Tehilim Perek 28

Welcome to NachDaily, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, and today we’ll be discussing Tehilim, chapter 28.

This perek is a prayer to ask God for help in continuing living life in a positive and productive manner, and to walk in the “good path.” We ask Hashem to steer us away from negative people and influences that can bring us down.

The Ramad Walli points out that the previous chapter ended with the concept of being hopeful. This chapter therefore begins with the idea of calling out to God, because praying becomes significantly easier when a person is truly hopeful.

Dovid calls to God, asking that his prayers not be ignored. Begging for Hashem to listen to his pleas, Dovid tells Him not to let him follow the ways of the wicked. Wicked people are cynical. They tend to pretend to be your friends, but are manipulative. They say that they want peace, but in their hearts they harbor resentment. Dovid asks God to repay them “mida k’neged mida – tit for tat,” what they deserve.

Beginning with verse 6 until the end, Dovid switches gears and expresses his thanks and gratitude, acknowledging that ultimately God has listened to his tefilos. God is my strength and shield; I trusted in Him and sing to Him, for true salvation comes from Him. Dovid ends with asking God to grant the Jewish people true salvation by up lifting their name for all of eternity.

In passuk Aleph it says;

לְדָוִ֡ד אֵ֘לֶ֤יךָ יְהוָ֨ה ׀ אֶקְרָ֗א צוּרִי֮ אַֽל־תֶּחֱרַ֪שׁ מִ֫מֶּ֥נִּי פֶּן־תֶּֽחֱשֶׁ֥ה מִמֶּ֑נִּי וְ֝נִמְשַׁ֗לְתִּי עִם־י֥וֹרְדֵי בֽוֹר׃

Of Dovid, I call out to You, O God, My Rock, do not be deaf to me. Because if You are deaf to me, I become silent like those who go down to the pit.

Dovid was constantly chased by people who wanted him dead. He needed Hashem to listen to his prayers when he called lest he end up dead in a pit.

The Alshich Hakodesh has an awesome observation. Our passuk says “Elecha Hashem ekra – To You, God, I call out” the word “ekra” can be understood either in the present tense or refer to the future. The latter would make the passuk read, “To You, Hashem, I will call out.” This would mean that Dovid was implying that God answers him even before he calls out to Him!

The Alshich continues with the following parable: There was once a king whose good friend was coming to ask him for a request. The king had great love for this friend and delighted in his words. Even before he is asked, the king has already made up his mind that he will give the friend anything that he requests.

In other words, God loves you so much that He preempts your prayers by answering them before you ask!

According to the passuk in Yeshaya, perek 65, God says; “Terem yikrau v’Ani eneh – Before you call out to Me, I will answer.”

God cares about each and every one of us. He’s constantly seeking to make our lives better. No matter in which circumstances we may find ourselves, we are surrounded by a tremendous amount of goodness.

Picture life without indoor plumbing, having insufficient clothing for cold weather, no heating or refrigeration! Imagine riding a horse and buggy with all those bumps!

We have so much good in our lives that is often overlooked. This is because even before we call out to God, He’s answered us!

We need to know and take to heart that God is not out to be cruel or “get” us. Many of us feel defeated by the world, and feel that there is no use in davening. From that low place we just mumble through our tefilos.

If we prayed from a place of gratitude and happiness, however, knowing that God only wants good for us, that He deeply cares and is hanging onto every word we utter, we would feel motivated to pray and believe what we’re actually saying.

Perhaps now we can understand why Dovid switches gears to thank Hashem in the middle of this chapter. When you recognize that God is actually concerned for your wellbeing and cares about you, then the natural reaction is to want to give back by thanking Him!

Let us merit to deeply connect with the truth of God’s deep care, love, and concern for us. When we see the many times in our lives that we were answered before we even called out, we will be motivated to ask, like Dovid, “Hoshea es amecha, u’varech es nachlasecha, u’r’aim v’nasem od olam- Save Your people, and bless Your portion, tend and elevate them forever.”

Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.