The Mountain Is Not Yet Ascended: The King And His People As The Nations Rage In Psalms 25–33 (Part 5)—Psalm 28 And Prayer For Justice

by on October 10, 2026 | Comment

“I would not wish that on my worst enemy.” We say this when we consider something truly catastrophic befalling someone. We think this situation would be so awful that we believe no one deserves such a fate.

That said, sometimes we long for justice to be served. While we may not wish for anyone to endure specifically gruesome endings, wrongdoings deserve just recompense. Sometimes we are petty in our longing for comeuppance for those who have harmed us in some way. Other times, we need the Lord to come to our aid and overcome our challenges and trials by bringing restoration to the situation through justice.

Psalm 28 is a prayer for justice when a believer needs the Lord to make clear that he is in the right against those who have wronged him. In some cases, the form of that vindication is that those who have opposed God’s people must receive just consequences.

The Psalter contains different kinds of psalms, including praises, laments, and songs of confidence. Psalm 28 is what we call an imprecatory psalm.1 Imprecatory psalms request that God would act against the psalmist’s enemies, particularly in judgment. Psalm 28’s central section requests that God would bring the proper consequences on the wicked.

Psalm 28 shapes our discipleship by teaching us to measure our desires for those who have wronged us against godly standards. It makes us think that we should not rush to wish judgment on someone else for silly reasons. On the other hand, it teaches us to look to God for justice. The main point is that God is the avenger and defender of his people.

Removal

As with many of these passages, we do not know the specific background for Psalm 28. Still, Psalms 25–28 seem to have been written around the same time in response to an undeserved accusation made by enemies.2 Psalm 28 culminates these prayers, as Psalms 25–27 were about not being put to shame, vindication, and great confidence despite great threats.3 The psalmists’ confidence in Psalm 27 progresses in Psalm 28 into wanting judgment on those who wronged him.4 As a climax, Psalm 29 develops Psalm 28:8 that the Lord is the strength of his people.5

Psalm 27 began on a note of strong confidence and shifts into a cry for help, which taught us that we should pray to God with boldness out of a sense of his previous faithfulness. Psalm 28 reverses that order from Psalm 27 as the lament precedes the praise.6 The structure of Psalm 28 is, in verses 1–2, David’s cry to be heard; then in verses 3–5, his petition for judgment on his enemies; and finally, in verses 6–9, praises for God as the dependable protector of his people.7

As is often the case, the main point is at the center, making verse 4 the focus of this song8:

Give to them [the wicked in v. 3] according to their work

and according to the evil of their deeds;

give to them according to the work of their hands;

render them their due reward.

David was under pressure with enemies relentlessly pursuing him. In the ongoing plotline of the nations in conflict against God’s king throughout the psalms, this tension has built. The king has often been at prayer for God to rescue him. Now the king perceives that the only remaining solution to his problem is for God to remove his enemies. When the removal of our enemies is the only way forward, we pray for God to act against them.

Rules

How do we apply this psalm to ourselves? People have often questioned whether these imprecatory psalms are fitting today for the church’s use. They wonder if asking God to judge our enemies is out of accord with the goals of grace in the new covenant era. Changes between the old covenant and the new covenant suggest that the symbolic aspect of Israel’s life under the law emphasizes the law’s condemning effects on the nations in a way that does not make sense in the new covenant, now that God’s promises extend to all nations.

In verses 1–2, David fears that he may become like the wicked and not different from them.9 He does not want to be like those who go to the pit, instead wanting to be counted as those who go up to God’s sanctuary.

We learn that we do not ask God to take action against our enemies just to get a better situation for ourselves. Rather, David’s desire to be known as one who is devoted to God’s presence is experienced through the means of grace. We must pray, keeping in mind that God’s action is not just about making us comfortable but about distinguishing his people from his enemies.

Any prayer for God to take action should focus on making clear that we have sided with God. In other words, these prayers of outright judgment are never for another Christian who annoys you. They belong only to situations where real wickedness is involved. This lesson carries over into the next section as the deeds of the wicked show that they do not understand the deeds of Yahweh.10 Our concern has to be for God to be glorified as we are aligned with him in situations of real injustice. Verses 3–5 teach us several important lessons about prayer. First, we see that David’s prayer for judgment is consistently for God to act. His prayer is not, “God, let me get one up on this troublesome person.” David had not forgotten that God is the avenger of his people.

If we ever find ourselves in real need of a prayer like this one, we must remind ourselves not to ask God to let us humiliate someone else for personal satisfaction. Rather, we look to God for this action when it is the only way to relieve the suffering of godly people under truly ungodly pressure. We look for God to answer this prayer.

Second, we must assess our hearts carefully to make sure that we pray these requests with no pettiness or readiness. If we are quick to pray imprecations, we are not in the right place. We are twenty-eight psalms into the Psalter, which is full of requests for rescue. Still, the king has not rushed to pray for judgment against enemies.

