You, my rock, do not be deaf to me.
If you remain silent to me, I will be like those going down to the pit.
Listen to the sound of my pleading when I cry for help,
! When I lift up my hands towards your holy sanctuary.
Do not drag me along with the wicked, with the evildoers,
who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors,
while malice is in their hearts.
Repay them according to what they have done,
according to the evil of their deeds.
Repay them according to the work of their hands.
Give them back what they deserve.
Because they do not consider what the Lord has done
or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and not rebuild them.
Blessed be the Lord,
for he has heard the sound of my pleading.
The Lord is my strength and my shield.
My heart trusts in him and I am helped.
Therefore, my heart celebrates and I give thanks to him with my song.
The Lord is the strength of his people.
He is a stronghold of salvation for his anointed.
Save your people, bless your possession,
shepherd them and carry them forever.
The word of God for the people of God.
You may be seated.
The grass withers, the flowers fade,
but the word of God remains forever.
There are seasons in every believer's life
when God seems silent.
Your prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling.
Scripture reading is as dry as dust.
Worship songs that once stirred your heart
now leave you numb.
On Sunday morning,
you might be tempted to stay home
and skip the worship gathering.
You wonder if God is listening at all.
If you've ever felt that way,
you're not alone.
David knew this experience intimately.
Several phrases in verses 1 and 2
revealed David's fear
that God had become silent towards him.
Look at verses 1 and 2.
Do not be deaf to me
if you remain silent to me.
Listen to the sound of my pleading.
I cry to you for help.
Sometimes God's silence
is connected to unrepentant sin.
At other times,
he deepens our faith through waiting.
The first calls for repentance,
the second for perseverance.
When God seems silent,
our initial response
should be to examine our hearts.
The second London Baptist Confession of Faith,
chapter 11 on justification,
reminds us,
God continues to forgive the sins
of all who are justified.
Even though they can never fall
from a state of justification,
they may fall under God's fatherly displeasure
because of their sins.
In that condition,
they will not usually have
the light of his face restored to them
until they humble themselves,
confess their sins,
plead for pardon,
and renew their faith in repentance.
If you're in known sin,
the first step is to repent.
But in Psalm 28,
David gives no indication
that the silence resulted from sin.
The Psalm is about the believer
waiting on God
without knowing the reason for the delay.
Scripture doesn't always tell us
why God appears silent.
Sometimes it's discipline,
sometimes testing,
and sometimes,
as with Job,
the reason remains hidden.
John Newton,
the author of Amazing Grace,
assures us,
everything is needful
that he sends.
Nothing can be needful
that he withholds.
Lamentations 3 tells us
the Lord is good
for those who wait for him.
To the person who seeks him,
it's good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.
For those seasons
where God seems silent,
Psalm 28 gives us
five anchors to hold on to
while we wait,
and we'll also see those
echoed in our confession.
The first anchor,
when God seems silent,
trust that he is your rock.
When God seems silent,
trust that he is your rock.
Look at verse 1.
Lord, I call to you,
my rock,
do not be deaf to me.
If you remain silent to me,
I will be like those
going down to the pit.
David begins by appealing
to God's character,
my rock.
Not just a rock,
but my rock.
The Lord is my rock,
my fortress,
my deliverer,
my God,
my rock where I seek refuge,
my shield and the horn
of my salvation,
my stronghold,
from Psalm 18.
Psalm 71,
be a rock of refuge for me
where I can always go.
Give the command to save me,
for you are my rock
and fortress.
The rock is a firm foundation
beneath our feet.
As the hymn proclaims,
on Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to hide his face,
I rest on his unchanging grace.
Yet David is completely honest
about his fear.
If you remain silent to me,
I will be like those
going down to the pit.
Pastor James Boyce observed,
if he's appealing to God
not to remain silent,
it must have been because
God has been silent for a while.
He has not been answering
and David is appealing to him
to break silence
and speak to him at last.
So what did David mean
by the pit in verse one?
The pit refers to Sheol,
the world of the dead.
David cries out
with the same desperation
that Jonah had
in the belly of the great fish.
Jonah said,
I called the Lord
in my distress
and he answered me.
