Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 28:5
Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
5. Atheists in practice if not in profession, they deny that Jehovah governs the world, and refuse to discern His working in creation, in providence, and in judgement. Unbelief lies at the root of all their sin. The works of the Lord and the operation of his hands stand in strong contrast to their work and the operation of their hands in Psa 28:4. Compare the parallels to this and Psa 28:4 in Isa 1:16; Isa 3:8-11; Isa 5:12; Isa 5:19; Isa 22:11.
he shall destroy them ] Better with P.B.V. and R.V., he shall break them down. Cp. Jer 24:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Because they regard not the works of the Lord – What the Lord does in creation; in his providence; through His commands and laws; and by His Spirit. They do not find pleasure in His works; they do not give heed to the intimations of His will in His providential dealings; they do not listen to His commands; they do not yield to the influences of His Spirit. Nor the operation of his hands. What He is now doing. The sense is essentially the same as in the former member of the sentence.
He shall destroy them – He will pull them down, instead of building them up. They expose themselves to His displeasure, and He will bring deserved punishment upon them.
And not build them up – He will not favor them; He will not give them prosperity. Health, happiness, salvation are to be found only in conformity with the laws which God has ordained. Neither can be found in violating those laws, or in any other method than that which He has ordained. Sooner or later the violation of law, in regard to these things, and in regard to everything, must lead to calamity and ruin.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 5. They regard not the works of the Lord] They have no knowledge of the true God, either as to his nature, or as to his works.
He shall destroy them, and not build them up.] This is a remarkable prophecy, and was literally fulfilled: the Babylonian empire was destroyed by Cyrus, and never built up again; for he founded the Persian empire on its ruins. Even the place where Babylon stood is now no longer known.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, i.e. the providential works of God, both for and towards his church and people in general; the serious observation whereof would have made them afraid of opposing them, and desirous to join themselves with them; and for and towards me in particular, concerning whose succession to the kingdom God hath so expressly declared his mind and will, and to whom he hath given so many and such wonderful preservations, that they who will not acknowledge it, but continue to oppose it, may well be presumed to be guilty of rebellion against Gods will, and of the contempt of his providence.
He shall destroy them, and not build them up, i.e. destroy them utterly and irrecoverably, because they wilfully shut their eyes against the light of Gods word and works.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. Disregard of God’s judgmentsbrings a righteous punishment.
destroy . . . build . . .upThe positive strengthened by the negative form.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Because they regard not the works of the Lord,…. Neither the work of creation, as if there was no first cause of all things; nor the work of Providence, taking no notice either of the judgments or of the mercies of God; as though they believed that God had forsaken the earth, and would do neither good nor evil; and still less the work of redemption, which in covenant, promise, and prophecy, was appointed for the Messiah to work out; and as for the work of the Spirit of God upon the soul, they had no notion of that, of the nature and necessity of it; the things of the Spirit of God being foolishness to them, and undiscernible by them; see Isa 5:12. Perhaps the psalmist may have some regard to his being anointed by Samuel, according to the will of God, and to the victory which he obtained over Goliath, and over others, which justly gained him great esteem among some, and created envy in others; and also the wonderful protection of him from time to time; the Chaldee paraphrase is, “because they do not understand the law of the Lord”. It follows,
nor the operation of his hands; in which his hand was so very apparent, that nothing less could be said than that this was the finger of God; wherefore,
he shall destroy them, and not build them up; that is, they shall be irrecoverably lost; they shall be punished with everlasting destruction; there will be no help or remedy for them: some s understand this as a prayer, that God would destroy them in such a manner, and render it, “let him destroy them”, c. t.
s Kimchi in loc. Vid. Aben Ezram in loc. t “destruat eos”, Vatablus so the Arabic version.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
5. Because they regard not the doings of Jehovah. In this verse he lays open the root of impiety, declaring that the ungodly are so bold to do mischief, because, while they are thus indulging their hatred, and perpetrating every species of wickedness, they think that they have nothing to do with God. And when conscience stings them, they soothe themselves with false hopes, and at last stubbornly harden themselves into insensibility. First, being intoxicated with prosperity, they flatter themselves that God is their friend, while he has no regard for those good men who are overwhelmed with so many afflictions; and, next, they persuade themselves that the world is governed by chance, thus blinding themselves in the midst of the clear light of day. In this manner, David’s adversaries, willingly ignorant that God had appointed him to be king, emboldened themselves to persecute him. He therefore complains of their gross ignorance of this, just as Isaiah (Isa 5:20) brings the same complaint, in general terms, against all the ungodly of his days. This doctrine, then, has a twofold use. First, it is no small consolation to the children of God to be persuaded, while they are unrighteously vexed, that by the providence of God they are thus profitably exercised to patience; and that while the affairs of this world are all in a state of disturbance and confusion, God nevertheless sits supreme in heaven conducting and governing all things. (598) In the second place, this is a very proper curb to subdue the passions of our flesh, that we may not, like the Andabates, (599) contend in the dark, and with shut eyes, as if God saw not and cared not about what is done here below. Let us, therefore, learn carefully to consider that the judgments which God executes are just so many proofs of his righteousness in governing mankind, and that although all things should be huddled together in confusion, the eye of faith should be directed to heaven, to consider God’s secret judgments. And as God never ceases, even in the midst of the greatest darkness, to give some tokens of his providence, it is inexcusable indolence not to attend to them. This perverseness the prophet aggravates, by repeating again, the works of God’s hands He thus intimates, that the ungodly, by recklessly pursuing their course, trample under foot whatever of God’s works they may meet with to check their madness.
