Chapter Twenty-Eight

According to the superscription of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin (Vulgate) Bibles, the psalm belongs to David. To indicate precisely the time and occasion of its writing, in the absence of any specific indications, is impossible. The addition to the Hebrew superscription “at the completion of the Feast of Tabernacles” is made according to the Greek Bible and indicates the time of use of this psalm by the Hebrews in worship: at the completion of the Feast of Tabernacles. At present the Hebrews use this psalm on the Feast of Pentecost.

David invites all the sons of God to give the Lord glory in His sanctuary (1–2). In the manifestations of thunder, the glory and power of the Lord are revealed, crushing the cedars of Lebanon, shaking the wilderness, causing the deer to give birth prematurely, and majestically seated over the waters of the flood (3–10). This Lord is the God of Israel, to whom He gives strength and peace (11).

Psalm 28:1. Give to the Lord, you sons of God, give to the Lord glory and honor, “Sons of God”—they are invited to give God praise in the sanctuary, which indicates that they are not bodiless spirits, but people (compare Ps 81:1). By “sons of God” should be understood all those endowed with authority over other people, that is, kings, nobles, princes, and priests.

Psalm 28:3. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord over many waters. In the extraordinary torrents from rain and in the terrifying storms of the East is heard the majestic voice of the Deity; these phenomena happen according to His will.

Psalm 28:5. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon Psalm 28:6. and makes them leap like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion, like a young wild ox. The mighty cedars of Lebanon, famous for their sturdiness and strength, are shattered by the voice of the Deity, like reeds, and scattered by the powerful storm on the mountainsides just as calves leap on Lebanon and Sirion (the Sidonite name for Mount Hermon, one of the most magnificent mountains in the northeast of Palestine).

Psalm 28:7. The voice of the Lord strikes with a flash of fire. “The voice of the Lord strikes with a flash of fire”—refers to lightning.

Psalm 28:8. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The Lord shakes the wilderness—in the wilderness from the storm a mass of sand and dust rises, and the animal kingdom of the wilderness trembles and flees.

Psalm 28:9. The voice of the Lord causes the deer to give birth and strips the forests bare; and in His temple all declare His glory. “The voice of the Lord causes the deer to give birth”—a common phenomenon in the East, when these timid animals give birth prematurely to their offspring at strong storms. “Strips the forests bare”—or strips them of their leaves, or uproots many trees, from which the forested area becomes bare, the thicket becomes sparse and transparent.

Psalm 28:10. The Lord sat enthroned over the flood, and the Lord will sit enthroned as king forever. “The Lord sat enthroned over the flood”—in the mass of water that falls during these rains, the power of the Lord is revealed, at whose will it falls. The Lord, as on a throne, is enthroned over the clouds.

Psalm 28:11. The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace. If the word of the Lord is so magnificent and powerful, then the people who honor Him are assured of peace forever: the Lord is able to protect them from enemies.