Psalms 55:1-23
To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Contemplation of David.
1 Give ear to my prayer, O God,
And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Attend to me, and hear me;
I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the oppression of the wicked;
For they bring down trouble upon me,
And in wrath they hate me.
4 My heart is severely pained within me,
And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me,
And horror has overwhelmed me.
6 So I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
7 Indeed, I would wander far off,
And remain in the wilderness.
Selah
8 I would hasten my escape
From the windy storm and tempest."
9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues,
For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it on its walls;
Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it.
11 Destruction is in its midst;
Oppression and deceit do not depart from its streets.
12 For it is not an enemy who reproaches me;
Then I could bear it.
Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me;
Then I could hide from him.
13 But it was you, a man my equal,
My companion and my acquaintance.
14 We took sweet counsel together,
And walked to the house of God in the throng.
15 Let death seize them;
Let them go down alive into hell,
For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.
16 As for me, I will call upon God,
And the LORD shall save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.
18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,
For there were many against me.
19 God will hear, and afflict them,
Even He who abides from of old.
Selah
Because they do not change,
Therefore they do not fear God.
20 He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him;
He has broken his covenant.
21 The words of his mouth were smoother than butter,
But war was in his heart;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn swords.
22 Cast your burden on the LORD,
And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
23 But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction;
Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days;
But I will trust in You.
This psalm is David’s wise contemplation of trust, of faith, in the faithfulness of God among friends who betray him. It is wisdom for us to contemplate as well when those close to us betray or turn on us. As the enemy brings trouble and oppressive words, even to the point of hate, he cries out to the God who hears. His restless heart brings him overwhelming fear, even of death because of the oppression of the wicked set against God and thus against His servant. It is as we who are chosen in Christ; we also are targeted by the enemy because we are in Him as His people. Sometimes the overwhelming attacks can bring fearful trembling of the horrors of what could happen, but we can ask like David for the deliverance of the Lord to carry us away as if plucked up by a bird and flown off to a more peaceful place to rest and recover. Dwell on that for a few moments. As we then hurry to escape the storms of life as the psalmist, we pray for the Lord to bring the attacks and hateful words of the enemy to nothing, to remove us from the hate and violence (unless for God’s purposes for His glory; Romans 8:17, 2 Timothy 3:12, 1 Peter 3:16-17, 4:19). The most difficult enemy as we find here is a friend who turns on us as to the king of Israel who penned this song. It is so much easier to deal with oppression and opposition of an enemy, and that is as expected. Here it is shown to be a fellow friend of God who worshipped together and took counsel from Him together, making the pain of betrayal that much more difficult to deal with. The wounds of a friend cut deepest. David prayed for their destruction because of the wickedness, bit we are told to pray for our enemies and do good to them in spite of their spite towards us (Matthew 5:44), for we also have been forgiven so much after betraying our Lord by our rebellion of sin. This is grace given for our enemies as we have received it ourselves. The king goes on to give a sound example of our response, to pray for deliverance from the oppression. We should pray without ceasing - evening, morning, and at noon, even crying aloud. We know by faith that He shall certainly hear us. He has redeemed us from the battle against us by the ultimate enemy of our souls, the Adversary of old who is against God’s people (Revelation 12:17), and will continue to deliver us from our enemies even now as we pray with trust in our Lord and His goodness. He alone brings us peace, even more now in Christ (Romans 5:1, 16:20). Unfortunately, there are those who will not change because they are opposed to God and claim to have no fear of Him; they will when they die. He will bring down all of them. But for our companions who turn on us, they have sharp words to wound us because of their own inner turmoil battling what they know is right. We must pray for them as we trust in God’s grace in Christ. This psalm reminds us that we can cast our heavy burdens on our Lord, knowing that He will sustain us in the righteousness of Christ, carrying us through the trials and tribulations. He is our firm foundation, the Rock who keeps us from moving. Only trust Him, especially among those close in the congregation who become treacherous.
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