I cried out for help
from deep inside Sheol.
You heard my voice.
And David often prayed that way.
Psalm 94,
If the Lord had not been my helper,
I would soon rest
in the silence of death.
Psalm 143,
Answer me quickly, Lord.
My spirit fails.
Don't hide your face from me
or I'll be like those
going down to the pit.
And Christopher Ash
in his commentary
in the Psalms said,
The pit here means
not just dying,
but dying without hope.
Falling to the place
where no words are spoken to God.
And no words are heard from God.
And again,
this cry for help
echoes throughout the Psalms.
Hear my prayer, O Lord.
Listen to my cry for help.
Do not be silent at my tears.
God, do not keep silent.
Do not be deaf.
Do not be quiet.
I will say to God, my rock,
why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about sorrow
because of the enemy's oppression?
Although David's soul is troubled,
he still rests on God, his rock.
Our confession beautifully summarizes
this anchor in chapter 17
on perseverance of the saints.
Even though many storms
and floods arise
and beat against them,
yet these things
will never be able to move
the elect from the foundation
and rock
to which they are anchored by faith.
The felt sight
of the light and love of God
may be clouded
and obscured from them
for a time
through their unbelief
in the temptations of Satan.
Yet God is still the same.
They will certainly be kept
by the power of God
for salvation
where they'll enjoy
their purchased possession
for they're engraved
on the palms of his hands
and their names
have been written
in the book of life
from all eternity.
That last line
is from Isaiah 49
where the Lord gives us comfort.
Can a woman forget
her nursing child
or lack compassion
for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.
Look, I have inscribed you
on the palms of my hands.
When you can't feel God,
cling to what you know
about God.
When you can't feel Him,
cling to what you know
about Him.
God's silence
is not abandonment.
He is still
the unchanging rock.
But trusting that God
is the rock
doesn't remove the waiting.
So what do we do
in that silence?
David's answer is simple.
We keep praying.
Our second anchor.
When God seems silent,
keep praying.
When God seems silent,
keep praying.
Again, verse 2.
Listen to the sound
of my pleading
when I cry to you
for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward your holy sanctuary.
Now, in verse 1,
David calls to the Lord.
In verse 2,
he cries out
with a stronger word
used for desperate pleading.
Your translation
might say supplications
or pleas.
But in verse 1,
David cries,
hear me.
In verse 2,
David pleads,
help me.
The word translated
pleadings or supplications
is plural,
suggesting repeated cries
for mercy
rather than a single request.
David doesn't pray once.
He keeps praying.
He keeps pleading.
That principle
is echoed
in the New Testament.
In Luke 18,
Jesus told a parable
on the need
for them to pray
always and not give up.
And in Romans 12, 12,
Paul reminds us,
rejoice in hope,
be patient in affliction,
be persistent in prayer.
Now, we see also
that David prayed
lifting up his hands
towards God's sanctuary.
He lifted up his hands
towards the place
of God's presence.
Sanctuary is a word
referring to the
innermost part
of the sanctuary,
the most holy place.
This is the place
where the Ark of the Covenant
resided,
but more important,
it was the place
of the mercy seat,
the place from which
the Lord dispensed
mercy to his people.
Charles Spurgeon wrote,
we stretch out empty hands
for we are beggars.
We lift them up
for we seek heavenly supplies.
We lift them towards
the mercy seat of Jesus
for there our expectation
dwells.
Today, we no longer look
to a physical temple.
We look to Christ,
our true mercy seat.
The confession reminds us
in chapter 22
in religious worship.
Under the gospel,
neither prayer
nor any other part
of religious worship
is now restricted to
or made more acceptable
by the place
where riches is done
or towards which
it is directed.
Instead,
God is to be worshipped
everywhere
in spirit and in truth,
daily in each family
and privately
by individual.
And Christopher Ash again
points us to Christ.
So now Christ
has become for us
the most holy sanctuary,
the place where God
makes covenant
with those in Christ.
Although sometimes
God seems silent to us,
God isn't silent.
God speaks through
his written word
by his spirit
centered on his son.
