3).
2Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
2. lift up my hands--a gesture of prayer (Psa 63:4; 141:2).
oracle--place of speaking (Ex 25:22; Nu 7:89), where God answered His people (compare Psa 5:7).
3Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
3. Draw me not away--implies punishment as well as death (compare Psa 26:9). Hypocrisy is the special wickedness mentioned.
4Give 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.
4. The imprecation is justified in Psa 28:5. The force of the passage is greatly enhanced by the accumulation of terms describing their sin.
endeavours--points out their deliberate sinfulness.
5Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
5. Disregard of God's judgments brings a righteous punishment.
destroy ... build ... up--The positive strengthened by the negative form.
6Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
6. supplications--or, "cries for mercy."
7The 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.
7. The repetition of "heart" denotes his sincerity.
8The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
8. The distinction made between the people.
their strength--and the anointed--may indicate Absalom's rebellion as the occasion.
9Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.
9. The special prayer for the people sustains this view.
feed them--as a shepherd (Psa 23:1, &c.).