Psalms 55

1 (54-1) <Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David.> (54-2) Hear, O God, my prayer, and despise not my supplication:

2 (54-3) Be attentive to me and hear me. I am grieved in my exercise; and am troubled,

3 (54-4) At the voice of the enemy, and at the tribulation of the sinner. For they have cast iniquities upon me: and in wrath they were troublesome to me.

4 (54-5) My heart is troubled within me: and the fear of death is fallen upon me.

5 (54-6) Fear and trembling are come upon me: and darkness hath covered me.

6 (54-7) And I said: Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and be at rest?

7 (54-8) Lo, I have gone far off flying away; and I abode in the wilderness.

8 (54-9) I waited for him that hath saved me from pusillanimity of spirit, and a storm.

9 (54-10) Cast down, O Lord, and divide their tongues; for I have seen iniquity and contradiction in the city.

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,

21 (54-22) They are divided by the wrath of his countenance, and his heart hath drawn near. His words are smoother than oil, and the same are darts.

22 (54-23) Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall not suffer the just to waver for ever.

23 (54-24) But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee, O Lord.

Psalms 55 Commentary

Chapter 55

Prayer to God to manifest his favour. (1-8) The great wickedness and treachery of his enemies. (9-15) He is sure that God would in due time appear for him. (16-23)

Verses 1-8 In these verses we have, 1. David praying. Prayer is a salve for every sore, and a relief to the spirit under every burden. 2. David weeping. Griefs are thus, in some measure, lessened, while those increase that have no vent given them. David in great alarm. We may well suppose him to be so, upon the breaking out of Absalom's conspiracy, and the falling away of the people. Horror overwhelmed him. Probably the remembrance of his sin in the matter of Uriah added much to the terror. When under a guilty conscience we must mourn in our complaint, and even strong believers have for a time been filled with horror. But none ever was so overwhelmed as the holy Jesus, when it pleased the Lord to put him to grief, and to make his soul an offering for our sins. In his agony he prayed more earnestly, and was heard and delivered; trusting in him, and following him, we shall be supported under, and carried through all trials. See how David was weary of the treachery and ingratitude of men, and the cares and disappointments of his high station: he longed to hide himself in some desert from the fury and fickleness of his people. He aimed not at victory, but rest; a barren wilderness, so that he might be quiet. The wisest and best of men most earnestly covet peace and quietness, and the more when vexed and wearied with noise and clamour. This makes death desirable to a child of God, that it is a final escape from all the storms and tempests of this world, to perfect and everlasting rest.

Verses 9-15 No wickedness so distresses the believer, as that which he witnesses in those who profess to be of the church of God. Let us not be surprised at the corruptions and disorders of the church on earth, but long to see the New Jerusalem. He complains of one that had been very industrious against him. God often destroys the enemies of the church by dividing them. And an interest divided against itself cannot long stand. The true Christian must expect trials from professed friends, from those with whom he has been united; this will be very painful; but by looking unto Jesus we shall be enabled to bear it. Christ was betrayed by a companion, a disciple, an apostle, who resembled Ahithophel in his crimes and doom. Both were speedily overtaken by Divine vengeance. And this prayer is a prophecy of the utter, the everlasting ruin, of all who oppose and rebel against the Messiah.

Verses 16-23 In every trial let us call upon the Lord, and he will save us. He shall hear us, and not blame us for coming too often; the oftener the more welcome. David had thought all were against him; but now he sees there were many with him, more than he supposed; and the glory of this he gives to God, for it is he that raises us up friends, and makes them faithful to us. There are more true Christians, and believers have more real friends, than in their gloomy hours they suppose. His enemies should be reckoned with, and brought down; they could not ease themselves of their fears, as David could, by faith in God. Mortal men, though ever so high and strong, will easily be crushed by an eternal God. Those who are not reclaimed by the rod of affliction, will certainly be brought down to the pit of destruction. The burden of afflictions is very heavy, especially when attended with the temptations of Satan; there is also the burden of sin and corruption. The only relief under it is, to look to Christ, who bore it. Whatever it is that thou desirest God should give thee, leave it to him to give it in his own way and time. Care is a burden, it makes the heart stoop. We must commit our ways and works to the Lord; let him do as seemeth him good, and let us be satisfied. To cast our burden upon God, is to rest upon his providence and promise. And if we do so, he will carry us in the arms of his power, as a nurse carries a child; and will strengthen our spirits by his Spirit, so that they shall sustain the trial. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved; to be so shaken by any troubles, as to quit their duty to God, or their comfort in him. He will not suffer them to be utterly cast down. He, who bore the burden of our sorrows, desires us to leave to him to bear the burden of our cares, that, as he knows what is best for us, he may provide it accordingly. Why do not we trust Christ to govern the world which he redeemed?

Chapter Summary

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.