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This is a song that David wrote.

God answers prayer

28 Lord, I am calling to you for help.
You are my safe place, like a high rock.[a]
    Please do not refuse to listen to me.
If you do not answer me,
    I will be like those who are going down
    into the deep hole of death.
Hear me when I call to you for help.
    Please be kind to me.
I am lifting up my hands
    towards your Most Holy Place.[b]
Do not pull me away to punishment,
    as you do with wicked people.
Those people do evil things.
They say kind words to their friends,
    but really they want to hurt them.
Punish them for their sins.
    Give back to them what they deserve!
Yes, punish them!
    That is the fair thing to do.
They do not want to understand
    the things that the Lord has done,
    or the things that he has made.
The Lord will punish them,
    and he will remove them for ever.
We should praise the Lord!
He has been kind to me,
    when I called to him for help.
The Lord makes me strong.
    He keeps me safe like a shield.
I trust in him completely,
    and he has helped me.
I am very happy,
    and I will thank him with my songs.
The Lord makes his people strong.
He protects the king that he has chosen.
    The Lord keeps him safe.[c]
Lord, save your people!
    Bless the people who belong to you!
Take care of your people like a shepherd.
    Always carry them in your arms!

Footnotes

  1. 28:1 ‘Rock’ is a name for God. It means that God is a place where people can be safe.
  2. 28:2 When they prayed, Jews often lifted their hands up to God. Christians may do the same. Paul wrote, ‘I want people to lift up their hands and pray.’ See 1 Timothy 2:8. The Most Holy Place was the inside room of God's Temple, where the Covenant Box was.
  3. 28:8 The Hebrew word for the king that God has chosen is ‘Messiah’. Jesus is the special King that God has chosen, God's Messiah. He was a descendant of King David.