New Year Blessing

“Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. 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.”
- Psalm 28:6-7 -

In Psalm 28, David journeys from the black hole to confident praise. He begins by requesting that God will hear his prayer (vs 1–5). Such a prayer applies to any situation of adversity where we yearn for God’s mercy.

David shifts gears in verses 6–9 to praise. His cry of ‘Blessed be the Lord’ (v 6, AV) exalts God. Praise is always the right response to God. The reason is given: God has heard his plea for mercy. This may suggest that the second half was written later, after God intervened. Or perhaps it is an exclamation of confidence written in anticipation of God’s response. Either way, rightly, David expresses confident praise!

In verses 7 and 8, David declares who God is: ‘my strength … my shield … the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one’. Knowing this, David trusts, he is helped, he rejoices, and he sings songs of thanks. Prayer for help begets praise as God moves in our situation. All this has now come to pass in Jesus, to whom this psalm can be sung. He is the Anointed one. He finds the lost sheep and brings them home. We find sanctuary in him.

Prayer: Dear Lord, life can be so confusing. In the midst of such confusion, I trust you for justice to prevail. I thank you for hearing and answering my prayers.

(from Encounter with God)