Hebrews 1-2
tells us in the last days
he's spoken to us
by his son.
And the confession
confirms the sufficiency
of scripture.
The whole counsel of God
concerning everything
essential
for his own glory
in man's salvation,
faith, and life
is either explicitly stated
or by necessary inference
contained
in the holy scriptures.
In the words
of H.A.W. Tozer,
now the blessed fact
is that God
is not silent
and has never been silent
but is speaking
in his universe.
the written word
is effective because
and only because
the living word
is speaking in heaven
and the living voice
is sounding
throughout the earth.
Because God
has spoken
decisively in Christ
and continues
to speak
through his word,
his apparent silence
is never absolute silence.
And because God
has spoken decisively
in Christ
and continues
to speak
through his word,
his apparent silence
is never absolute silence.
David keeps praying.
God's apparent silence
doesn't stop his prayers.
He lifts his hands
towards the sanctuary
and today
we lift our eyes
to Christ,
our true mercy seat.
Don't stop praying
when God seems silent.
Even when your words fail,
the Holy Spirit
intercedes for you.
In the same way,
the Spirit also helps us
in our weakness
because we do not know
what to pray for
as we should,
but the Spirit himself
intercedes for us
with inexpressible groanings.
God hears your pleading
even when his answer
has not yet come.
Sometimes he teaches us
to trust his promises
rather than our feelings.
Sometimes he never
tells us why.
Yet persistent prayer
raises another question.
If God still seems silent,
how do I know
he hasn't rejected me?
David answers that fear
in verses 3-5.
His greatest concern
is not merely
escaping danger,
but belonging
to the people of God.
So our third anger,
when God seems silent,
remember that you
belong to him.
When God seems silent,
remember that you
belong to him.
David now turns
to one of the hardest
realities of a waiting season,
the wicked.
He doesn't want to be
counted among the wicked.
Do not drag me away
from the wicked,
the evildoers,
who speak in friendly ways
to their neighbors
while malice is in their hearts.
Repay them according
to what they've done,
according to the evil
of their deeds.
Repay them according
to the work of their hands.
Give them back
what they deserve
because they do not
consider what the Lord
has done
or the work of his hands.
He will tear them down
and rebuild them.
That word of drag me away
is like being dragged away
for execution.
The wicked person
David describes
as friendly to your face
while harboring malice
in their heart.
We can't really know
for certain
when David wrote this psalm.
Some think it was
when he was fleeing
from Saul.
Some think it was
when he was sick.
Some think it was
when he had a temptation
that he had to flee
and not be called
with the wicked.
Many commentators
think this fits
with the rebellion
of Absalom.
I kind of feel that too.
John Phillips,
commentator,
connects this psalm
with David's pain.
David's world
was falling apart.
His own son,
his beloved,
handsome Absalom,
had stolen the hearts
of the men of Israel.
David's throne,
which had seemed
so strong
and invincible,
had been snatched from him.
The nation
had turned against him.
The fickle crowd
had hailed Absalom
as though he were
the Messiah.
David's world collapsed
and he turned to Jehovah,
the one who is that
which his people need.
He appeals to him
as my rock.
Now David wasn't
seeking personal vengeance.
he's entrusting
justice to God.
Rather than taking matters
into his own hands,
he asked the righteous judge
to do what is right.
The wicked ignore
the work of the Lord's hands
so the Lord will tear them down.
As Romans 120 says,
the wicked have no excuse
since God's invisible attributes,
that is,
his eternal power
and divine nature,
have been clearly seen
since the creation
of the world.
And Psalm 19
tells us,
the heavens declare
the glory of God
and the sky above
proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day
pours out speech
and night to night
reveals knowledge.
There is no speech
nor are there words
whose voice
is not heard.
Their voice goes out
through all the earth
and their words
to the end of the world.
David fears
being swept away
with the wicked
since it seems like
God is silent.
But David's deepest fear
is not dying,
but sharing in the judgment
reserved for those
who reject God.
David's not claiming
he's sinless.
He's appealing
as one who belongs
to the covenant Lord
rather than the company
of the wicked.
As believers,
we have an anchor.
We are God's
adopted children.
