The psalmist’s options: Who will carry the concerns of our life?
By Dean Collins
It’s a decision we all must make. It has enormous consequences, but for some reason, we seem not to think about it often. At least it doesn’t appear that we do. In Psalm 28 David helps see our three options.
An urgent prayer
Psalm 28 is another of David’s prayers. It starts with urgency. We can relate to urgent prayer. Urgent prayer is common in moments of crisis. It might be a sudden physical danger, a health emergency, a realization of a financial crisis, or any imminent danger that prompts our urgent prayer. In such moments we don’t think about our word choice like we do when we’re self-consciously offering a public prayer. If we know in advance we will offer a public prayer, we will often either rehearse in our heads or write down what we will say. We don’t want to sound like we don’t know how to pray. We don’t want to pray like a child. (Actually, that might be better.)
But urgent prayers are often short, direct, and intense. We might simply say, “Help me, God.” “Save my daughter.” “Protect my friend.” It’s almost as if we’re demanding that God show up. That’s fairly common for David in the Psalms. In Psalm 28 David tells God not to be deaf to him. And not to be silent, either. “Hear me and show up” is his urgent prayer.
As David continues, he tells God not to drag him off with the wicked. He concedes that God knows not everyone is seeking good and seeking God. Some are simply seeking evil. David believes that since God is a God of justice, he will ultimately deal with those who are unjust.
A prayer of praise
And then the prayer makes a dramatic shift. David changes his tone to one of praise as he declares God’s strength, power, and glory. It’s as if David suddenly finds strength. As he praises God, his words also appear to give David new confidence that God is, in fact, in control. David almost instantly seems to find the strength to sit and stand without fear.
“Blessed be the Lord!” David prays. “For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. “
I wonder what would happen to our hesitation and our fear if we imitated this part of David’s prayer. How would our mood change if we took time to declare out loud his power so that our ears could hear and our brain process the truth of his presence with us? David’s words are strong medicine for weak and fearful souls. Maybe we need to pray not only with pleas for God’s help but also to remind ourselves who God is and what we believe about him.
A prayer with options
So what about the decision we all need to make and the three options we have to choose? Tucked into Psalm 28 David says we must decide what to do with our hands.
In verse 2 David not only lifts his voice to God; he lifts his hands: “Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.”
Option One is basically to leave the situation in our own hands. But even the most confident among us, if honest, will admit that managing everything by ourselves will lead to many mistakes and failures. We cannot save ourselves forever. We might make it for a while, but we certainly have no hope eternally if we take matters into our own hands. Martin Luther said it well: “ I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.”
Option Two is to place the situation in the hands of others. It’s true we need other people’s help. But if the others are not seeking God with us, their help is very insignificant. They might seem to have power or wealth and therefore offer the appearance of help. But without God involved, their hands have no real strength. And often the hands of others might be wicked. David’s struggle seems to be related to those who are seeking evil. In verse 4 David tells God to give to those who are against him according to the work of their hands.
The best option, Option Three, is to put everything in God’s hands. In verse 5 David tells us that others whose hands we often seek do not regard the work of the Lord, the work of his hands. God has the power and authority to tear down or to build up. Putting our situations, both the easier and the more difficult ones, in the mighty hands of God seems to make a lot more sense. That old simple yet powerful spiritual we’ve all sung is true: “He’s got the whole world in his hands!”
When we pick Option Three, placing ourselves and our situation in God’s hands, he will carry us through and carry us on even until we see him face to face in eternity.
Your time with God’s Word
Psalm 28:1-9 ESV
Photo by Milada Vigerova on Unsplash
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