Psalms 28: Healthy Dependence

Psalms 28: Healthy Dependence

 

Have you ever noticed that people tend to have a very unhealthy dependence on other people? It’s as if one person cannot have a life unless they have others to “make them whole.” Ok, I’ll date myself again, do you remember that Barbara Streisand song, “People?” The lyrics say, “people who need people are the luckiest people in the world.” C’mon! Is she serious?! Do you know what people do to each other? Unless they are completely altruistic, on their own they are constantly using one another for their own benefit. Doesn’t it look that way sometimes? So what is a healthy dependence? Whom do we trust?

 

In Psalm 28, David places his dependence solely on God. Even if the help comes from another person, David is convinced that it was providentially ordained. David talks about the things he is dependent on God for in this Psalm. He starts in verse 1 with his very life.

 

In verse 1, David calls out to God. He tells God that if God doesn’t answer, that David can only die. In verse 2, David goes on to ask God to protect him from the evil in the world. He looks around and sees the hypocrisy of human relationships. He sees neighbor using neighbor. He sees that even if they are nice to their neighbor, it is for their own purposes. In verse 3-5, David asks God to maintain justice in this type of world.

 

Knowing that he can fall prey to the same fate, David asks God to have mercy on him (v 6-7), and to save him from himself (his own sin), and the sins of others. David tells God that he trusts Him for that. Verses 8-9 is a response in worship to the trust David has placed in a trustworthy God. David sings to the world about the wonderful God he serves. Who are you dependent on?