Because we are
united to Christ,
we will never
be swept away
with the wicked.
Our comfort is
we belong to God.
Our confession
reassures the believer
in the chapter
on adoption.
God has granted
that all those
who are justified
would receive
the grace
of adoption
in and for
the sake
of his only son
Jesus Christ.
by this
they are counted
among the children
of God
and enjoy the freedom
and privileges
of that relationship.
They inherit his name,
receive the spirit
of adoption,
have access
to the throne
of grace
with boldness,
and are enabled
to cry,
Abba, Father.
They are given
compassion,
protected,
provided for,
and chastened
by him as a father.
Yet,
they are never
cast off,
but are sealed
for the day
of redemption
and inherit
the promises
of heirs
of everlasting
salvation.
No matter
how dark
the season
seems,
if you belong
to Christ,
you will always
remain God's
child.
His silence
does not cancel
your adoption.
The psalm
also points
forward to Christ.
James Johnston
writes in his
commentary,
When we look
forward to Christ,
though,
we can see
clearly how
the psalm
points to him.
As a human
being,
Jesus had a good
reason to plead
with God,
do not drag me
off with the
wicked.
Jesus was
publicly accused
of being evil
himself.
Many lumped
him together
with the wicked.
Jesus counted
on God,
Caesar to spin,
and the smears
to judge rightly,
to clear his name,
and to show
the difference
between him
and the wicked.
Think of the
false accusations
that were leveled
against Jesus
during his life.
He was accused
of being a glutton
and an alcoholic,
a friend of tax
collectors and
prostitutes.
The Pharisees
accused him
of being demon
possessed.
When he was
arrested,
they came looking
for him with
swords and clubs
as if he were
a robber.
At his trial,
they accused
him of blasphemy
and beat him
as a heretic.
When they turned
him over to Pilate,
they charged
him with a rebellion.
These false
accusations came
to head at the
cross.
Waiting is even
harder when evil
seems to flourish.
David saw that
with Absalom's
rebellion.
Jesus endured
it perfectly as
sinful people
mocked and
crucified him.
but because of
adoption,
we are counted
among the
children of God.
That assurance
affects everything.
David's circumstances
have not changed,
but his confidence
has.
The man who
began with
desperation now
begins to praise.
David moves
from remembering
that he belongs
to God
to praising
the God
who has heard
him.
Our fourth
thanker,
when God
seems silent,
praise him
that he hears
your plea.
When God
seems silent,
praise him
that he hears
your plea.
Now something
remarkable happens
in verse 6.
Nothing in
the psalm
indicates David's
situation is any
different.
David's enemies
are still there.
His throne has
not been restored.
Nothing visible
has changed.
But what has
changed is David
and worship
breaks out.
Spurgeon
observed,
Lord,
our psalm
has been
prayer up
to this
point,
but now
it turns
to praise.
Those who
pray well
will soon
praise well.
Notice the
shift in
verse 6.
The psalm
has moved
from second
person
plea,
you,
O Lord,
to third
person
praise,
blessed
be the
Lord.
Verse 6
is the
answer to
verse 2.
Verse 2
said,
listen to the
sound of my
pleading when
I cry to you
for help.
But in
verses 6
and 7,
the plea
becomes trust.
Blessed be
the Lord,
for he
has heard
the sound
of my
pleading.
The Lord
is my
strength
and my
shield.
My heart
trusts in him
and I am
helped.
Therefore,
my heart
celebrates
and I give
thanks to him
with my
song.
The
greatest
evidence
that God's
silence
is not
rejection,
is that
David moves
from do
not be
deaf to
me to
he has
heard the
sound of
my
pleading.
The
turning
point of
this
psalm
is not
a change
in David's
circumstances,
but a
change in
David's
confidence.
Again,
the turning
point is
not a
change in
David's
circumstances,
but a
change in
David's
confidence.
David's
praise is
not based
on
visible
deliverance,
but on
faith that
God has
heard.
Often,
the first
answer God
gives is
not a
change in
our
situation,
but renewed
trust in
his character.
Isaiah 50
says,
Who among
you fears
the Lord
and listens
to his
servant?
