Psalm 55 Bible Study

Introduction

The three psalms I chose to go through for Bible study are sequential—55, 56, and 57.

I did that because they all have the same theme, and that is dealing with suffering. And they each deal with that topic from a slightly different angle.

These three psalms have been called treasures for those who are abused and oppressed . . . or those who are victims of people and circumstances . . . those who are suffering.

They are treasures because they don’t leave the sufferer alone to suffer; they give clarity to their suffering and hope. They help them see their suffering from God’s point of view.

So why did I pick the topic of suffering? Because we all know that suffering is a part of life in a post-Genesis 3 fallen world.

You are either currently suffering, or you will suffer.

The goal in saying that is not to bum everyone out, but to remind us that we need to be prepared for suffering so that it doesn’t catch us by surprise.

John Flavel wrote about this vary thing in his book called “The Best Work in the Worst Times.” He says,

It is as much our interst as it is our duty to be seasonably awakened out of our pleasant but most pernicious drowsiness. Troubles will be so much more sinking and intolerable, by how much the more they steal upon us by way of surprizal. (Preparations for Sufferings, 2)

He then gave an example of Mr. Bradford the martyr,

when the keeper’s wife came running into his chamber, saying, “O Mr. Bradford, I bring you heavy tidings, for tomorrow you must be burned . . . and presently you must go to Newgate.” (Preparations for Sufferings, 2)

We can only imagine what it would be like for someone to tell us we would be burned alive at the stake tomorrow. But this is how Mr. Bradford responded,

He took off his hat, and looking up to heaven, said, “O Lord, I thank thee for it; I have looked for this a long time; it comes not suddenly to me, the Lord make me worthy of it.”

This is what Flavel calls “the singular advantage of a prepared and ready soul.”

We all want that prepared and ready soul.

Of course, as we will see today, there are many causes of suffering that we simply cannot expect . . . but we can still be prepared in our hearts to respond in a godly way when they do.

John Flavel wrote the things I just mentioned in the context of preparing for persecution for your faith—from people whom he expected to cause him to suffer—but the Psalm we’re looking at tonight is about the suffering caused by those who are closest to you . . . whom you don’t necessarily expect suffering to come from.

How do you deal with that? How do you respond to that kind of suffering in a way that honors God?

Lets find out

Turn to psalm 55

Context

This psalm is complicated in some ways.

It has elements of lement, prayers for deliverence, and even some imprecatory sections.

It was written by David, but the situation in which he wrote it is difficult to determine.

There is no certainty of the situation in which this psalm was written (Treasury of David, 249). David talks about several enemies in this psalm, but in particular It was written in response to the betrayal of a close friend, but it’s hard to determine who that is.

Some think it was Absolom, others think it was Ahithophel (2 Sam 15-18). John Calvin thinks it refers to the treachery of King Saul (Calvin Commentaries, 327).

Whoever it is, we know some things about them:

They caused David much pain and torment (throughout)

It was someone not previously an enemy (12)

It is his “equal” עֵרֶךְ (of my estimated value) (13)

his companion (13)

his familiar friend (13)

Someone he worshiped with (14)

Its difficult to imagine his praying such imprecatory prayers against Saul (2 Sam 1:1-16) or Absolom (2 Sam 18:5; 33).

So Ahithophel makes sense—especially sense he met an untimely death just like David prayed in (Psa 55:15; 23. Cf. 2 Sam 17:23)

So David could have been composing this psalm while he was walking barefoot, weeping up the Mount of Olives while escaping Jerusalem for his life.

But ultimately I think the fact that David didn’t give us a lot of information about the background and setting is telling. It really opens up the application for us.

He talks about the betrayal of a friend. And maybe David left the details out for that reason . . . so we have a model to deal with betrayal that fits many different situations.

And really, this isn’t just a composition he wrote for others, this is a prayer to God.

And that is a lesson in itself, isn’t it?

Where do you run when life is at it’s worse? Where do you go when even your closest friends betray you?

You pray to the only comfort, the only rock, the only refuge. He’s the only thing that will calm your soul.

So this psalm is a prayer . . . and its a “Maskil” . . . and while it is uncertain what the term maskil means, there is good reason to believe it relates to teaching or instruction - maybe even something meant to be memorized.

So David is likely instructing his readers how to deal with suffering here, particularly the suffering caused by the betrayal of a close friend.

