Verses 1-15, “Give ear to my prayer, O God, And do not hide Yourself from my supplication. Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily, 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. My heart is severely pained within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me. So I said, 'Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness. Selah. I would hasten my escape From the windy storm and tempest.' Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, For I have seen violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go around it on its walls; Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it. Destruction is in its midst; Oppression and deceit do not depart from its streets. 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. But it was you, a man my equal, My companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, And walked to the house of God in the throng. Let death seize them; Let them go down alive into hell, For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.”
In the midst of intense adversity, our flesh becomes weak, and we must cry out to God in order to stand. David knew that he had reached the point of complaining and was being overtaken with fears, so he turned to the One who can save him. Jesus told His disciples to pray in order to keep themselves from sinning. Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Especially knowing that we are in the last days, it is ever so important to be watchful in our prayers; so that we do not find that we ran this race in vain.
Verses 16-23, “As for me, I will call upon God, And the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, For there were many against me. 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. He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; He has broken his covenant. 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. Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. 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.”
Although David had enemies, they were really enemies of God, which is why he asks the Lord to deal with them. Then he reminds himself of the confidence he has in his dependence upon God. When we are at our lowest, being in the Word will remind us off the goodness and faithfulness and protection of God for His people. Although we need food to survive in a physical sense, we must be fed spiritually if we expect to be strong in the Lord to withstand the battles that come against us. David was betrayed by those who used to be his friends. This must have deeply hurt him, and why he had to cast that burden on the Lord, being too great to bear alone. No matter how bad our situation seems, the Lord is ready and willing to share your burden. I Peter 5:6-7, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Give ear to my prayer, O God, And do not hide Yourself from my supplication. Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily, 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. My heart is severely pained within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me. So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness. Selah I would hasten my escape From the windy storm and tempest.” Psalms 55:1-8
ReplyDeleteDavid wrote this psalm in a time of desperation. A time where he felt as though the Lord was hiding from. David had enemies, who trying to kill him, and the Lord, who he knew was the only person who could save him, wasn't there. David mentioned that he wished he could just go back to the wilderness where everything was much simpler and he knew God was always there.
When we too are in times of crisis, we tend to also want to go back to the wilderness. Not like the Israelites, but like David. When no one likes us and the only one we have is God. It seems much simpler and though we may be a hard time we have God. When there is people all around you pretending to be your freind, it is much harder. Sometimes you just wish you could go back to a simpler time. This is especially when you feel as though God is hiding. Sometimes God will put us in trials that are so uncomfortable and we wish they would just end. And in the times the Lord seems so far away. These are the times where we are put to the test, seeing if we will still trust in Him, nomatter if He is far away or not. In these times we should be earnestly praying for God's help to get through these times just as David did.