Who among
you walks
in darkness
and has
no light?
Let him
trust in
the name
of the
Lord.
Let him
lean on
his God.
And
Psalm 13,
but I
have
trusted
in
your
faithful
love.
My
heart
will
rejoice
in
your
deliverance.
I
will
sing
to the
Lord
because
he
has
treated
me
generously.
Our
confession
says in
chapter
22,
prayer
with
thanksgiving
is an
element of
natural
worship
and is
so required
by God
of
everyone.
God's
silence
is often
not
refusal,
but
delay.
scripture
repeatedly
shows God
answering
in his
timing
rather than
ours.
David
learned that
the God
who seemed
silent was
actually
working.
Even when
we don't
have the
feeling,
we still
have the
fact and
we respond
with praise.
Once David
is convinced
God has
heard him,
his focus
shifts from
himself to
God's
people.
David's
confidence
overflows
into
intercession.
His
prayer for
God's
people
ultimately
points us
to the
greater
king
whose
intercession
never
ceases.
Our
fifth
anchor,
when God
seems
silent,
know that
Christ is
praying for
you.
When God
seems silent,
know that
Christ is
praying for
you.
Look at
David's
prayer in
verses 8 and
9.
The Lord
is the
strength of
his people.
He is a
stronghold of
salvation for
this
anointed.
Save your
people,
bless your
possession,
shepherd them,
and carry
them forever.
Having been
assured that
God hears
him, David
now prays
for others.
He turns
from praying
for himself
to praying
for his
people.
David ends
not with
save me,
but save
your people.
Now one
of Satan's
strategies during
these periods
of waiting
and darkness
is to
convince
believers to
withdraw from
God's
people.
But David
finishes by
identifying
himself with
the flock.
The shepherd
often carries
struggling sheep
through the
ministry of
the church.
Don't
mistake
spiritual dryness
for permission
to neglect
scripture,
prayer,
gathered
worship,
or the
Lord's
table.
Those are
actually
often the
very means
God uses
to sustain
his people
while they
wait.
The confession
reminds us of
the means of
grace that God
has provided to
help us in the
times of waiting.
the elements of
religious worship
of God include
reading the
scriptures,
preaching and
hearing the
word of God,
teaching and
admonishing one
another in
psalms,
hymns,
and spiritual
songs,
singing with
grace in our
hearts to the
Lord,
as well as
the ministration
of baptism
and the
Lord's
supper.
Eric Lane
helps us look
forward to
Christ in this
psalm when he
writes,
If the
Lord were
David's
strength,
my rock,
verse 1,
he would be
the strength
of his
people.
So he
ends by
praying for
them,
for God to
save and
bless and
carry them
as a
shepherd.
Here the
psalm becomes
messianic,
for the
anointed one
is literally
Messiah,
the one
whose office
was to
save and
bless those
who God
gave him as
his inheritance,
the good
shepherd who
would give
his life
for the
sheep.
In
verses 8
and 9,
David is
praying for
his people,
and as he
does, the
language of
anointed one
and shepherd
begins to
point us,
on David,
to Christ.
David's
speaking first
of the
Lord's
anointed
king,
but these
words find
their ultimate
fulfillment in
Christ,
God's true
anointed one
and good
shepherd.
Jesus said
in John
10,
I am the
good shepherd.
Isaiah
40,
he protects
his flock
like a
shepherd.
He
gathers
the
lambs in
his arms
and carries
them in
the fold
of his
garment.
He
gently
leads
those who
are
nursing.
Even
when our
prayers
falter,
even when
God seems
silent,
the
Messiah and
shepherd
prays
perfectly
for us.
Romans
8,
verse 34
reminds
us,
who's
the one
who
condemns?
Christ
Jesus
is the
one
who
died,
but even
more,
has been
raised.
He also
is the
right hand
of God
and intercedes
for us.
And
Hebrews
7,
25
said,
therefore
he is
able to
save
completely
those
who come
to God
through
him,
since he
always
lives to
intercede
for them.
Our
confession
has a
chapter on
Christ's
intercession,
Christ the
mediator.