His psalm can be separated into three parts:

1. A Prayer of Complaint (1 - 8)

2. A Prayer for Justice (9 - 15)

3. A Praise for God’s Faithfulness (16 - 23)

1. A Prayer of Complaint (1-8)

Have someone read 1-8

What can we conclude about David’s experience from reading these verses?

John Calvin says that “It could be no ordinary amount of [distress] which produced such an overwhelming effect upon a [man] of such distinguished courage.” (Commentary, 328).

We know David to be strong, courageous, and bold.

Yet he prays for God to hear him, and begs for God to not hide Himself from his supplication.

Why?

He is restlessin his complain and surely distracted.

The word for “restless” is a word that conveys the idea of writhing around, roaming around. אָרִ֖יד

Why is he restless in his complaint? “Because of the voice of the enemy.”

There are some who interpret this “voice” as the collective voice of an army. Others as an accusing voice of one man.

But either way, he is in fear for his life here—the picture in verse three is that of trouble and danger being shaken down on him.

In verse 4 he talks about his heart (guts, entrails) being in anguish within him . . . the terrors of death falling on him.

V. 5 - he sufferes under fear, trembling, and terror . . . he feels overwhelmed (Covered, “It has enveloped him entirely” - Schaff, 339) by it all.

Again, David was a bold, courageous man. But he was brought to the end of himself. He sensed his dependence on God more during this terrible time in his life than normally.

And we feel that when we are in a season of suffering too, don’t we? Calvin says, “We are all good soldiers so long as things go well with us, but when brought to close combat, our weakness is soon apparent.” (330).

So if we are to be preparing for suffering, we need to be constantly reminded that we need God always . . . even when life is good and we don’t feel our need for Him.

All of that suffering makes David feel like he wants to sprout wings like a dove and fly away to hide out in the wilderness.

In the Middle-East, it is common for the quick little doves to fly into clefts of rocks out in the wilderness to escape a preditor or storm. In fact, David does mention a storm to describe the trouble he is in . . . one of the terrible sand storms of the Middle-Eastern desert.

Some have pointed out that this wish of David implies that even a small bird has the privilege of retreat, a privilege that was denied to him. A bird can fly away from danger, but David was stuck in his terrible situation.

Calvin rightly says, “We may surely say that these are the words of a man driven to the borders of despiration.” (331).

We think back to the word in verse 2 for “restless.”

His situation is something he can’t stop thinking about, it likely doesn’t even let him sleep.

Have you been in a situation like that?

I’m sure each one of us can think of a time in our lives when we felt similarly to this.

The psalms are so good at capturing exactly how we feel . . . putting words to our experience even when we aren’t able.

He is restles in his “complaint” - בְּשִׂיחִ֣י —This is an interesting word. In just about every use in the OT I could find, it means a murmuring” or a “complaint” in a negative sense. He says it again in V. 17.

Job 10:1 LSB

“My soul is loathed by my life; I will abandon all restraint in myself to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

Job 21:4 LSB

“As for me, is my musing to man? And why should I not be impatient?

1 Samuel 1:16 LSB

“Do not consider your maidservant as a vile woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great complaint and provocation.”

Psalm 102 sarts out: “A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord”

So the word has the idea of a complaint or lament, usually directed to the Lord.

So it’s interesting that the psalmist would use this word in psalm 104 like this:

Psalm 104:34 LSB

Let my musing be pleasing to Him; As for me, I shall be glad in Yahweh.

usually when we think of a complaint or a murmur, we think of something we shouldn’t do.

So the question: how can we complain in a way that pleases the Lord?

On the flipside, How is that complaining different from the kind that displeases the Lord?

Complaints and laments are pleasing to God when they are done in a humble way . . . when they confess to God our weakness and powerlessness and confusion, and bring all these things to Him . . . realizing that only He has the answers.

It is not ok to “be mad at God”

Matthew Henry said, “If we in our prayers sincerely lay open ourselves, our case, our hearts to God, we have reason to hope that He will not hide Himself, His favors, His comforts from us.”

Flavel says, “There is no sin in complaining to God, but much wickedness in complaining of Him.” (Counsel for Mourners, 20).

John Flavel was no stranger to suffering . . . which is one reason I think he wrote about it so much. He was one of the puritans who lost their living during the great ejection of 1662, His parents both died of the bubonic plague under tragic circumstances, he mourned the loss of three wives, and at least two children (one of which was a teenager when he died).

Knowing that adds weight to the advice he gave to a woman who lost her only child.

