Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 28:6
Blessed [be] the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
6, 7. Thanksgiving succeeds to prayer. Are we to suppose that faith realises the answer to its prayer as already granted, and can give thanks accordingly? or that this conclusion was added by the Psalmist subsequently as a grateful memorial of his deliverance? Either alternative is possible; but here and in Psa 31:21-24 we seem to have a record of actual deliverance, Psa 6:8 ff. is somewhat different.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications – This is one of those passages which frequently occur in the Psalms, when there has been an earnest and anxious prayer offered to God, and when the answer to the prayer seems to be immediate. The mind of the anxious and troubled pleader becomes calm; the promises of God are brought directly to the soul; the peace which was sought is obtained; and he who began the psalm with deep anxiety and trouble of mind, rejoices at the close of it in the evidences of the divine favor and love. What thus happened to the psalmist frequently occurs now. The answer to prayer, so far as giving calmness and assurance to the mind is concerned, is often immediate. The troubled spirit becomes calm; and whatever may be the result in other respects, the heart is made peaceful and confiding, and feels the assurance that all will be well. It is sufficient for us to feel that God hears us, for if this is so, we have the assurance that all is right. In this sense, certainly, it is right to look for an immediate answer to our prayers. See Isa 65:24, note; Dan 9:21, note.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 28:6-8
Blessed be the Lord, because He hath heard.
A thanksgiving truly inspired
These verses throw light upon the religious experience of the psalmist, and from them we learn–
I. That his experience testified of answers to his prayer. There are two ways in which God answers prayer–
1. Sometimes by granting the thing sought. Thus the prayers of Elijah, Moses, Hezekiah, were often answered, and thus the prayers of His people, in all ages, have sometimes been answered.
2. Sometimes by endowing the suppliant with the spirit of resignation to the Divine will. This is the most general, and the most efficient way. Acquiescence in the Divine will is the highest strength and happiness of moral beings.
II. That his experience assured him of divine assistance.
1. Strength What is the highest strength? Moral strength, strength arising from an unbounded confidence in God; strength to brave perils with a fearless heart; strength to endure trials without repining; strength to labour and to wait.
2. Shield. Jehovah was his protector. No weapons can penetrate Omnipotence. He is the All-sufficient Guardian of His people; under them are His everlasting arms.
III. That his experience involved a conscious trust in Jehovah. My heart trusted in Him. This is something more than to believe in His existence, His government, His claims, His Word; it is to exercise unbounded confidence in Him, in His character and procedure, in both His ability and disposition to help us. Because David trusted in Him, he said, I am helped. There is no help for the soul without this trust in God.
IV. That his experience was identified with exultant gratitude. Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth. True religion is happiness; happiness was the end of Christs interposition. These things have I spoken unto you, that your joy might be full. There is no genuine religion where there is no happiness. (Homilist.)
A glorious answer
1. Immediately given.
2. Gratefully received.
3. Rejoicingly acknowledged. (J. E. Scott.)
The fact of answered prayer demonstrated
That God hears prayer is abundantly proved in the experience of George Muller and his successor in the management of his great orphanages. He made vast plans, requiring an annual expenditure of 46,000. He never went into debt. He had not a penny of assured income. And yet his orphans never went hungry to bed. He reckoned some 30,000 direct and wonderful answers to prayers received on the very day of his asking. He never made a request of man, but he received in this way of private prayer more than 800,000 to carry on his vast undertakings. Mr. W. T. Stead considers George Mullers life to be a triumphant scientific experiment regarding the power of prayer. (A. R. Wells.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
He speaks of it as past, either because God had in part heard and answered him already, or because God assured him by his Spirit that he had heard and accepted his prayers, and would assuredly answer him in due time.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. supplicationsor, “criesfor mercy.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Blessed [be] the Lord,…. Which must be understood, not as invoking nor as conferring a blessing on him, neither of which can be done by a creature; nor does he stand in need of any, he being Elshaddai, God all sufficient, God over all, blessed for ever; but as ascribing all blessedness to him, congratulating his greatness and happiness, and giving him praise and glory for mercies received; and particularly for the following:
because he hath heard the voice of my supplications; what he had prayed for, Ps 28:2; an answer was quickly returned, even while he was speaking, Isa 65:24; though this may be an expression of faith, being fully persuaded and assured that he was heard, and would be answered, and may be said by a prophetic spirit; knowing that what he had humbly asked for would be granted; so Aben Ezra and Kimchi understand it in a way of prophecy.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The first half of the Psalm prayed for deliverance and for judgment; this second half gives thanks for both. If the poet wrote the Psalm at one sitting then at this point the certainty of being answered dawns upon him. But it is even possible that he added this second part later on, as a memorial of the answer he experienced to his prayer (Hitzig, Ewald). It sounds, at all events, like the record of something that has actually taken place. Jahve is his defence and shield. The conjoined perfects in Psa 28:7 denote that which is closely united in actual realisation; and in the fut. consec., as is frequently the case, e.g., in Job 14:2, the historical signification retreats into the background before the more essential idea of that which has been produced. In , the song is conceived as the spring whence the bubble forth; and instead of we have the more impressive form , as in Ps 45:18; Psa 116:6; 1Sa 17:47, the syncope being omitted. From suffering ( Leid) springs song ( Lied), and from song springs the praise ( Lob) of Him, who has “turned” the suffering, just as it is attuned in Psa 28:6 and Psa 28:8.
