For our Psalm 28 1 Commentary we’ll begin by noting that David begins by invoking and petitioning the Lord in verse 1.
KJV Psalm 28:1 <A Psalm of David.>
Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock;
be not silent to me:lest, if thou be silent to me,
I become like them that go down into the pit.
Psalm 28 1 Commentary: “My Rock”
So, David invokes the Lord and identifies the Lord as his rock. His inaccessible stronghold that will remove him from danger. That’s how David is picturing the Lord.
Psalm 28 1 Commentary: “Unto Thee Will I Cry”
And it’s to this being – the Lord – that David is crying. He’s praying. And it’s an urgent matter.
Psalm 28 1 Commentary: “Be Not Silent”
David begs the Lord to not be silent in response to his prayer. David uses two different Hebrew words that communicate basically the same message.
The meaning of that first use of silent can emphasize deafness – the inability of a person to hear. While the second use of the word silent emphasizes the inability to speak.
So, David asks the Lord to not be closed off to him – both when it comes to the Lord hearing and responding to David’s desperate cry for help.
He needs God to both hear and respond to his request.
Psalm 28 1 Commentary: “The Pit”
Well, what will happen – in David’s mind – if the Lord remains silent to his cry? He will go down to the pit. In other words, he will die.
Psalm 28 1 Commentary: “Bor, Not Sheol”
The word behind pit here is not sheol (which is often used in the context of death) but rather bor which is term that can refer to a literal pit dug into the ground – even a well. And what’s interesting is that that word rhymes with the word behind rock in the first line of verse 1.
Psalm 28 1 Commentary: “Rock and Pit”
So, there’s a little word play involved here. David cries out to his rock (Hebrew – tsor) lest he become like one who goes down to the pit (Hebrew – bor).
And just think of the contrast between those two realities – a high rocky protective summit…and a low dark dismal pit. And only if protection comes from that rock will David be able to avoid the pit.
Psalm 28 1 Commentary: Summary
So, this is how urgent David feels his request to be. If God does not answer David’s cry for help, David feels like he will die.
Now, back to our Psalm 28 Commentary!
Explaining The Book 
Very enlightening praise God helps me see the gem of the text and enriching as I will share this in my preaching. Thanks a lot
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I am reading this on October 25, 2022, 3 days before my birthday on October 28. It is so interesting that the only other comment I see was left on my birthday, October 28, 2019. I was in a dark place, as that was the first birthday of my life without my dear mother, who passed away in April 2019.
Adding to that, Psalm 28:7 is my favorite scripture in the Bible but I have never really studied the entire psalm. In doing so this week, I have come to embrace the psalm more fully than just verse 27. I have been crying out to the Lord for so long in exactly the same manner as David in verses 1, 2. Almost to the word, I have asked the Lord not to turn away from my plea, to hear me, and to respond lest I die. Not a literal death and not the death of my soul, but the kind of emotional death that comes from the despair of what happens on this earth. The passage commentary helped me to better understand that I am not alone in my cries to God. I will continue to seek His face until His response is clear to me.
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