In explaining what godly expression of grief sounds like, he modeled this prayer:

Father, what shall I do? My soul is greatly bowed down by trouble; I am full to the brim; my vain heart has looked for relief this way and that way, but none comes; every door of comfort is shut up against me. You have multiplied my sorrows, and renewed my witnesses against me; comfort is removed from my outward, and peace from my inner, man; sharp afflictions without, and bitter reflections within. O Lord, I am oppressed, undertake for me. Fathers of the flesh pity their distressed children when they complain to them; and will not you, O Lord, whose compassions as far exceed creature compassions as the sea exceeds a drop? O my Father, pity me, support me, deliver me!

Flavel ends by saying, “Oh how pleasing this is to God! How Advantageous to the soul!” (IBID, 21).

And David’s prayer here was a godly one . . . he was honest about his struggles but he sought God’s help through it all (V. 1-2).

So what now? You are suffering, and you lay it all out before the Lord. What next?

Well, David prays for God to change things.

A Prayer for Justice (9-15)

Ask someone to read the 9-15

After describing his experience, David asks God to act.

He doesn’t simply wallow in self-pity . . . that’s not what’s going on here. He prays for God’s intervention.

in Verse 9, what other biblical event comes to mind?

There are allusions to when God confused the languages at the Tower of Babyl In Gen 10:25 and 11:1-9.

One thing we ought to remember is that David knew his Bible really well. In most of his psalms, he alludes to other portions of Scripture.

So what is the cennection? What are the similarities between the account of Babyl and David’s current situation?

The people in Babyl were rebellious and prideful . . . God’s command was to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth (1:28; 9:1).

Instead, they settled. And they weren’t quiet about their rebellion:

Genesis 11:4 LSB

And they said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

So to stop this rebellion, God confused the languages.

Really, this is rebellion against God’s design. God commanded that they fill the earth and subdue it as His image bearers, but instead they settled and tried to build a tower into the sky to make a name for themselves.

So instead of obeying God and living for His glory, they rebelled against Him and acted in pride.

So one way that David may be alluding back to Genesis is that David’s enemies are also going against God’s design.

They are doing that is a couple different ways.

One of them concerns the Davidic Covenant from 2 Sam 7.

God promised David that there would always be someone from the Davidic Dynasty that would sit on the throne.

David understood that the Messiah would come through his line . . . the one who would sit on the throne forever . . . and the one who would bring peace and blessing to not only Israel, but also to the whole world.

God told David that he was God’s chosen king.

So with that in mind, what about the enemies that threaten him in Psalm 55? Because of the covenant God made with David, rebelling against David meant rebelling against God Himself.

So David asks God to handle that rebellion in a similar way that He handled the rebellion at Babel.

and isn’t it interesting that David prays for God to “make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness”? in 2 Sam 15:31?

But why does David pray for this? because “there is violence and strife in the city.”

Which city this is is unclear . . . whether it Jerusalem or some other city. But what’s clear is that it’s overrun by sinfulness, wickedness, destruction, and deceit.

Cities were supposed to be the place of protection, in particular . . . Jerusalem was the capitol of God’s chosen nation.

Its almost as if the walls of the city has guards, but instead of facing outward to protect the city, they face into the city to find people to abuse and oppress (Calvin, 334).

So that’s another way these enemies are going against God’s design . . . by going after David they are harming the whole nation . . . God’s covenant people.

And in verses 12-14, we see something that makes this whole distressing experience even worse.

Read

You can hear David’s pain as he says this. He was betrayed from a close friend. He said that if it were an enemy, he could bear it.

What makes being betrayed by a close friend so much worse than being reproached by an enemy?

It is not as though being reproached by an enemy is not terrible, but he expects it. He can “roll with the punches”

But when the betrayal comes from a friend, you don’t expect it. You expect security, peace, and safety when in their presence . . . but instead you get pain.

One commentator said that there’s a double loss here: Not only does David gain an enemy, but he also loses a friend.

This is someone that David calls his equal. Literally “a man of like estimation with me.” Not some scoundrel, but someone close to him he didn’t expect.

David escelates his description of the closeness of this person.

He says it was his companion,

then his familiar friend . . . someone who He had sweet fellowship with.

The words for “sweet fellowship” has to do with sharing information . . . maybe secrets . . . but this fellowship was mutually sweet to them.

And the climax of this description; they worshiped God together.

Some of the closest bonds are made between people who worship together. How terrible it is when people in the same church turn on one another, isn’t it?

