Psalm 28, If God is Silent

January 28

Opening Prayer

Enlighten, O our Lord and God, the movements of our meditations to hear and understand the sweet listenings to Thy life-giving and divine commands; and grant unto us through Thy grace and mercy to gather from them the assurance of love, and hope, and salvation suitable to soul and body, and we shall sing to Thee everlasting glory without ceasing and always, O Lord of all.[8]

Psalm 28

Psalm 28:1–2 ESV

1 To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.

If God is Silent

If God is silent we are ruined. If you want to ruin a relationship just go quiet. Stop talking, sharing, and listening to the other person. It won’t take long for the other to get the message. The brush-off, the cold shoulder, and the silent treatment all send the same message—I don’t want or need you in my life. David knows that if the Lord turns his back on him he is as good as dead.

Psalm 28:1 (ESV)

1b if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.

Just as the universe needed to be spoken into existence, our lives are created and sustained by the voice of God. My soul finds order in the chaos of this life as I listen to God. The Holy of Holies, or sanctuary (Ps. 28:2), was the inner most room of the tent of meeting. The place where Moses, Aaron, and the priests would meet with God. David’s prayers were likewise geographically aimed at this holy meeting place. Today, God’s spirit has been placed in the human temple of every believer so that we may speak and hear from God in the most personal way, God’s Spirit to our human mind and soul.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

We are given the opportunity to glorify or lift our voice in praise to God and honor him in the interior of our mind. Our soul dwells together with God’s Spirit within this new Holy of Holies. This changes everything about our lives. No longer are we tossed about by the waves of circumstance, instead we are anchored to the living word of God. His living presence a good shepherd who calls us to himself and carries us through life.

Prayer

Jesus, savior of our souls, speak to us and lead us in your ways. May my actions today reflect my trust in you. Provide me with your strength and protection as I face trials and suffering. Thank you for being my Good Shepherd.

8 “The Liturgy of the Blessed Apostles,” The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1886), 561–562.