Psalm 28:1 – To you, Lord, I call;
you are my Rock,
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
but harbor malice in their hearts.
4 Repay them for their deeds
and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done
and bring back on them what they deserve.
5 Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord
and what his hands have done,
he will tear them down
and never build them up again.
6 Praise be to the Lord,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever. (NIV)
Who do you trust? When it comes to advice, who do you trust? We live in age when those who would give advice have instant access to spread their advice around the world via the internet, television, and radio. Some people have made a great living dispensing advice to the masses. Some, to be fair, give great advice. Others, however, offer questionable advice, at best.
In verse one of this Psalm, the psalmist makes it clear that the Lord was his Rock. For the ancient Jews, the rocks were a place of refuge. Amongst the rocks they found shelter from the storm, and they found a safe haven as they hid from their enemies. The rocks were a place of safety. When we make the Lord our rock, we find refuge and safety. The Lord should be our Rock. The Lord’s counsel should be the counsel we trust above all others.
In verse three the psalmist states that the wicked speak cordially of others in their presence, but harbor malice in their hearts. Have you ever known such people? They speak nice words to someone when they see them, but speak evil of them when they are away. Verse five tells us that such people ‘have no regard for the deeds of the Lord’. When we have no regard for the Lord, we fall into all types of ‘wicked’ behaviors. Trusting the Lord is to have regard for the Lord. Regard means not only to look upon something, but to have respect for something.
Let us be people who have Regard for the Lord. Let us respect the Lord, and put our trust in the Lord. Trusting in the Lord does not mean to just hope for eternal life. Trusting in the Lord means that we regard the teachings of the Lord to be true, and we live by them day by day.
Today, let us have regard for the Lord. Let us trust the Lord and live as the righteous, not the wicked.
Posted by Ramón Torres
Pray for those who have lost their way and given in to the advice and influence of the media. As we talked about, if everyone who professes to be a Christian was putting the time energy and money into following His commands…we could end homelessness and hunger…we would have welcome centers on our borders and water on our reservations. We use Christ for political publicity. There are consequences….fear the Lord.