Psalm 28

My Strength and My Shield

Who are the wicked?  What is their evil work?  David seems to be in distressed as he writes this psalm, by those wicked people who do evil.  But who are they, and what are they doing?  We don’t know specifically, but I do know David was not a stranger to accusations of wickedness and evil, from no less authority than his own court prophet Nathan.  If David is no stranger to wickedness, why is he going before God to beg that he isn’t dragged away with the wicked?

So if David’s not included in with them, who are the wicked?  I think David gives us a hint in verse 5, “They have no regard for the deeds of the Lord”.  While David occasionally sinned, each and every time he went before God, admitted his crimes, begged for forgiveness, then accepted his punishment.  Even when he behaved “wicked”, he still regarded “the deeds of the Lord”.  When he put himself and his needs before God, he always changed course and went back to God.  No lies, no excuses, but solemn, sincere repentance. 

Remembering the commandments of the Lord, it’s not a stretch to assume the first are the most important.  Those laws tell us that there is no other God, and we shouldn’t put any other God before Him, or, in other words, worship false idols.  Many people conjure the imagery of Moses’ people wandering in the desert, worshiping a gold statue, but reality has many more shades of grey.  What I believe God is instructing us is not to place anything in our lives before God.  That includes ourselves. 

David says to God “I call to you for help, I lift my hands up”.  Who do the wicked go to in times of trial?  Perhaps those “wicked” are the people who put themselves before God.  Those who put their love of money, or their love of power, or their love of vanity ahead of the One who created them.  This is a wickedness that surrounds us all.  Perhaps David saw this in his own court; his own family, his own self.  He is surrounded by this wickedness, and God is no longer a priority.  In times like this, he needs God more than ever.

“The Lord is the strength of His people”.  If we are to be God’s people as well, we need his strength when the wickedness of the world surrounds us and consumes our life.  God’s love is the shield that protects us from the World.   In spite of his misgivings, David always turned to God for that strength.  Chances are, none of us have sinned as terribly as David, yet, the Lord showed him favor, because he always turned to Him.  Sometimes we think our own behavior is too unforgivable, too unworthy, and too unlovable that we cannot bring it before God.

You can bring it before God.  That’s what he wants you to do.  And God will carry you forever.

©Billy Heller

¹ To you, Lord, I call;
    you are my Rock,
    do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
    I will be like those who go down to the pit.
² Hear my cry for mercy
    as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
    toward your Most Holy Place.

³ Do not drag me away with the wicked,
    with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
    but harbor malice in their hearts.
⁴ Repay them for their deeds
    and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done
    and bring back on them what they deserve.

⁵ Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord
    and what his hands have done,
he will tear them down
    and never build them up again.

⁶ Praise be to the Lord,
    for he has heard my cry for mercy.
⁷ 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.

⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people,
    a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
⁹ Save your people and bless your inheritance;
    be their shepherd and carry them forever.