Psalm 28 - 3.20.26

Scripture: Psalm 28:6-9

Praise be to the Lord,
    for he has heard my cry for mercy.

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
    and with my song I praise him. 

The Lord is the strength of his people,
    a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

Save your people and bless your inheritance;
    be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Observation:

We can praise God for he hears our cry for mercy.

He himself is our strength.  I always say,  “He gives strength.” It says “He is our strength”.  This wording stood out to me.  I hadn’t noticed this before, He “IS”, what a concept.  Not something I have to muster up and do, but just like on the cross He took my place.

He is also our shield, this is used in battle to protect the soldier from attack.

WHEN I Trust HIM, He helps me.  We have to choose to trust and surrender to God.  Then, He will help us.

He is a “fortress of salvation for his anointed one.”  A fortress surrounds us and does a lot more than a shield.  Salvation is something that can’t be touched by outside forces.

Then, David makes a request of God to save “your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.”

David began this Psalm asking God to hear him and wanted to be separated from the wicked.  He then declares praise for who God is.  Now he is making a request with much more confidence.  That is what praise and coming to God with our concerns does.  We can have assurance He Is our strength and come to Him with confidence that He will save and bless us and be our shepherd forever.

Application:

My Bible has a note that says the word “song” in verse 7 is not thoughts of thankfulness.  “But, actually verbalizing praise….” This is such an important reminder, things change as we speak out loud and declare God’s goodness! Declaring how good God is with our voice changes the atmosphere and even more our mind set.  The action of praise lifts our spirits. When I pray I am going to change my wording to match this psalm.  Instead of saying give me strength I am going to pray you are my strength.  

Prayer:

Father God,

Thank you that you will shepherd me and I have your salvation as my fortress.  Nothing can take that away from me.  Thank you for the revelation that you are my strength.  May I cling to this today and every day.  Also as I go through my day please help me remember to declare your goodness out loud and not just think it. You are so awesome there are countless reasons to praise you.  Thank you for your goodness and blessing on my life.

Amen

- Cindy Howard