PSALM 28
7. The Lord is my strength and my (impenetrable) shield; my heart trusts, relies on and confidently leans on Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices and with my song will I praise Him. Amp. C.
Here we have another Psalm of David. He is crying to the Lord so we know he is in trouble and in pain. He needs immediate help and is afraid of death. He is lifting his hands and doing all he knows to do to get the Lord’s attention.
We do not live like David at that time. We can barely imagine what he faced. He was not just running from Saul but other enemy nations that he had fought with Saul and slain his ten thousands. So, he was feared by them, and they would love to eradicate him. He had reasons to be concerned like we do not know.
Although we may not fight a physical battle like David, we still have our own spiritual enemies that we must battle every day. We need to learn to pray like David because he was heard.
6. Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplications.
David knows the answer to his cry is trust. He says the Lord is his strength and impenetrable shield and his heart trusts. He does not say he can ride off into the sunset and disappear safely. He says he trusts and therefore he is helped.
David knows that trust means to lean and rely on the Lord. He knows he can have confident expectation that all will be safe for him. But that is not the end of it. What does David do?
He rejoices and with his song will he praise the Lord! He ends by making a statement, not a cry or prayer but He is stating the facts about this lesson he has learned. What has he learned?
The Lord is his strength and stronghold. The Lord revealed Himself to David as a mighty impenetrable shield that nothing could penetrate. He knew he was saved. And not only him but he prayed for his people to be saved and nourished by their Shepherd forever.
This is what is making David a king. He had no way of providing for Israel, until now. He knows the Lord in a deeper way than when he woke up today. Now he can pray the prayer of faith for Israel and confidently expect answers because he knows the Lord for himself. That is how kings are made.