(Note: There is a play of words and an alliteration in this sentence which we cannot fully reproduce in the English. – Tr.)
The , who are intended by in Psa 28:8, are those of Israel, as in Psa 12:8; Isa 33:2 (Hitzig). The lxx ( ) reads , as in Psa 29:11, which is approved by Bttcher, Olshausen and Hupfeld; but yields a similar sense. First of all David thinks of the people, then of himself; for his private character retreats behind his official, by virtue of which he is the head of Israel. For this very reason his deliverance is the deliverance of Israel, to whom, so far as they have become unfaithful to His anointed, Jahve has not requited this faithlessness, and to whom, so far as they have remained true to him, He has rewarded this fidelity. Jahve is a a si evhaJ to them, inasmuch as He preserves them by His might from the destruction into which they would have precipitated themselves, or into which others would have precipitated them; and He is the of His anointed inasmuch as He surrounds him as an inaccessible place of refuge which secures to him salvation in all its fulness instead of the destruction anticipated. Israel’s salvation and blessing were at stake; but Israel is in fact God’s people and God’s inheritance – may He, then, work salvation for them in every future need and bless them. Apostatised from David, it was a flock in the hands of the hireling – may He ever take the place of shepherd to them and carry them in His arms through the destruction. The coupled with (thus it is to be pointed according to Ben-Asher) calls to mind Deu 1:31, “Jahve carried Israel as a man doth carry his son,” and Exo 19:4; Deu 32:11, “as on eagles’ wings.” The Piel, as in Isa 63:9, is used of carrying the weak, whom one lifts up and thus removes out of its helplessness and danger. Psa 3:1-8 closes just in the same way with an intercession; and the close of Psa 29:1-11 is similar, but promissory, and consequently it is placed next to Psa 28:1-9.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Devout Thanksgiving and Praise. | |
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.
In these verses,
I. David gives God thanks for the audience of his prayers as affectionately as a few verses before he had begged it: Blessed be the Lord, v. 6. How soon are the saints’ sorrows turned into songs and their prayers into praises! It was in faith that David prayed (v. 2), Hear the voice of my supplications; and by the same faith he gives thanks (v. 6) that God has heard the voice of his supplications. Note, 1. Those that pray in faith may rejoice in hope. “He hath heard me (graciously accepted me) and I am as sure of a real answer as if I had it already.” 2. What we win by prayer we must wear by praise. Has God heard our supplications? Let us then bless his name.
II. He encourages himself to hope in God for the perfecting of every thing that concerned him. Having given to God the glory of his grace (v. 6), he is humbly bold to take the comfort of it, v. 7. This is the method of attaining peace: let us begin with praise that is attainable. Let us first bless God and then bless ourselves. Observe, 1. His dependence upon God: “The Lord is my strength, to support me, and carry me on, through all my services and sufferings. He is my shield, to protect me from all the malicious designs of my enemies against me. I have chosen him to be so, I have always found him so, and I expect he will still be so.” 2. His experience of the benefits of that dependence: “My heart trusted in him, and in his power and promise; and it has not been in vain to do so, for I am helped, I have been often helped; not only God has given to me, in his due time, the help I trusted to him for, but my very trusting in him has helped me, in the mean time, and kept me from fainting.” Ps. xxvii. 13. The very actings of faith are present aids to a dropping spirit, and often help it at a dead lift. 3. His improvement of this experience. (1.) He had the pleasure of it: Therefore my heart greatly rejoices. The joy of a believer is seated in the heart, while, in the laughter of the fool, the heart is sorrowful. It is great joy, joy unspeakable and full of glory. The heart that truly believes shall in due time greatly rejoice; it is joy and peace in believing that we are to expect. (2.) God shall have the praise of it: when my heart greatly rejoices, with my song will I praise him. This must we express our gratitude; it is the least we can do; and others will hereby be invited and encouraged to trust in him too.