We do not pray God’s judgment just out of disagreement or discomfort. We do not pray these requests when we are annoyed or want something really badly. We pray this sort of prayer when there is no other way to vindicate God’s people other than God bringing judgment on his enemies. We follow the king’s example here in praying without vindictiveness that God would uphold covenant curses against covenant breakers.11 This prayer is a warning against hypocrisy and a check for vindictiveness as we search ourselves in our prayer life.12

Verses 6–9 remind us that God’s glory is the ultimate motivation for this sort of prayer, not our own convenience. In trusting God to answer his prayer, David does not say to his enemies, “Haha, got ya!” He does not say, “Look who got what is coming!” He does not gloat or trash talk.

Rather, he glorifies God. We check our hearts about praying these prayers in a godly way by imagining our reaction if we saw God judge our enemies. Does our heart lean to self-fulfillment that we got our way? Or do we rejoice that God is kind? Are we rejoicing about human aspects of the situation? Or are we rejoicing that God is good and has proven himself again faithful and strong for his people? The rules for praying this prayer require focus on God and godliness as we ask it.

Refuge

Why is it right for Christians to pray this psalm?13 We consider Revelation 22:18–20: “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

The prayer “Come, Lord Jesus” is part of the Christian’s cry for hope. We pray it because we long to see Christ come again in glory. Still, we cannot forget that the biblical, New Testament example of praying for Christ’s return is not just a prayer for our entry into glory. It is also a prayer that Christ will bring judgment. Even the preceding verses in Revelation 22 are about judgment. When Christ returns, judgment occurs, and we are supposed to pray for his return.

So, we have a broad perspective in which we are always praying this prayer in one sense. This use is not exactly about a particular situation in my life or your life. It is still a prayer that Christ will bring justice against wickedness. We think about Christ’s prayer for justice in Matthew 23:14–24:1 and the long list of woes that he invokes.14 We remember that the word “woe” is not truly about the emotion of sadness but about curses—the consequences of rebellion against God.

Accordingly, we realize why we are slow to pray for judgment against others. We are all rebels against God. We have all sinned against the Lord and deserve his condemnation. We should be dragged off to the pit because of our unrighteousness.

Because of our unrighteousness and because all of us deserve to receive from God according to our evil deeds, Christ died. While we were yet ungodly, Christ went to the cross to forgive our sins. We have rescue from ultimate condemnation before the Lord because salvation is available in Christ Jesus. He is the one who died so that all this judgment against sin has already been satisfied for everyone who trusts in him by faith.

We continue to pray this prayer in the new covenant, even as good news goes to the nations, because God can answer it for us in the same way he did for his people under the old covenant. As Jesus is the ultimate king who could pray this prayer, nonetheless he took our judgment on himself and asks the Father to forgive our sin. Judgment comes on the nations as God subdues and conquers his enemies by the power of the gospel. This victory is not about political power. It is about how God destroys his enemies by turning them into his friends through the grace of the Lord Jesus applied to save sinners.

David closes in verse 9, “Oh save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.” This language of heritage alludes to Psalm 2:8 and the promise that God would make the nations the heritage for his king. The Messiah’s people are saved and shepherded as the king’s enemies are demolished.15 Yet grace demolishes the king’s enemies by dealing with our sin and giving us refuge from judgment in Christ Jesus, the king who shepherds his people in salvation.

[1] Bruce K. Waltke and Fred G. Zaspel, How to Read and Understand the Psalms (Crossway, 2023), 306.

[2] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Lexham Academic, 2021), 1:322.

[3] Hamilton, Psalms, 1:329; Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms (Kregel Academic, 2011–16); and Ross, Psalms, 1:608, 625.

[4] Hamilton, Psalms, 1:336.

[5] Christopher Ash, The Psalms: A Christ-Centered Commentary (Crossway, 2024), 2:340.

[6] Ross, Psalms, 1:639; and John Goldingay, Psalms, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms (Baker Academic, 2006–2008), 1:403.

[7] Hamilton, Psalms, 1:334.

[8] Hamilton, Psalms, 1:334.

[9] Ross, Psalms, 1:641–42; Dale Ralph Davis, In the Presence of my Enemies: Psalms 25–37 (Christian Focus, 2020), 66–67.

[10] Hamilton, Psalms, 1:338.

[11] Ash, Psalms: A Christ-Centered Commentary (Crossway, 2024), 2:333.

[12] Ash, Psalms, 2:336.

[13] Ross, Psalms, 1:649–50; and Goldingay, Psalms, 1:409–10.

[14] Hamilton, Psalms, 1:339.

[15] Ash, Psalms, 2:329.

© Harrison Perkins. All Rights Reserved.

RESOURCES

Heidelberg Reformation Association
1637 E. Valley Parkway #391
Escondido CA 92027
USA
The HRA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization

Subscribe to the Heidelblog today!


More in Psalms 25–33: The Mountain Is Not Yet Ascended

More in Saturday Psalm Series

View all 189 posts in this series

Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments are welcome but must observe the moral law (Matt 22:37–40). Comments that are profane, that deny the moral law, that deny the gospel, that advance positions contrary to the Reformed confession, or that irritate the management are subject to deletion. Please use a working email address so we can contact you, if necessary, about content or corrections.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.