PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Psalm 28
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” (Psalm 28:7)
I am trying to imagine what the story behind this Psalm is.
It starts with David desperately pleading with the Lord to help him.
This part sounds like the Lord hasn’t helped yet, but vv.6-7 change.
David praises because the Lord has helped, and his heart leaps for joy.
He concludes that the Lord IS Israel’s strength… then cries “save your people!” (v.9)
Does David write this during the crisis, or after the crisis ends?
Does his heart leap for joy before the Lord helps, or after the Lord helps?
This is not just a technical question, it speaks to the power of prayer and hope.
I am hearing these words as an experience of joy DURING difficult times.
David desperately prays to the Lord, and the Spirit gives him deep hope and joy.
Does my heart leap for joy in the Lord BEFORE the Lord helps me?
Does my prayer and praise strengthen me when the Lord still seems silent?
The Lord is our fortress DURING the storm, our strength THROUGH the death-shadowed valley.
He is our shepherd; he carries us now and he will carry us forever!
PRAYER
Lord, though I prefer your help right away, I welcome this heart-leaping joy and hope while I wait, until I experience your answer to my prayer!
Look and see – when I look up on a night with a clear sky – or across a vista from a high vantage point – I see the beauty of creation! I think, how can “they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord and what his hands have done,” Ho can God be ignored in all this. God is revealed in creation – the beauty, the intricacy – the details are stunning. I stand amazed in praise. Lord, thank you for the beauty and I pray I may continue to see and appreciate it! He is the God that I rely on – can call on – and I can praise!
Crying unto the Lord in times of need.
He hears our cries and petitions.
He is with me at all times.
He is my Rock and Redeemer.
I will take refuge beneath the shelter of His wings.
He is my Protector.
He will sustain me and give me the strength needed
as He continues to lead me in the Way that I should go.
He is my Shepherd carrying me through at all times.
1 From out the depths I cry, O Lord, to you;
Lord, hear my call.
I love you, Lord, for you will hear my plea,
forgiving all.
If you should mark our sins, who then could stand?
But grace and mercy dwell at your right hand.
2 I wait for God, the Lord, and on his word
my hope relies;
my soul still waits and looks unto the Lord
till light arise.
I look for him to drive away my night,
yes, more than watchmen look for morning light.
3 Hope in the Lord, you waiting saints, and he
will well provide,
for mercy and redemption full and free
with him abide.
From sin and evil, mighty though they seem,
his arm almighty will his saints redeem.