Keep Me From Temptation Series

June 24, 2014

Tom Lowe

Psalm 28 (KJV)

Title: Keep Me From Temptation

A Psalm of David.

Psalm 28 (KJV)

1 Unto 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.

2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.

3 Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.

4 Give 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.

5 Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.

6 Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.

7 The 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.

8 The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.

9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

Introduction

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 its author 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 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.

Commentary

1 Unto 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.

Unto thee will I cry

David is conscious of being in danger—the danger of being drawn away from God and into the company of wicked men. In such circumstances he cannot rely upon his own strength or on his own faithfulness; or on his own heart or on his fellowmen. He felt that the only place where he could find safety was with God, and therefore, he earnestly prays for God to save him.

O Lord my rock

The idea in this expression is that he owed his safety entirely to God. He had been like a rock to him, a tower, a buckler, etc. (see Psalm 18:2)—that is, he had obtained from God the protection which a rock, a tower, a citadel, a buckler furnished to those who depended on them. The word "rock" here has reference to the fact that in times of danger a lofty rock would be sought as a place of safety, or that men would flee to it to escape from their enemies. Such rocks abounded in Palestine, and due to the fact that they are elevated and difficult to access, and because those who fled to them could find shelter behind their projecting crags, or since they could find security in their deep and dark caverns, they became places of refuge in times of danger; and they often provided protection when it could not be found in the plains or the forests below.

Be not silent to me

The idea is that of one who will not speak to us, or who will not listen or pay attention to us. We pray, and we expect God to "answer" our prayers, or, so to say, we expect God to "speak" to us; that is, for the Holy Spirit to express words of kindness; His Word to assure us of His favor, and declare our sins forgiven.