“Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.”
The psalmist explains why the wicked merit judgment: they do not regard the works of God or understand the deeds of his hands. The phrase "the works of the LORD" refers both to God's mighty acts of creation and covenant history. The indictment that the wicked "do not understand" positions their wickedness as rooted in spiritual blindness and lack of discernment. This verse suggests that moral failing and spiritual blindness are integrally connected: those who refuse to see God's works naturally drift toward wickedness. The promise that God will "tear them down and not build them up" employs imagery of construction and destruction.
Church Fathers on Psalms 28:5
Of David himself. 1. It is the Voice of the Mediator Himself, strong of hand in the conflict of the Passion. Now what He seems to wish for against His enemies, is not the wish of malevolence, but the declaration of their punishment; as in the Gospel, Matthew 11:20-24 with the cities, in which though He had performed miracles, yet they had not believed on Him, He does not wish in any evil will what He says, but predicts what is impending over them. 2. “Unto You, O Lord, have…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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