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 is David’s confession of answered prayer and thankful confidence. He had cried unto the LORD, pleaded not to be drawn away with the wicked, and asked God to judge men according to their deeds (vv.1-5). Then comes the turn: “Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications” (v.6). Verse 7 explains what David knows from that answer. Jehovah is his strength and shield, his heart trusted Him, help came, joy followed, and praise became necessary. This is worship born from experienced deliverance.
“The LORD is my strength.” David begins with Jehovah Himself, not with the particular means by which deliverance came. LORD in all capital letters is the King James Bible’s usual way of representing the ancient Hebrew tetragrammaton, JHVH. David does not say only that God gave him strength. He says Jehovah is his strength. Gifts may vary, circumstances may change, and human strength may fail, but the source remains. Asaph confessed the same: “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever” (Psalm 73:26). David’s strength begins where self-confidence ends.
“And my shield.” A shield protects against blows that would otherwise wound or kill. David knew literal shields from war, but he uses the word for God’s protection. Earlier Scripture had used the same language when God told Abram, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1). David’s enemies could speak peace with mischief in their hearts (v.3), plot, threaten, and strike, but Jehovah stood between His servant and what He had not appointed to reach him.
This does not mean the godly never suffer. David suffered much. A shield does not mean there is no battle; it means the battle is not outside God’s protection. Paul later described the shield of faith by which believers quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (Ephesians 6:16). David’s confidence is not that danger is imaginary, but that Jehovah is greater than the danger. He does not trust in the absence of enemies. He trusts the God who protects him among them.
“My heart trusted in him.” David now names his response. Trust was not confined to his mouth. His heart rested in God. Scripture makes much of the heart because true confidence cannot be reduced to outward language. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). David had prayed, waited, and committed his cause to Jehovah before he saw the answer. His trust therefore preceded the help he now celebrates.
This is practical faith. It does not mean David understood every providence or knew beforehand exactly how God would answer. He trusted the Person when he could not yet see the method. Such trust is tested precisely when visible support is weak. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Psalm 56:3). Fear and trust can meet in the same trial; trust rules when the heart chooses God over what fear predicts.
“And I am helped.” David now states the result plainly. He trusted, and God helped him. The passive form keeps the glory where it belongs. David does not boast, I delivered myself. He says, “I am helped.” The LORD heard his supplications (v.6), and the answer became help. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). God may remove a danger, strengthen the saint to endure it, expose an enemy, or restrain what otherwise would have happened. The form belongs to His wisdom; the help is His.
“Therefore.” This word connects help to joy. David does not receive mercy as though nothing happened. Because Jehovah helped him, something changes in the heart. Biblical praise is not manufactured excitement; it answers truth and providence. God heard, God helped, therefore David rejoices. Ten lepers were cleansed, but only one returned to glorify God and give thanks (Luke 17:15-18). David will not take the blessing and forget the Blesser. A man who receives mercy without thanksgiving has failed to read providence rightly.
“My heart greatly rejoiceth.” The same heart that trusted now rejoices. Trust came before the visible answer; joy follows the help. The adverb “greatly” is fitting because the mercy was not small to David. He had cried earnestly, and the LORD had heard him. Deep need makes deliverance precious. “The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory” (Psalm 64:10). The heart learns both lessons: trust Him in trouble and rejoice in Him when He answers.
“And with my song.” Joy now reaches the mouth. David will not keep thanksgiving private. Song gives ordered expression to praise and carries truth through the memory and affections. Israel sang after deliverance from Egypt, “The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation” (Exodus 15:2). A cold acknowledgment would not fit a heart that greatly rejoiceth. Paul commanded saints to sing with grace in their hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3:16). Biblical singing is not performance for men. It is truth in the heart given voice before God.
“Will I praise him.” David ends with resolution. Praise is not left to mood. He will praise the One who became his strength, shield, and help. Scripture gives the same pattern elsewhere: “I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works” (Psalm 9:1). The object is God Himself. David does not glorify his courage, faith, wisdom, or endurance. He praises Him.
Jesus Christ also trusted the Father through opposition and suffering. His enemies mocked at the cross, “He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him” (Matthew 27:43). God did deliver Him, raising Him from the dead, and the New Testament puts thanksgiving in His mouth: “Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee” (Hebrews 2:12). David’s trust was real but imperfect; Christ’s was without failure.
Let trouble drive the heart toward Jehovah rather than toward self-reliance. Trust Him before the answer, recognize His hand when help comes, and do not let received mercy pass without praise. “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me” (Psalm 50:23). Make Jehovah your strength in weakness, your shield in danger, and the object of the song that rises when His help has made the heart glad.
