Psalms 55:10-20

10 (54-11) Day and night shall iniquity surround it upon its walls: and in the midst thereof are labour,

11 (54-12) And injustice. And usury and deceit have not departed from its streets.

12 (54-13) For if my enemy had reviled me, I would verily have borne with it. And if he that hated me had spoken great things against me, I would perhaps have hidden my self from him.

13 (54-14) But thou a man of one mind, my guide, and my familiar,

14 (54-15) Who didst take sweetmeats together with me: in the house of God we walked with consent.

15 (54-16) Let death come upon them, and let them go down alive into hell. For there is wickedness in their dwellings: in the midst of them.

16 (54-17) But I have cried to God: and the Lord will save me.

17 (54-18) Evening and morning, and at noon I will speak and declare: and he shall hear my voice.

18 (54-19) He shall redeem my soul in peace from them that draw near to me: for among many they were with me.

19 (54-20) God shall hear, and the Eternal shall humble them. For there is no change with them, and they have not feared God:

20 (54-21) He hath stretched forth his hand to repay. They have defiled his covenant,

Psalms 55:10-20 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil [A Psalm] of David. The occasion of this psalm was either the persecution of Saul, or the conspiracy of Absalom. Some think it was written when David understood that the inhabitants of Keilah would deliver him into the hands of Saul, 1 Samuel 23:12; and others when the Ziphites attempted a second time to do the same, 1 Samuel 26:1; but since a single person is spoken of that magnified himself against him, Psalm 55:12; and Ahithophel seems to be designed; it may be thought rather to be written on account of Absalom's rebellion, and Ahithophel's counsel against him; who is considered by many Christian interpreters as a type of Judas, the betrayer of our Lord; and, indeed, there are many things in this psalm, if not the whole, which may be truly applied to Christ, as will be seen in the following exposition of it.