III. He pleases himself with the interest which all good people, through Christ, have in God (v. 8): “The Lord is their strength; not mine only, but the strength of every believer.” Note, The saints rejoice in their friends’ comforts as well as their own; for, as we have not the less benefit from the light of the sun, so neither from the light of Gods’ countenance, for others’ sharing therein; for we are sure there is enough for all and enough for each. This is our communion with all saints, that God is their strength and ours, Christ their Lord and ours, 1 Cor. i. 2. He is their strength, the strength of all Israel, because he is the saving strength of his anointed, that is, 1. Of David in the type. God, in strengthening him that was their king and fought their battles, strengthened the whole kingdom. He calls himself God’s anointed because it was the unction he had received that exposed him to the envy of his enemies, and therefore entitled him to the divine protection. 2. Of Christ, his anointed, his Messiah, in the anti-type. God was his saving strength, qualified him for his undertaking and carried him through it; see Psa 89:21; Isa 49:5; Isa 50:7; Isa 50:9. And so he becomes their strength, the strength of all the saints; he strengthened him that is the church’s head, and from him diffuses strength to all the members, has commanded his strength, and so strengthens what he has wrought for us;Psa 68:28; Psa 68:80; Psa 68:17; Psa 68:18.
IV. He concludes with a short but comprehensive prayer for the church of God, v. 9. He prays for Israel, not as his people (“save my people, and bless my inheritance”), though they were so, but, “thine.” God’s interest in them lay nearer his heart than his own. We are thy people is a good plea, Isa 64:9; Isa 63:19. I am thine, save me. God’s people are his inheritance, dear to him, and precious in his eyes; what little glory he has from this world he has from them. The Lord’s portion is his people. That which he begs of God for them is, 1. That he would save them from their enemies and the dangers they were exposed to. 2. That he would bless them with all good, flowing from his favour, in performance of his promise, and amounting to a happiness for them. 3. That he would feed them, bless them with plenty, and especially the plenty of his ordinances, which are food to the soul. Rule them; so the margin. “Direct their counsels and actions aright, and overrule their affairs for good. Feed them, and rule them; sets pastors, set rulers, over them, that shall do their office with wisdom and understanding.” 4. That he would lift them up for ever, lift them up out of their troubles and distresses, and do this, not only for those of that age, but for his people in every age to come, even to the end. “Lift them up into thy glorious kingdom, lift them up as high as heaven.” There, and there only, will the saints be lifted up for ever, never more to sink or be depressed. Observe, Those, and those only, whom God feeds and rules, who are willing to be taught, and guided, and governed, by him, shall be saved, and blessed, and lifted up for ever.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
6. Blessed be Jehovah, who hath heard. This is the second part of the psalm in which the prophet begins to give thanks to God. We have already seen how he employed himself in prayer in the midst of his dangers; and now by this thanksgiving he teaches us that his prayers were not in vain. Thus he confirms by his own example, that God is ready to bring help to his people whenever they seek him in truth and sincerity. He declares the same truth more fully in the next verse, calling God his strength and his shield; for he was persuaded that God had heard him from this, that he had been wonderfully preserved. He adds, that he had been helped in respect of his confidence and hope; for it often comes to pass, that those who call upon God, notwithstanding come short of his grace through their own unbelief. Thirdly, he says that he will add to his joy a testimony of his gratitude. Wicked men and hypocrites flee to God when they are overwhelmed with difficulties, but as soon as they escape from them, forgetting their deliverer, they rejoice with frantic mirth. In short, David trusted not in vain, since he truly found by experience that God possesses ever present power to preserve his servants; and that this was matter of true and solid joy to him, that he found God ever favorable to him. On this account, likewise, he promises that he would be mindful of God, and grateful to him. And undoubtedly, when God spreads cheerfulness through our hearts, it is to open our mouths to sing his praises.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) This burst of thanksgiving, breaking in on the poets prayer, has led to the supposition that an interval elapsed between the composition of the former part of the psalm and this verse, and that the writer takes up his pen to record the answer his supplications have received. Others regard the psalm as composed by the union of two distinct pieces. Others again treat Psa. 28:6 as an interpolation. It certainly seems discordant with the rhythm as well as with the sense of the rest.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Blessed be the Lord The psalm suddenly turns from prayer to praise.
