Verse
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. – Psalm 28:7
Meaning of Psalm 28:7
The meaning of Psalm 28:7 is that the author, King David, is acknowledging God as his sole source of strength. He also believes that God is his protector by recalling a possibly recent event at the time of writing the psalm, thus the phrase ‘my heart trusted in him, and I am helped’. David is known as the author of psalms included in the book of Psalms. The verse, ‘The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him’ also means that the reader relies on God for all his or her challenges and when they recognize God’s help, they also rejoice and share their success stories with the people around them.
Interpretations of Psalm 28:7
The verse Psalm 28:7 is known as one of the psalms read for encouragement. It also has multiple interpretations. A few are given below.
Interpretation #1 God offers protection to happy believers
In this interpretation, the reader is likely to believe that ‘The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him’ means when people are cheerful in nature, they are closer to God. Hence, God protects them from any kind of danger and gives them a reason to be bold. Here the phrase ‘with my song will I praise him’ implies that the believer, similar to King David, will sing praise songs to God at the worship place. He or she can also share testimonies at the church.
Interpretation #2 Without trust, God doesn’t help
This version is mostly believed by the reader who is fearful of God and understands that without having faith in Him, they are not protected by God. This interpretation is also taught by church leaders to encourage Christians to follow Christ with complete trust. By doing so, the believers can also have a positive mind and approach to their daily life as well as challenges they might face in life. Also, the readers consider the phrase ‘my heart trusted in him, and I am helped’ as proof that unless they trust in God, they will not be helped or protected.
Interpretation #3 Songs are more pleasing than prayers
In this interpretation, the reader loves to sing, especially at churches and on special occasions. He or she takes King David as an example, who was known to sing songs on his way to the place of worship while playing harp and dancing. It was likely that David was just escaped from trouble and was singing this psalm to praise God for help and thus mentions, ‘therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him’. The churches have a special division for singers, choirs, or worship teams who sing before the sermons and even close the church meeting with a song. Hence, the readers will prefer singing or worshiping to prayers when there is a challenge or good news.
Interpretation #4 Trusting God will make Christians fearless
This interpretation suggests that even a simple trust in God can transform a person into courageous. The phrase ‘The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him’ means that a Christian or the reader first accepts that their strength or boldness comes from God, who protects them if they rely on God. In this part of the verse ‘and I am helped’ the person has already seen how God works and experiences miracles in physical or supernatural realms. In the final phrase of the verse, ‘therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. ‘ the believer or the reader acknowledges the same in congregation at church or simply shares his or her experience with their family or friend. However, despite the verse spoken by David to honor God, the reader can use it to feel comfort and courage in hard times.
Historical background of Psalm 28:7
The book of psalms has more than one author but was mainly written by David during his exile. They were composed between 9 – 5 B.C. According to Psalm 28, David was in a challenging situation or even close to death. He was perhaps chased or cornered by enemies and received help from God at the last minute. The psalm is a description of how God rescued David and in turn, expresses his gratitude to God and repays it by singing and sharing his testimony at the place of worship. Psalm 28:7 especially appears as a summary of David’s past challenge, followed by his exultation.
Literary Devices of Psalm 28:7
The verse Psalm 28:7 is one of the prominent verses in the Old Testament. The literary analysis of the verse Psalm 28:7 is given below.
Assonance – The verse has a few repeated vowel sounds, and a few are in quick succession. For example, the sound of /i/ and the sound of /a/ in ‘my heart trusted in him, and I am helped’; the sound of /e/ and the sound of /i/ in ‘therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him’.
Alliteration – The verse has a few repeated consonant sounds and the start of the words without quick successions. For example, the sound of /m/, the sound of /h/, and the sound of /w/ in ‘The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.’
Consonance – The verse has a few repetitions of consonant sounds without quick successions. For example, the sound of /d/, the sound of /m/, the sound of /r/, and the sound of /t/ in ‘The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.’
Polysyndeton – The verse Psalm 28:7 is a good example of polysyndeton as the conjunction ‘and’ is repeated thrice in verse.
Theme – The major themes of Psalm 28:7 are courage, faith, and deliverance. The minor themes include testimony and comfort.