Slices
Prepare
Spend a few minutes looking at a picture, aware of God’s presence with you. Pay attention to the feelings surfacing and offer them to him.
Bible passage
Of David.
1 To you, Lord, I call;
you are my Rock,
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I shall 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
towards your Most Holy Place.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbours
but harbour 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 for ever.
Explore
Just as a picture’s frame and mount guide our gaze, aiding our appreciation, so the opening and closing sections of this psalm help us understand its passionate cry. Despite his desperate situation, David focuses on God: Rock and responder (v 1), strength, protection, salvation and shepherd (vs 8,9). He brings his requests to one who is faithful, engaged and able, one who keeps and carries those in his care. In prayer we entrust our needs and desires to God, whose character can safely hold and handle the humanness of our hearts – what a comfort! David’s plea for mercy sets the tone of the psalm (vs 2,6); his primary motivation is help and justice personally (v 3), rather than harm for his adversaries.
Knowing that this prayer is bounded by God’s character and born of hope in his mercy, we come to the painting in the centre. Here, David leaves his appeal for justice in God’s hands, recognising that human will and work set against God’s will and work cannot stand (vs 4,5). Full of the complex colours of strong emotions, Psalm 28 is a picture of how, as those ‘after [God’s] own heart’ (Acts 13:22), we can embody justice as well as mercy, whatever we face.
Respond
Which aspects of God’s heart do you find it easy to emulate? Which are uncomfortable? Notice how you respond in different situations this week and ask God to shape your heart after his.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Numbers 8,9; Acts 16
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for a series of roadshows that SU Northern Ireland will be running this month, focusing on ways churches and Christian organisations can connect with and serve local schools in a variety of spiritual, pastoral and practical ways.