Because he hath heard The answer of prayer is the ground of David’s rejoicing. Some sudden turn of affairs, or the uprising of a new power of faith, gives assurance of his restoration to his throne and the sanctuary. Probably he wrote the former part of the psalm before, and the latter after, the battle and victory. 2 Samuel 18. This agrees with the preterites of Psa 28:7: “My heart trusted, and I have been helped,” etc.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
He Rejoices Because He Knows That YHWH Has Heard Him And Will Be His Strength ( Psa 28:6-7 ).
His thoughts now become more positive. The negative was necessary, but now he begins to look upward. He has prayed through to a point of confidence and faith. And the more he prays the greater his faith. (‘This kind goes out only through prayer’ – Mar 9:29, for it is prayer that produces growth in faith).
Psa 28:6
‘Blessed be YHWH, because he has heard
The voice of my supplications.’
He begins by blessing God for having heard his pleas. The fears of Psa 28:1 b have departed, and he praises Him for listening to his supplications. It is a reminder to us that however dead our prayers might appear, if we genuinely approach Him in Jesus’ Name (with His good in mind, not ours), we can be sure that they are being attended to.
Psa 28:7
‘YHWH is my strength and my shield,
My heart has trusted in him, and I am helped,
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song will I praise him.
And having blessed God, he now firmly establishes himself on what he knows about Him. It is He Who is the source of his strength, and is the great shield behind which he can take shelter. He knows that YHWH the Mighty Warrior, the God of battle, is acting on his behalf, both positively to give him the victory, and negatively to keep him from all harm, and that he is being helped. No wonder then that his heart rejoices and he is filled with praise. He knows that one with God is a majority. Note the order. He meditates on what God is on His behalf, then he is helped, and this causes him to rejoice in his heart, with the result that the praises break forth from his mouth.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Here is a sweet hosanna. It was first sung by Christ, and may be well sung by all his redeemed in him. Reader, do not overtook the benediction in the close of it. Is not this another view of Jesus? Remember how Aaron was commanded to bless the people, as a type of Christ, in his everlasting priesthood. Num 6:22 , etc.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 28:6 Blessed [be] the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
Ver. 6. Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard, &c. ] God will one day turn the prayers of his people into praises. David, Psa 28:1 , had said, Be not silent to me; here, Blessed be God, for he hath answered me. So Jehoshaphat had his Baca soon turned into Berachah, 2Ch 20:18-19 . See David’s syllogism; and mark his conclusion, Psa 66:18-20 , not according to the rules of logic, but better.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 28:6-9
6Blessed be the Lord,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplication.
7The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart exults,
And with my song I shall thank Him.
8The Lord is their strength,
And He is a saving defense to His anointed.
9Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;
Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.
Psa 28:6-9 A radical mood swing occurs at Psa 28:6. This strophe spells out the reasons why YHWH is to be blessed (Psa 28:6 a).
1. He hears his prayer
2. He is both his strength and shield
3. He is his refuge
In Psa 28:8-9 the focus changes from the King (i.e., His anointed) to His covenant people. As YHWH saved the King, may he now save His people! This fluidity between the singular and plural is common in the Psalms.
Blessed be the Lord This is a recurrent theme in the Psalms. He is blessed by His faithful followers for many reasons, but all of them come back to who He is and what He has done! This phrase became a liturgical formula (cf. Psa 18:46; Psa 28:6; Psa 31:21; Psa 41:13; Psa 66:20; Psa 68:35; Psa 72:18; Psa 89:52; Psa 106:48; Psa 119:12; Psa 124:6; Psa 135:21; Psa 144:1). Let all that has breath praise the Lord!
Psa 28:7 As Psa 28:3; Psa 28:5 describe the wicked, Psa 28:7 describes the faithful follower.
1. his heart trusts in Him BDB 105, KB 1200, Qal perfect, cf. Psa 112:7 (note the theological connection between human’s trust and divine deliverance/salvation, cf. Psa 22:4-5; Psa 25:1-3; Psa 28:7; Psa 31:14-15; Psa 86:2; see note at NIDOTTE, vol. 1, p. 646)
2. he is helped by God BDB 740, KB 810, Niphal perfect
3. his heart exults BDB 759, KB 831, Qal imperfect with waw
4. he thanks Him with song BDB 392, KB 389, Hiphil imperfect (continual praise)
Just a brief comment about the MT verses the LXX. There was probably a more ancient Hebrew text behind both of them. There are MSS in the DSS that follow the MT and others follow the LXX. The early church used the LXX almost exclusively. Psa 28:7 is a good example of their translating a different Hebrew text. The LXX has (see note in AB, p. 173)
The Lord is my helper and my protector; in him my heart hoped,
And I was helped and my flesh revived, and from my will I shall acknowledge him.
shield See note at Psa 3:3-6.
