Psalm 28 · a question people ask
"Give them according to their work" (28:4). Should a believer pray like this?
Here is what Psalm 28 itself says. The psalmist asks the LORD to act, and doesn't say he will act himself: "Give them according to their work … Bring back on them what they deserve" (28:4). He gives a reason, "Because they don’t respect the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands" (28:5), and says what the LORD will do: "he will break them down and not build them up" (28:5). Other verses say that the LORD repays people by what they do. A psalm says, "for you reward every man according to his work" (Psalm 62:12), where work is the Hebrew of Psalm 28:4's operation (tap operation). Proverbs asks, "Shall he not give to every man according to his work?" (Proverbs 24:12), where work is the Hebrew of Psalm 28:4's work (tap work). Paul writes of God, who "will pay back to everyone according to their works" (Romans 2:6). Psalm 28 is not the only psalm that asks God to act against the wicked, and Christians read these prayers in more than one way. The chapter on Psalm 109 sets out the main readings, each resting on its verses, and chooses none. These notes don't choose either.
The verses
“Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings. Give them according to the operation of their hands. Bring back on them what they deserve. Because they don’t respect the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he will break them down and not build them up.”
“Also to you, Lord, belongs loving kindness, for you reward every man according to his work.”
“If you say, “Behold, we didn’t know this,” doesn’t he who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, doesn’t he know it? Shall he not give to every man according to his work?”
“who “will pay back to everyone according to their works:””