The Lord is the strength of his people. Psalm 28:8
The weeping Alaskan cedar tree whipped from side to side in the storm’s strong winds. Regie loved the tree that had not only provided shelter from the summer sun but also given her family privacy. Now the fierce storm was tearing the roots from the ground. Quickly, Regie, with her fifteen-year-old son in tow, ran to try to rescue the tree. With her hands and ninety-pound frame firmly planted against it, she and her son tried to keep it from falling over. But they weren’t strong enough.
God was King David’s strength when he called out to Him in another kind of storm (Psalm 28:8). Some commentators say he wrote this during a time when his world was falling apart. His own son rose in rebellion against him and tried to take the throne (2 Samuel 15). He felt so vulnerable and weak that he feared God might remain silent, and he would die (Psalm 28:1). “Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help,” he said to God (v. 2). God gave David strength to go on, even though his relationship with his son never mended.
How we long to prevent bad things from happening! If only we could. But in our weakness, God promises we can always call to Him to be our Rock (vv. 1–2). When we don’t have the strength, He’s our shepherd and will carry us forever (vv. 8–9).
When have you felt vulnerable and unable to fix a situation? How did you see God come through for you?
It seems there’s always something for which I need extra strength from You, O God. Help me to remember that without You I can do nothing.
INSIGHT
Psalm 28 is referred to as an imprecatory psalm—one that calls down wrath or curses on a person or people who are doing wrong. The imprecations in verses 4–5 give us a picture of God’s hatred of sin. In view of his painful circumstances, David cries out to God, his Rock (v. 1). As commentator John Phillips wrote about this name for God, “There is something permanent, massive, and immutable about a rock. In the Old Testament the figure of a rock is never used of a man, only of God. God is as changeless as creation’s rocks.” As David’s world shook, he cast himself on the Rock. God heard his cry, and David responded with praise (vv. 6–7).