Psa 28:8 their The UBS Text Project (p. 208) gives to His people a C rating (i.e., considerable doubt).
1. to them (NKJV, JPSOA)
2. to His people (NRSV, TEV, NJB, REB)
The Septuagint uses #2, as do some Hebrew manuscripts. Apparently one Hebrew letter has fallen out of the MT.
His anointed See similar usage in Psa 18:50. See SPECIAL TOPIC: MESSIAH .
Psa 28:9 There is a series of imperatives directed in prayer to YHWH, beseeching Him to act on behalf of the covenant people.
1. save BDB 446, KB 448, Hiphil imperative, cf. Psa 106:47, see Special Topic: Salvation (OT)
2. bless BDB 138, KB 159, Piel imperative, see Special Topic: Blessed (OT)
3. shepherd BDB 944, KB 1258, Qal imperative (The NASB Study Bible [p. 765] makes the comment that shepherd links up with Psalms 23 and probably marks off Psalms 23-28 as a collection of psalms linked by several common themes)
4. carry (i.e., lift up), Piel imperative, cf. Isa 40:11; Isa 63:9
Several Psalms close with a corporate focus (i.e., Psa 3:8; Psa 14:7; Psa 25:22; Psa 29:11; Psa 51:18-19; Psa 130:8).
Your inheritance YHWH gave a land allotment to all the nations (cf. Deu 32:9), but the descendants of Abraham were His special people (cf. Exo 19:5-6; 1Ki 8:51; Psa 33:12). He showed this by His promised exodus out of Egypt (cf. Gen 15:12-21). He displayed His power and love (cf. Deu 9:29). Moses beseeched YHWH not to judge His sinful people because the pagan nations would not understand (cf. Deu 9:26-29). His people were meant to reveal His character to all nations (see Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan ). But if they continued in sin and idolatry there was rejection (cf. Psa 106:40; Eze 36:22-23).
forever See Special Topic: Forever (‘olam).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. What is the OT view of death?
2. Is Psa 28:4 the same truth as Gal 6:7?
3. Is Psa 28:5 c related to Isa 6:9-10 or Jer 1:10?
4. Why do psalms that reflect an individual’s thoughts and situation end in communal imperatives?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Psa 28:6-7
Psa 28:6-7
“Blessed is Jehovah,
Because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
Jehovah is my strength and my shield;
My heart hath trusted in him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth;
And with my song will I praise him.”
“He hath heard the voice of my supplications” (Psa 28:6). This man, when he stood praying, believed that he had what he asked, and, so, believing, had it. There was no change in circumstances, but he was changed. Now there was no fear of going down into the pit, and the dread of the evil-doers disappeared.
We may receive Maclaren’s comment here as a valid deduction from what Jesus said, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Mat 21:22).
“I am helped … will greatly rejoice .., and will praise him” (Psa 28:7). The expression of such confidence begins with the statement that, “Jehovah is my strength,” of which Adam Clarke declared the meaning to be, “I have the fullest persuasion that God hears, will answer, and will save me.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 28:6. Blessed usually means “happy,” and when applied to God it means he is to be praised because he gives happiness to others. He had given it to David in answer to his supplications.
Psa 28:7. Strength would enable David to perform the service desired by the Lord, and shield would protect him in the performance of it. This help came to David because he trusted in the Lord. As an expression of his appreciation for the favors, David praised God with songs.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Psa 31:21, Psa 31:22, Psa 66:19, Psa 66:20, Psa 69:33, Psa 69:34, Psa 107:19-22, Psa 116:1, Psa 116:2, Psa 118:5
Reciprocal: Job 33:26 – pray Isa 30:18 – blessed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 28:6-7. Blessed be the Lord, &c. How soon are the sorrows of the saints turned into joy, and their prayers into praises! It was in faith David prayed, Psa 28:2, Hear the voice of my supplication, and by the same faith he now gives thanks that God had heard his voice They that pray in faith may rejoice in hope. My heart trusteth in him, and I am helped God had in part heard and answered him already; and, it seems, had assured him by his Spirit that he would more fully answer and grant his requests.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
28:6 {f} Blessed [be] the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
(f) Because he felt the assurance of God’s help in his heart, his mouth was opened to sing his praises.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Consequently, David praised the Lord. He believed God had heard his prayer because the Lord had promised to hear the prayers of the godly. The Lord was David’s source of strength and defense, so he knew his attackers would fail. Furthermore, Yahweh consistently saved and defended His people and His anointed king.