You might think David would say something like “Lord, have mercy on them,” or “Please make them repent of their wicked ways”

But instead he says V. 15

Should we pray prayers like this today?

When we consider imprecatory prayers, like all of Scripture, we need to consider who the speaker is and in what circumstances he is writing.

Remember, David is the chosen king of Israel, whom God promised that the messiah would come from and sit on his throne forever.

So to mess with David, is to mess with God’s plan—and David understood that.

So this prayer is essentially David asking God to be true to His promise and uphold His character.

Also, we can read this in light of the Abrahamic covenant that promised blessing on God’s people. God said that whoever cursed His people would be cursed, and whoever blessed His people would be blessed.

Well the wickedness of David’s enemies here is causing vilence and strife in the city” “iniquity and mischief in her midst” and “oppression and deciet do not depart from her streets.” 9-11

So David isn’t seeking personal vengeance here, He wants God’s honor to be vindicated and God’s people to be preserved.

That’s important for us to remember, isn’t it?

When we see wickedness . . . even wickedness done to us . . . that’s how we ought to pray. Pray for God’s justice to be done, and for God’s people to be preserved through it.

The wicked will be judged . . . we learned that last time when Jacob led us through Psalm 73.

So looking back at V. 15 . . .

The wording here is a clear allusion back to Numbers 16:30-32 in the context of Korah’s rebellion:

Numbers 16:30–32 LSB

“But if Yahweh creates an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they go down to Sheol alive, then you will know that these men have spurned Yahweh.” And it happened that as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions.

So what do we make of this?

Just like in verse 9, David is pointing back to a time when God was faithful to exact justice.

At Babel, God punished the rebellion against His plan and purposes.

At Korah’s rebellion, God did the same thing—He also confirmed the leadership of Moses (Num 16:28)

Numbers 16:28 LSB

And Moses said, “By this you shall know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not from my heart.

So David is asking that God exact justice . . . He chose David to reign, He gave David promises . . . who are these wicked people to say otherwise?

And He is confident that God will be faithful to His promises because He has been faithful in the past.

Like I said before, David knew Scripture and could point to examples of God’s faithfulness in the past, and what a great comfort that was for him in the midst of the difficult trials he was facing.

And what an important lesson that is for us . . . that no matter what is going on in our lives, whether people are out to kill us or we are even betrayed by our closest friends . . . even when we are betrayed by institutions, governments, churches, or anything else . . . we can look in God’s Word and see so many examples of God’s faithfulness that will give us confidence.

As you think through Scripture, what examples of God’s faithfulness give you hope? What passages do you turn to?

We have so much reason to trust God.

Those historical examples of God’s faithfulness are what makes David pray what he does in the last section:

A Praise for God’s Faithfulness (16-23)

Have someone read 16-23

David resolves that he shall call upon God, and he is confident that the Lord will save Him. Why? Because He is faithful.

In V. 17, David says that he will pray “evening and morning and at noon” - I take this not to mean three times a day, but simply to say “whether its evening, or morning, or at noon, I’m going to pray”

But instead of simply saying that he will pray, he says that he will complain and murmur . . . using the same words as in V. 2.

That humble confession of weakness and dependance on God will be his constant state - we can think of 1 Thess 5:17

1 Thessalonians 5:17 LSB

pray without ceasing;

In light of his bleak situation, he resolves to pray in V. 16, and resolves to remain constant in prayer in V. 17. And he is confidant the Lord will hear.

In V. 18-19, David further describes his confidence in his situation because, even though the enemy that is against him is mighty, he knows that God is for Him.

He will redeem Him from the Battle . . . from his many enemies.

V. 19 - “God will hear and answer them”

Is this saying that God will hear David or hear his enemies?

God hears David’s prayers of complaint, but God also hears the voice of the enemy - God, who sits enthroned from of old, hears it all.

Isn’t that comforting? Of course it’s comforting to know that He hears us when we pray, but how comforting to know that God also hears when wicked people melign us.

Nothing goes unnoticed by Him.

And He will judge them in perfect righteousness.

Why?

Because they don’t change. The word “change” is not normally used in a moral sense as a change of mind . . . but it most often used as a change of condition (Lange, 341).

So in a similar understanding to Psalm 73 from last time, David is saying that these wicked people are not undergoing change in their circumstances.

They have a sense of constancy in their lives . . . they don’t see that they are under God’s judgement . . . and it is because of this that they do not fear God.

