"To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2 Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
3 because of the noise of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they drop trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
4 My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7 yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter
from the raging wind and tempest.”
9 Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues;
for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11 ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.
12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—
then I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a man, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend.
14 We used to take sweet counsel together;
within God's house we walked in the throng.
15 Let death steal over them;
let them go down to Sheol alive;
for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
16 But I call to God,
and the Lord will save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon
I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
18 He redeems my soul in safety
from the battle that I wage,
for many are arrayed against me.
19 God will give ear and humble them,
he who is enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not change
and do not fear God.
20 My companion stretched out his hand against his friends;
he violated his covenant.
21 His speech was smooth as butter,
yet 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 will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.
23 But you, O God, will cast them down
into the pit of destruction;
men of blood and treachery
shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you."
Psalm 55
The circumstances reflected in this Psalm are taken by some commentators as having to do with David's distress at the time of his son Absalom's rebellion, and that the reference in 12-14 is to Ahitophel, David's faithless counsellor who betrayed him. Whether or not this suggestion is valid, the general circumstances of that sad episode fit the Psalm very well. And in face of this distress and hurt, David, in 1-8, expresses his fear and anguish, and longs for the wings of a dove to enable him to escape from the in- tolerable situation. In our own experience we can surely identify with the Psalmist here for we can understand his feelings very well. And the important thing is what we do with such feelings within us, for of course flying away is not really a possibility for us: we know in our hearts that we can do no such thing. It is therefore a reaction to such a situation that is important. This is the supreme value of the Psalm. G. Campbell Morgan en- titles the three stanzas of the Psalm - 1-8, 9-15, 16-23 - as Fear, Fury, Faith. These certainly seem to be the dominant characteristics of the stanzas, and if we follow this pattern, we would need to interpret 9-15 almost in terms of the Psalmist 'blowing his top' about the situation. It has been such a distress to him that he cannot keep silent, and unburdens himself very vocally, elaborating his grievance and distress about his betrayer. If it is in the heart, it is better that it should all come out; and 'blowing your top' is often a very good and necessary safety valve: people often feel the better for having done so. And when the steam clears away, we can often see more clearly and in perspective, and faith can rise and lay claim to God's grace the better - which is what happens in 16-23.