Psalm 28
Psalms 28:1-9 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. Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts. Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back upon them what they deserve. Since they show no regard for the works of the Lord and what his hands have done, he will tear them down and never build them up again. Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.
The contents of this Psalm do not provide any indication as to the time or the circumstances of its composition. The theme is the strong affection of the author for those who respect and love God. In it, he brings up his strong desire to be associated with them in uprightness and purpose; his earnest wish is that he might not be lured away from them and that his lot in life might not be with the wicked. It would seem from the psalm itself, especially from verse 3, that it was composed during a time when David was under some powerful temptation from the wicked, or when there were strong enticements offered by them which tended to lead him back to his old companions who were strangers to God; and, under this temptation, he speaks this earnest prayer, and considers why he should not yield to these influences.
The psalm is especially appropriate to those of us who are in danger of being led astray by the acts of the wicked, or who are being tempted to associate with the irresponsible, the sensual, and the worldly, or to whom strong incentives are offered to mingle in their pleasures, their vices, and their wildness. They are probably those who before their conversion were the companions of the ungodly, and enjoyed participating in their unwholesome activities, but have been rescued from them. They may have picked up their habits of self-indulgence or sensuality, and now they feel the power of the habit returning to tempt them and are invited by their former friends to join them again. They find themselves in the condition envisioned in the Psalm and will find its sentiments applicable to their experience.
We all have moments when we desire to return to the graveyard where we buried the old man and his ways. It is past time we drop our shovels and leave the cemetery. Nothing good lingers there.
PRAY
Father, deliver us from the evil one.