“I pray to you, O Lord, my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die. Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary. Do not drag me away with the wicked— with those who do evil— those who speak friendly words to their neighbors while planning evil in their hearts. Give them the punishment they so richly deserve! Measure it out in proportion to their wickedness. Pay them back for all their evil deeds! Give them a taste of what they have done to others. They care nothing for what the Lord has done or for what his hands have made. So he will tear them down, and they will never be rebuilt! Praise the Lord! For he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. The Lord gives his people strength. He is a safe fortress for his anointed king. Save your people! Bless Israel, your special possession. Lead them like a shepherd, and carry them in your arms forever.”
Psalms 28:1-9 NLT
At the heart of psalm 28 is understanding and discussion about the nature of power. It is about the source of strength and internal peace. David is called the man after God’s own heart by God. As such his word carries some weight on the subject. Given the nature of man and the trends within Christianity, you might erroneously believe that peace with God is derived by understanding your own strength afforded to you by the Imago Dei. That is to say, the image of God. This is the message of many sermons today which teach that Christ’s purpose was to unlock the untapped potential good all humans. Here David gives a very different message. He states that without God, he might as well stop living. His potential good is not enough to warrant another breath without God’s sustenance and intervention. It is in this way that God is his strength and shield. These are prescient examples of his relationship with God because they are part of a war metaphor. The idea is that in a battle, entering into the fray without God is as good as death. David actually lived this out when he fought Goliath. It is experiential wisdom for him. This is true wisdom for us. We ought to remember who God is and not think so highly of ourselves, but instead rely on God for passing through the valley of the shadow of death.
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