Thursday, August 8 – Psalms 28, 55

1. To what does David compare himself in this psalm if God were to leave or abandon him? Psalm 28:1

2. At the conclusion of Psalm 28, which another psalm of David comes to mind? Psalm 28:9

3. In Psalm 55:21, David compares the words of the wicked to “smooth butter” but says there was “war in their heart.” Reflect on this: In your personal experience, how might this psalm portray how you have been a victim of some people’s hypocrisy?

Commentary and Reflection:

The Adventist Bible Commentary, in its introduction to Psalm 28, states:

“Ps. 28 was apparently created when the psalmist was under strong temptation to be drawn away with the wicked. The psalm has two contrasting divisions. The change from the cry for deliverance from trouble of vs. 1-5, to the expression of gratitude for relief in vs. 6-9, is made with dramatic abruptness. The prayer is especially appropriate for the Christian who feels himself drawn by habits that held him before his conversion.” (SDABC, Introduction to Psalm 28)

Meditating on Psalm 28 will surely do you good when you are in moments of uncertainty and anguish.

The Adventist Bible Commentary in the introduction to Psalm 55 states:

“Psalm 55 is a prayer for help, against the background of the psalmist’s desperate plight. The psalm concludes with an expression of conviction that God will intervene. It has frequent repetitions, and mingles complaint, longing, imprecation, indignation, confidence, and hope (Callan). The psalm is the heart cry of one who would find refuge from sorrow in sheer solitude.” (SDABC, Introduction to Psalm 55)

It would be worth dedicating a few minutes to meditating on each verse of these psalms and applying them to our experience today. This reading and meditation will help us grow spiritually.

When we see difficult situations around us, we are tempted to think that we are the only ones in the world going through dark valleys, not knowing that others, like David, have also walked through them. God inspired these psalms to encourage us in these final days of this earth’s history. God’s faithful have endured these challenging circumstances, but the Lord has never abandoned His people; He has always been by their side.

If you feel tempted to think you are the only one with problems, think about the lesson from Aesop’s Fables, “The Hares and the Frogs,”

“The hares, who are always fearful, decide to drown themselves out of despair. However, when they reach the pond, they scare away the frogs, who are even more frightened than they are.”

“Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone;
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.”

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

May God grant you a day of blessings.