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 is David’s confession of answered prayer and thankful confidence. He had cried unto the LORD, pleaded not to be drawn away with the wicked, and asked God to judge men according to their deeds (vv.1-5). Then comes the turn: “Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications” (v.6). Verse 7 explains what David knows from that answer. Jehovah is his strength and shield, his heart trusted Him, help came, joy followed, and praise became necessary. This is worship born from experienced deliverance.
“The LORD is my strength.” David begins with Jehovah Himself, not with the particular means by which deliverance came. LORD in all capital letters is the King James Bible’s usual way of representing the ancient Hebrew tetragrammaton, JHVH. David does not say only that God gave him strength. He says Jehovah is his strength. Gifts may vary, circumstances may change, and human strength may fail, but the source remains. Asaph confessed the same: “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever” (Psalm 73:26). David’s strength begins where self-confidence ends.
“And my shield.” A shield protects against blows that would otherwise wound or kill. David knew literal shields from war, but he uses the word for God’s protection. Earlier Scripture had used the same language when God told Abram, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1). David’s enemies could speak peace with mischief in their hearts (v.3), plot, threaten, and strike, but Jehovah stood between His servant and what He had not appointed to reach him.
This does not mean the godly never suffer. David suffered much. A shield does not mean there is no battle; it means the battle is not outside God’s protection. Paul later described the shield of faith by which believers quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (Ephesians 6:16). David’s confidence is not that danger is imaginary, but that Jehovah is greater than the danger. He does not trust in the absence of enemies. He trusts the God who protects him among them.
“My heart trusted in him.” David now names his response. Trust was not confined to his mouth. His heart rested in God. Scripture makes much of the heart because true confidence cannot be reduced to outward language. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). David had prayed, waited, and committed his cause to Jehovah before he saw the answer. His trust therefore preceded the help he now celebrates.
This is practical faith. It does not mean David understood every providence or knew beforehand exactly how God would answer. He trusted the Person when he could not yet see the method. Such trust is tested precisely when visible support is weak. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Psalm 56:3). Fear and trust can meet in the same trial; trust rules when the heart chooses God over what fear predicts.
“And I am helped.” David now states the result plainly. He trusted, and God helped him. The passive form keeps the glory where it belongs. David does not boast, I delivered myself. He says, “I am helped.” The LORD heard his supplications (v.6), and the answer became help. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). God may remove a danger, strengthen the saint to endure it, expose an enemy, or restrain what otherwise would have happened. The form belongs to His wisdom; the help is His.
“Therefore.” This word connects help to joy. David does not receive mercy as though nothing happened. Because Jehovah helped him, something changes in the heart. Biblical praise is not manufactured excitement; it answers truth and providence. God heard, God helped, therefore David rejoices. Ten lepers were cleansed, but only one returned to glorify God and give thanks (Luke 17:15-18). David will not take the blessing and forget the Blesser. A man who receives mercy without thanksgiving has failed to read providence rightly.
“My heart greatly rejoiceth.” The same heart that trusted now rejoices. Trust came before the visible answer; joy follows the help. The adverb “greatly” is fitting because the mercy was not small to David. He had cried earnestly, and the LORD had heard him. Deep need makes deliverance precious. “The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory” (Psalm 64:10). The heart learns both lessons: trust Him in trouble and rejoice in Him when He answers.
“And with my song.” Joy now reaches the mouth. David will not keep thanksgiving private. Song gives ordered expression to praise and carries truth through the memory and affections. Israel sang after deliverance from Egypt, “The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation” (Exodus 15:2). A cold acknowledgment would not fit a heart that greatly rejoiceth. Paul commanded saints to sing with grace in their hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3:16). Biblical singing is not performance for men. It is truth in the heart given voice before God.
“Will I praise him.” David ends with resolution. Praise is not left to mood. He will praise the One who became his strength, shield, and help. Scripture gives the same pattern elsewhere: “I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works” (Psalm 9:1). The object is God Himself. David does not glorify his courage, faith, wisdom, or endurance. He praises Him.
Jesus Christ also trusted the Father through opposition and suffering. His enemies mocked at the cross, “He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him” (Matthew 27:43). God did deliver Him, raising Him from the dead, and the New Testament puts thanksgiving in His mouth: “Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee” (Hebrews 2:12). David’s trust was real but imperfect; Christ’s was without failure.
Let trouble drive the heart toward Jehovah rather than toward self-reliance. Trust Him before the answer, recognize His hand when help comes, and do not let received mercy pass without praise. “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me” (Psalm 50:23). Make Jehovah your strength in weakness, your shield in danger, and the object of the song that rises when His help has made the heart glad.