Now, notice the Selah in V. 19. Its a little strange for a Selah to be in the middle of a verse like that . . . and we aren’t entirely sure what Selah even means . . . but most likely its a pause to contemplate what was just said.

Who is it that will come to David’s rescue against these wicked people? It’s God, who sits enthroned from of old. He has always been in charge, and He will always be in charge. He is enthroned as sovereign ruler of the universe. He does what He wants. No one can thwart Him. He doesn’t change. We can think of Psalm 2:4-6

Psalm 2:4–6 LSB

He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord mocks them. Then He speaks to them in His anger And terrifies them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

This is the God He is praying to.

In verses 20-21 David references his friend again who betrayed him . . . that man who “put forth his hand agaisnt those who were at peace with him . . . who violated his covenant (likely the covenant of serving David the king of Israel).

While there was peace, he waged war—he was guilty of a breach of faith.

He gives a little insight into the man who would betray him. He says that his words were smoother than butter and softer than oil . . . but in his heart there was war and drawn swords.

This is clear to him in hindsight, but not while he was friendly.

And this is essence of flattery, isn’t it? Saying one thing while thinking something else. Saying nice things with evil intentions.

Spurgeon said about this verse, “Beware the man who has too much honey on his tongue; a trap is to be suspected where the bait is tempting.”

Proverbs 29:5–6 LSB

A man who flatters his neighbor Is spreading a net for his steps. By transgression an evil man is ensnared, But the righteous sings with joy and is glad.

Proverbs 26:28 LSB

A lying tongue hates those it crushes, And a flattering mouth works ruin.

Psalm 62:4 LSB

Surely they have counseled to thrust him down from his high position; They find pleasure in falsehood; They bless with their mouth, But inwardly they curse. Selah.

Flattery is simply the dishonesty in the form of compliments. They are nice things said for the purpose of gaining something. They are pleasant words with a wicked heart behind them.

Finally, in verse 22 David turns to his audience.

He exhorts his readers to cast their burdens on the Lord.

The word “Burden” is a difficult word. It is more generic than simply a burden . . . it has more of the idea of a gift you’ve been given.

So what David is saying is, whatever you’ve been given in this life, entrust it to God, and He will sustain you in His faithfulness.

He has proven Himself faithful so many other times, and He will again.

He won’t let His people be shaken.

And As Calvin says, “We see the righteous are for a time left to stagger, and almost to sink under the storms by which they are beset . . . [but] God will establish the righteous so that they never fall.” (345).

And this is important to note:

this verse is used by Peter in 1 Peter 5:6–7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, CASTING ALL YOUR ANXIETY ON HIM, because He cares for you.”

What’s important here is that Peter links the act of casting your cares upon the Lord with humility.

And that goes along with what I said about David’s humble dependance on God through Prayer, right?

How does humility relate to casting your burdens . . . entrusting whatever is given to you . . . on the Lord?

It is an act of humility to give your anxieties on the Lord. To hold onto them is to act as though you don’t need God . . . to think that you have the power to deal with it on your own . . . and even to reject this counsel from Scripture.

So David ends this psalm with three reasons you can trust God:

1. “He will sustain you” (v. 22a).

2. “He will never allow the righteous to be shaken” (v. 22b).

3. He will judge the wicked (v. 23).

And as we think through this psalm . . . and the pain of the betayal of a close friend . . . My mind is drawn to Christ who suffered betrayal worse than anyone.

He is a model of how we ought to deal with betrayal

John 13 - Jesus served the one who he knew would betray Him.

This is after they argued about who was the greatest.

So Jesus gave them an example to follow.

Jesus made it clear in verse 10-11 and 18.

What a picture of the humility we ought to practice as we deal with those who betray us.

And to close, Ill just read 1 Peter 2:21-25 - As you know, the Christians reading 1 Peter were under severe persecution.

Peter upholds the example of Christ. He suffered persecution, betrayal, and suffering for us.

He kept entrusting Himself to the one who judges righteously, just like David did.

And after this passage, he goes on to explain how we then ought to live . . . and eventually gets to 5:6-7 that talked about earlier.

So how do we handle suffering, betrayal, persecution?

We humble ourselves, go to God in prayer, honestly confessing our struggles and weaknesses, confident that He will do what is right and just, and even when all we want to do is fly away, we know that God will sustain us in the struggle. He’s demonstrated His faithfulness numerous times in the past, we have no reason to doubt Him now.