Psalm 28 is an interesting Psalm where the writer moves from an unknown threat to a song of thanks and praise. The “pit” is a metaphor for death or Sheol (cf. Job 7:9; Psalm 30:3; Psalm 88:6; Psalm 143:7). The writer struggles to escape the silence of God. How many times in our troubles do we feel like God is not there for us? Yet, the Psalmist cries out to God to hear him (Psalm 28:1-5). He is concerned about experiencing the ultimate punishment of wrongdoers. The Psalmist apparently is in worship and calls out for help and lifts his hands to God’s most holy sanctuary. Makes me think of the inadequacy of our contemporary worship experiences that often lack this type of sacrifice. We gather to worship to fulfill our religious duty, while the Psalmist gathers to cry out to God for help in a concern over substance (death) than trivia (our wants). The Psalmist is looking for justice and I wonder if his friends would have counseled him not to judge or that he needed to be more inclusive of his enemies. The Psalmist is not concerned about our contemporary feelings or political correctness. He sees clearly the wrongs people have done against God (Psalm 28:4-5). The bottom line is that God hears (Psalm 28:6) and the writer moves from his concern about the pit to praising God. I wonder if our worship experience moves us this way? Do we worship in fear of something? Is the conclusion a movement from fear of the pit to praise of God? The psalmist ends in Psalm 28:7-9 in praise. He recognizes God’s protection, he offers a song of thanks, he moves to seeing that God is the strength for all his people and not just an individual, he focuses on salvation, and he sees God as a shepherd carrying his people (cf. Isaiah 40:11).
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