To all
those whom
Christ has
obtained
eternal
redemption,
he certainly
and effectively
applies and
imparts it.
He
intercedes
for them,
unites
them to
himself by
his spirit,
and reveals
to them in
and by his
word the
mystery of
salvation.
He
persuades
them to
believe and
obey and
governs their
heart by
his word
and spirit.
And
Jesus
declared in
John 17,
I pray not
only for
these,
the disciples
around him,
but also for
those who
believe in
me through
their word.
Louis
Burkups
observed,
it is
a consoling
thought that
Christ is
praying for
us,
even when
we are
negligent in
our prayer
life,
that he
is presenting
to the
Father those
spiritual needs
which were
not present
to our
minds,
and which
we often
neglect to
include in
our prayers,
and that
he prays for
our protection
against the
dangers of
which we
are not even
conscious,
against the
enemies which
threaten us,
though we
don't even
notice it.
He is
praying that
our faith
may not
cease,
that we
may come
out
victoriously
in the
end.
I love
how Robert
Murray
McShane
put it,
but
if I
could hear
Christ
praying for
me in
the next
room,
I would
not fear
a million
enemies,
yet distance
makes no
difference.
He is
praying for
me.
If I
could hear
Christ
praying for
me in
the next
room,
I would
not fear
a million
enemies,
yet distance
makes no
difference.
He is
praying for
me.
what comfort for the believer
the savior who died for us
now lives to intercede for us
ultimately
David's distress
foreshadows the stress of the Lord
Jesus Christ to cry
my God my God why have you abandoned me
Hebrews
tells us that Jesus was heard because of
his reverence
Jesus was not spared the cross
but was delivered through death
in the resurrection
Hebrews 5 7 during his thirsty life
he offered prayers and appeals
with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death
and he was heard because of his reverence
again Christopher Ash
helps us see Jesus
therefore
we must meditate on what it means
for Jesus of Nazareth
to pray with loud cries and tears
in Psalm 28 1 and 2
to speak
in 28 3 through 5
with horror
yet confidence
and to exalt with the resurrection joy
that was set before him in 28 6 and 7
it is a healthy discipline
quietly to walk with our savior in his trials
in the eyes of our mind
and in the affections of our hearts
on the cross
Jesus truly experienced
the horror of bearing our sin
and expressed the abandonment
of Psalm 22
yet the eternal unity
of the Father and the Son
was never broken
Jesus endured the curse
we deserve
so that we would never
finally be persecuted
so what do believers do
when God seems silent?
they trust the rock beneath them
they keep praying
they remember
that they belong to God
they praise God
before they see God's answer
and they rest
in Christ's intercession
the silence may last longer
than your hope
but it will not last forever
one day
our faith
will be sight
Psalm 28
begins with a cry
do not be deaf to me
it ends with confidence
save your people
bless your possessions
shepherd them
and carry them forever
David begins
fearing the pit
and ends up
resting in the shepherd
that's what God does
for his people
not always quickly
not always visibly
but always faithfully
again look at verse 6 and 7
blessed be the Lord
for he has heard
the sound of my pleading
the Lord is my strength
and my shield
my heart trusts in him
and I am help
he has heard
and I am helped
he has heard
and I am helped
beloved
perhaps today
you can't say
I am helped
maybe all you can say is
hey Lord
I still call to you
hold fast
Christ will hold you fast
he is your stronghold
and your shepherd
the father who adopted you
has not abandoned you
he will carry you forever
the shepherd who died for you
still intercedes for you
the rock beneath you
is firmer than your feelings
and one day
by God's grace
you will say with David
he has heard
and I am helped
as Psalm 27 ended
it said
I am certain
that I will see the Lord's goodness
in the land of the living
wait for the Lord
be strong
and let your heart be courageous
wait for the Lord
let's pray
Father
thank you that
even when you seem silent
you are never absent
be our rock
when we feel like we are sinking
teach us to pray
with believing hands
lifted to Jesus
our mercy seat
remind us daily
that we are your children
strengthen us
by our spirit
and when the silence breaks
may our hearts overflow
with fresh praise
in the name of Jesus
our intercession
and shepherd
we pray
amen
Thank you.