Let him destroy them, and not build them up. Some are of opinion that the first part of this verse is the nominative in the room of a substantive to the verbs in the last clause; as if David had said, This brutal madness shall destroy them; but the name of God should rather be supplied, and then the context will run excellently. As the verbs, however, in the Hebrew are in the future tense (600) the sentence may be explained as meaning that David now assures himself of the destruction of the reprobates for which he had lately prayed. I do not reject this interpretation; but, in my opinion, the words are just a continuance of his petitions. In this way, he prays that the wicked may be overthrown, so as not to rise again, or recover their former state. The expression, Let him destroy them, and not build them up, is a common figure of speech among the Hebrews, according to what Malachi says concerning Edom, “Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, They shall build, but I shall throw down,” (Mal 1:4.) Lest we should be struck, therefore, with an incurable plague, let us learn to awake our minds to the consideration of God’s works, that we may be taught to fear him, to persevere in patience, and to advance in godliness.
(598) “ Conduisant et gouvernant toutes choses.” — Fr.
(599) “ C’estoyent certains peuples ou escrimeurs qui souloyent ainsi comme etre. Voyez les Chiliades d’Erasme.” — Note, Fr. marg. “These were certain people or fencers, who were wont to fight in this manner. See the Chiliades of Erasmus. ”
(600) “He will destroy them, and not build them up.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) The works of the Lord, nor the operation of his handsi.e., His strict and even-handed justice, which the wicked forget or, deceived by appearances (Isa. 5:19), ignore. For the contrast between build up and pull down, compare Jer. 42:10. This verse is in that prophets style (Jer. 1:10; Jer. 18:9).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Because they regard not Here is given the cause or reason of his prayer, (Psa 28:4,) and of what follows.
He shall destroy them The form of the verb is here declarative, not imperative, as in Psa 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
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 28:5 Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
Ver. 5. Because they regard not the works of the Lord ] That is, saith Kimchi, the worship of God they care not for; but follow the vanities of the world. Or, the works of God in heaven and earth; the consideration whereof is a part of God’s worship. Or, “they regard not the works of the Lord,” that is, the first making; nor
The operation of his hands
He shall destroy them, and not build them up
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
works = deeds.
operation = actual execution. Some codices plural, as in note above.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Because: Psa 10:5, Psa 92:4-6, Psa 104:24, Psa 111:2-4, Job 34:26, Job 34:27, Isa 5:12, Isa 22:11, Isa 26:9-11, Hos 14:9, Joh 12:37, Rom 1:20, Rom 1:28
operation: Psa 8:3, Psa 19:1, Psa 19:2, Num 23:23, Isa 40:26, Isa 45:8, Isa 45:12, Isa 45:18, Jer 10:12, Jer 10:13, Eph 1:19-21
not build: 2Sa 7:13, 2Sa 7:27, 1Ki 11:38, Jer 31:4, Jer 32:20, Jer 32:21
Reciprocal: Job 36:24 – magnify Psa 77:11 – General Psa 107:43 – is wise Isa 26:10 – and will not
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 28:5. Because they regard not the works of the Lord The providential works of God, both for and toward his church and people, by which works he manifests himself, declares his mind and will, and speaks to the children of men; and a serious observation of which would have made them afraid of opposing Gods people, or of attempting to obstruct Gods designs in their favour. It is justly observed by Henry here, that a stupid regardlessness of the works of God is the cause of the sin of sinners, and so becomes the cause of their ruin. Why do men question the being and attributes of God, but because they do not duly regard the operations of his hands, which declare his glory, and in which the invisible things of him are clearly seen? Why do men forget him, and live without him; nay, affront him, and live in rebellion against him, but because they consider not the instances of that wrath of his which is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men? Why do the enemies of Gods people hate and persecute them, and devise mischief against them, but because they regard not the works God has wrought for his church, by which he has made it appear how dear it is to him? See Isa 5:12.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
28:5 Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall {e} destroy them, and not build them up.
(e) Let them be utterly destroyed as in Mal 1:4.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. Confident praise for deliverance 28:5-8
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
David was sure the wicked would fail in their purposes since they did not acknowledge the Lord’s works.