Psalm 28 - A Prayer for Salvation -

Prayer for Salvation

Text: Psalm 28

Salvation is in God’s voice (vss 1-3)

His voice keeps me from falling
The difference maker is the voice of the LORD.
Need God to tell me what He likes otherwise, I’ll assume if I like it, God likes it, like Cain did
Need God to tell me what He means otherwise I’ll assume he means what I think, as in the case of loving as Christ loved.
Need God to tell me what I’m doing because All my ways are clean and good in my eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. What you do will be right to you until God shines light on it for you. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. … Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Need God to tell me who He is like Christ told Peter, Flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto you

They lie with mischief in their heart. There are people you don’t like. Maybe good reason, maybe no good reason. There are people you don’t get along with for whatever reason. As best you can, you just try to live at peace with these people. But this is about laying a trap for someone else. This is about pain, existential pain. These people design the death of someone they don’t like. These people design cutting off the livelihood of someone they don’t like.
They believe their own lies. They think they are doing good because they say good things to people.
David asks the LORD to match their energy. Except the LORD has many more resources to do this. According to their own ways, their own motives, their own works, answer these people.
Their problem is they keep thinking they do stuff in the dark. They keep thinking their hate is hidden. They keep thinking their mischief is hidden. They make enemies of people in God’s will, which then makes them enemies of God.

That means prayer was specific and answerable.
We want God to hear us more than we want to pay attention to what He says.
Is the LORD your strength? How? Is the LORD your shield? How?
David’s trust is the theme. It brings salvation.
- I don’t always feel like this is true and you don’t either if you’re honest. There are things that I’ve trusted the LORD for that have caused pain. There are things I struggle with that I’ve put in the LORD’s hands and they’ve brought hurt.
- One of the reasons I appreciate David’s wisdom in recording these things is because he knows trusting the LORD is not a “one day I trusted the LORD” type of thing. It’s often a battle. It’s often filled with landmines that other people set out knowingly or unknowingly. You’re often sabotaged by your own expectations and thoughts.
David doesn’t pretend it’s that easy to say, Oh, I trust God and it’s all OK. David is honest about his relationship with God.
Do you know why your relationship to God’s truth, to God’s help, has suffered? Because you’re not being honest about your relationship.
One thing you know and are probably witnessing in government is that transparency, light, honesty, solves a myriad of problems. And the person we have the most trouble being honest with first is me.
And that’s how this psalm started. LORD, don’t be silent, otherwise I’m trapped in my own dying world.

Prayer for Salvation