Overview
As we learn from Psalm 28, David was greatly distressed because he had received no immediate answer to his prayer, yet he knew he could cry out to the Lord, for He was compassionate, kind, and loving. He knew he could depend upon God for deliverance, for He was almighty and just. He felt, however, confused and frightened at the apparent silence of God. It appears that God had delayed His answer to David, just as we may find with our prayers today. But we can be sure that if we are blameless before God and persistent in prayer (keep on knocking), He will answer in His own perfect timing. Surely, the delay is for a purpose, and because of His infinite wisdom we can be sure that all things will work together for good to those who love God (Romans 8:28).
If God, His Rock, did not intervene very soon, David felt he would die. He urgently appealed for God to hear him, for if he had no communion with God, he feared he would suffer the same fate as the wicked: death in the pit (cf. Psalm 88:4). He asked God to protect him from his wicked foes and not include him with them, for he knew God's wrath and retribution awaited them. These people were guilty of hypocrisy (28:3b), forsaking God and denying His power (28:5). David prayed that God would give them their just deserts, according to the measure of their wickedness. Similarity, the Apostle Paul saw wickedness and condemned it (Romans 1:18, 28, 32).
Suddenly, there is a change in tone (28:6). David finally got the victory, causing his outburst of praise and worship! God answered him because David trusted in Him (28:7). David did not lose his faith and confidence in God as His deliverer, even when God seemed so distant. Since David, the king, was strengthened by God, so also were his subjects whom he dearly loved; therefore, he prayed that God would continue to bless and shepherd His people Israel.
The majestic, poetic hymn of Psalm 29 calls for universal praise and worship to the Lord, since He alone is worthy as the King of all creation, having power over all the forces of nature. The psalmist points to the raging thunderstorm as yet another manifestation of the glory and power of God, which is not only seen but is heard as the powerful and awesome "voice of the Lord" (mentioned seven times). The loud thunder of His voice extends westward over the Mediterranean, northward over the forests of Lebanon, and southward over the wilderness of Kadesh; thus it is echoing and having a great effect over the entirety of the Holy Land, attesting to His majestic presence among His people. It causes everyone to shout, "Glory!", for the Lord God of Israel is the all-powerful King of the world forever. It would have been reassuring for the people of Israel to know that the Almighty, who is able to cause and control the thunderstorms, was on their side to save and protect them. He who can bring great havoc, should He choose, is also the God who can bless His people with great peace, even in the midst of the storm.
Psalm 30 relates the experience of David at a point when he had escaped death, possibly from a serious illness. His miraculous recovery brought great joy to the nation and caused David to exalt the Lord, his healer and deliverer. Now David's foes could no longer rejoice at his suffering or death. This experience caused him to lead the faithful people of Israel in praises to the Lord who had turned their night of weeping into a morning of joy; their mourning into dancing.
After going through the suffering, David had learned that it was God, and God alone, that made his "mountain stand strong" (30:7). His prosperity had caused David to become proud and boast in his self-sufficiency: "I shall not be moved [shaken]" (30:6), but with this, God hid His face from him, and then the troubles came (cf. 1 Peter 5:5-10). His near death situation caused him to realize his total dependency upon God, so that he humbly cried out for mercy, healing, and for God to be his "helper" (30:10). As he pleaded with God to spare his life, David came to understand more fully the purpose of his life on earth: to glorify God and declare His truth to others as a witness for Him. The Apostle Paul also desired to live that he might be a witness for Jesus, but he, having the fuller revelation of God, had a greater understanding of the glorious after-life that awaits the believer (Philippians 2:21-24).
|
