God Answers Prayer
Psalm 28
An EasyEnglish Translation with Notes (about 1200 word vocabulary) on Psalm 28
Words in boxes are from the Bible. Words in brackets, ( ), are not in the Hebrew Bible.
Jesus said, "If my words live in your hearts, you can ask for whatever you like, and it will come true for you". (John 15:7 in J B Phillips translation)
(This is a psalm) of David
v1 LORD, you are my
rock. I am praying to you for help.
Do not turn your ears away
from me.
If you hide your answer from
me,
I will be as those people that go down
into the pit.
v2 Hear my voice when
I pray for mercy.
I am asking you for help.
I am lifting up my hands
towards your most holy place.
v3 Do not drag me
away with godless people,
or with people that have done very bad
things.
They say kind words to their
friends
but plan to do wrong things.
v4 Give them what is
fair for what they did
and for the bad things that they have
done.
Pay them for the work of
their hands
and bring back justice upon them.
v5 (Do it) because
they do not understand
the things that the LORD has done,
or the work of his hands.
He will tear them down,
he will not build them up again.
v6 I say that the
LORD does good things,
because he heard my voice when I prayed
for mercy.
v7 The LORD makes me
strong. He is my shield.
My heart trusts in him and he
gives me help.
Now my heart jumps for joy
and I will thank him with my songs.
v8 The LORD makes
(his people) strong.
He is a safe and strong place
for his Messiah.
v9 Save your people
and do good things for your inheritance.
Be the shepherd of (your
people) and always lift them up.
( ) . . these words are not in the Hebrew Bible
prayer ~ words that you say to God
LORD ~ a special name for God; only his people use it
mercy ~ being kind to bad people
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy
drag ~ pull in a way that is not kind
godless ~ people that do not obey God
justice ~ when right is the winner and not wrong
shield ~ something soldiers used; when it covered them nothing hit them
trust ~believe that someone cares for you
joy ~ when we feel happy deep inside us
Messiah ~ a special servant of God; Jesus was the true Messiah
inheritance ~ what our parents give us when they die
We do not know when David wrote Psalm 28. The end of the psalm tells us that there was danger for the whole country. Verse 8 is about the Messiah. In the time of David this was the king. Later it meant God's special servant and last of all Jesus. At the time of David , if God gave help to the Messiah it meant that he gave help to the whole country. In verses 1-5 David prays for help. In verses 6-9 he thanks God for giving him and his people help. Perhaps the danger was fighting other countries; perhaps it was illness in many homes. Whatever it was, God answered David's prayer. He gave help to David and to his people.
There are some key words in Psalm 28. A key word is the most important word. A key opens a locked door. A key word opens understanding. The key words are:
· verse 1 ~ from me
· verses 2, 6 ~ the sound of my prayers
· verses 3 - 5 ~ hands
· verses 4, 5 ~ work of their/his hands
Verse 1: "Rock" is a name for God. You will find it in Psalm 18:2 and in other psalms. It means that God is a place where people can hide and be safe. Twice David says "from me". He felt that God was looking away from him. This makes us think of Psalm 22:1, "My God, why have you left me by myself? Why is my help far away?" David thinks that he will go down into the pit. The pit is where the Jews believed that very bad people went when they died.
Verse 2: When they prayed, Jews often lifted their hands up to God. This meant that they were lifting themselves to God. It also meant that they had nothing to hide. Christians do the same. Paul wrote, "I want people everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands". (1 Timothy 2:8) The most holy place was part of God's house. There God spoke to the leader of the people.
Verse 3: "Drag" is what they did to bad people. They dragged them to the place where they would kill them. In the psalm, the people were bad because they did not obey God. They were godless.
Verse 4: These people made bad plans. God can make these bad plans hurt the people that made them. "The work of their hands" means the things that people do. In verse 4 the people did bad things with their hands.
Verse 5: Here we read of "the work of his hands". This means the good things that God did. The word "God" is not in Psalm 28. David uses the word "LORD". That is the word that the people of God use for him. It means that they are his servants. And they love him and they obey him. It also means that they have begun to understand God. The godless do not understand God. It means that they do not love him or obey him. In the end God will destroy what they do ("the works of their hands").
Verse 6: The psalm changes here. David has stopped asking for help. This is because God has given him and his people help. Look in verses 2 and 6. You will find the same words in them, "my voice when I prayed for mercy". In verse 2 David makes the prayer, but here he says that the LORD has heard his prayer. In the Hebrew, this also means that he has answered the prayer. The word "mercy" is a special Christian word. It means that God is kind to people that he really should punish or hurt. Only the Christian God does this.
Verse 7: In the Bible the heart means the place where you think. To jump for joy means that you are very, very happy.
Verse 8: The Hebrew says "the LORD makes them strong". "Them" must mean the people that David is king over. The Messiah when David wrote the psalm was David himself, the king. To Christians, the Messiah is Jesus.
Verse 9: "Your inheritance" here means "your people". "Be the shepherd" gives us help to remember that Jesus (LORD in the psalm) is the good shepherd. "Lift them up" may mean "carry them" or it may mean "make them great".
Learn to say verse 8 by heart. This means that you can say it without looking at the words.
© 2001, Wycliffe Associates (UK)
This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level A (1200 words)
January 2001
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