1 <To the chief music-maker, on Neginoth. Maschil. Of David.> Give hearing to my prayer, O God; and let not your ear be shut against my request.
2 Give thought to me, and let my prayer be answered: I have been made low in sorrow;
3 I am troubled because of the voice of the cruel ones, because of the loud cry of the evil-doers; for they put a weight of evil on me, and they are cruel in their hate for me.
4 My heart is deeply wounded, and the fear of death has come on me.
5 Fear and shaking have come over me, with deep fear I am covered.
6 And I said, If only I had wings like a dove! for then I would go in flight from here and be at rest.
7 I would go wandering far away, living in the waste land. (Selah.)
8 I would quickly take cover from the driving storm and from the violent wind.
9 Send destruction on them, O Lord, make a division of tongues among them: for I have seen fighting and violent acts in the town.
10 By day and night they go round the town, on the walls; trouble and sorrow are in the heart of it.
11 Evil is there; cruel rule and deceit are ever in the streets.
12 For it was not my hater who said evil of me; that would have been no grief to me; it was not one outside the number of my friends who made himself strong against me, or I would have kept myself from him in a secret place;
13 But it was you, my equal, my guide, my well-loved friend.
14 We had loving talk together, and went to the house of God in company.
15 Let the hand of death come on them suddenly, and let them go down living into the underworld; because evil is in their houses and in their hearts.
16 As for me, I will make my prayer to God, and he will be my saviour.
17 In the evening and in the morning and in the middle of the day I will make my prayer with sounds of grief; and my voice will come to his ears.
18 He has taken my soul away from the attack which was made against me, and given it peace; for great numbers were against me.
19 God will give thought to me; he who from early times is strong will send pain and trouble on them. (Selah.) Because they are unchanged, they have no fear of God.
20 He has put out his hand against those who were at peace with him; he has not kept his agreement.
21 The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, but they were sharp swords.
22 Put your cares on the Lord, and he will be your support; he will not let the upright man be moved.
23 But you, O God, will send them down into the underworld; the cruel and the false will be cut off before half their days are ended; but I will have faith in you.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 55
Commentary on Psalms 55 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 55
Ps 55:1-23. In great terror on account of enemies, and grieved by the treachery of a friend, the Psalmist offers an earnest prayer for relief. He mingles confident assurances of divine favor to himself with invocations and predictions of God's avenging judgments on the wicked. The tone suits David's experience, both in the times of Saul and Absalom, though perhaps neither was exclusively before his mind.
1. hide not thyself, &c.—(compare Ps 13:1; 27:9), withhold not help.
2. The terms of the last clause express full indulgence of grief.
3. oppression—literally, "persecution."
they … iniquity—literally, "they make evil doings slide upon me."
4, 5. express great alarm.
5. come upon—or literally, "into."
6. be at rest—literally, "dwell," that is, permanently.
7, 8. Even a wilderness is a safer place than exposure to such evils, terrible as storm and tempest.
9. Destroy—literally, "swallow" (Ps 21:9).
divide their tongues—or, "confound their speech," and hence their counsels (Ge 11:7).
the city—perhaps Jerusalem, the scene of anarchy.
10, 11. which is described in detail (compare Ps 7:14-16).
11. Wickedness—literally, "Mischief," evils resulting from others (Ps 5:9; 52:2, 7).
streets—or literally, "wide places," markets, courts of justice, and any public place.
12-14. This description of treachery does not deny, but aggravates, the injury from enemies.
13. guide—literally, "friend" (Pr 16:28; 17:9).
acquaintance—in Hebrew, a yet more intimate associate.
14. in company—literally, "with a crowd," in a festal procession.
15. Let death, &c.—or, "Desolations are on them."
let them go—literally, "they will go."
quick—or, living in the midst of life, death will come (compare Nu 16:33).
among them—or, "within them," in their hearts (Ps 5:9; 49:11).
16-18. God answers his constant and repeated prayers.
18. many with me—that is, by the context, fighting with me.
19. God hears the wicked in wrath.
abideth—or, "sitteth."
of old—enthroned as a sovereign.
Because … no changes—Prosperity hardens them (Ps 73:5).
20, 21. The treachery is aggravated by hypocrisy. The changes of number, Ps 55:15, 23, and here, enliven the picture, and imply that the chief traitor and his accomplices are in view together.
22. thy burden—literally, "gift," what is assigned you.
he shall sustain—literally, "supply food," and so all need (Ps 37:25; Mt 6:11).
to be moved—from the secure position of His favor (compare Ps 10:6).
23. bloody … days—(compare Ps 5:6; 51:14), deceit and murderous dispositions often united. The threat is directed specially (not as a general truth) against the wicked, then in the writer's view.