Bible Commentaries

1. My rock—My protection, defence, Deuteronomy 32:8. The Hebrew punctuation would make this the beginning of the second line thus:—

Unto thee, O Jehovah, will I call;

O my Rock, be not silent from me.

Silent to me—Silent from me; that is, do not turn from me in silence.

Pit—The grave, as Proverbs 28:17; Isaiah 38:18

2. I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle—The “oracle” was the inner sanctuary, or “holy of holies.” 1 Kings 6:16; 1 Kings 8:6. On praying with hands outspread towards the most holy place when exiled or absent, see Daniel 6:10

3. Draw me not away with the wicked—The same thought is conveyed in Psalms 26:9, where see note. David prays not to be involved in the punishment of the wicked, which in human eyes would seem to be done if he was subjected to their power, or to treatment similar to theirs. See Genesis 18:25; Ezekiel 22:20-21

4. Give them according to their deeds—The prayer of this verse is only that justice may obtain, not for purposes of private revenge, but of public safety. The character and designs of David’s enemies must be considered.

The nation was in the tumult of rebellion and the whirl of revolution. He was the king and father of his people; and for their sakes, and for righteousness’ sake, he prays for that interposition of penal judgment which alone could save the nation.

5. Because they regard not—Here is given the cause or reason of his prayer, (Psalms 28:4,) and of what follows.

He shall destroy them—The form of the verb is here declarative, not imperative, as in Psalms 28:4, which shows that it is for the fulfilment of the divine purpose that he prays, not for the gratification of private ends. See on Psalms 109

6. Blessed be the Lord—The psalm suddenly turns from prayer to praise.

Because he hath heard—The answer of prayer is the ground of David’s rejoicing. Some sudden turn of affairs, or the uprising of a new power of faith, gives assurance of his restoration to his throne and the sanctuary. Probably he wrote the former part of the psalm before, and the latter after, the battle and victory. 2 Samuel 18. This agrees with the preterites of Psalms 28:7 : “My heart trusted, and I have been helped,” etc.

8. Their strength—The pronoun, which may be either singular or plural, should be here rendered singular, as it corresponds with anointed (that is, the king) in the parallel line, which should read:—

“Jehovah is his strength,

Even the strength of the salvations of his Anointed is he.”

9. Save thy people—The burden of his soul was for God’s people. From this standpoint we must judge of all his utterances in prayer and praise. Psalms 3, 19, close in a similar way.