Psalm 55 Sermon Notes

Psalm 55

The Steadfast Righteous

July 18, 2021

Lynchburg, Virginia

Cast Your Burden on the Lord

EXORDIUM

         Many commentators have considered Psalm 55 to be about the time when Absalom rebelled against David. If that was the case, then one of the friends that would have been a conspirator was Ahithophel. 

         While I agree that David’s words here work well with Absalom’s rebellion, the Psalm headings of 53-60 are all around the time when David was fleeing from Saul. Mathew Henry follows Calving, thinking that this Psalm is related to David’s flight from Saul. I think that makes the most sense. 

         If this Psalm is when David was fleeing Saul, then it was likely a comfort to him years later when Absalom rebelled, Ahithophel betrayed him and he found himself on the run once again. 

         Many of our trials are like that. They repeat and sometimes the repeat is magnified. David running from Saul was a big deal. His life was in peril and the promise of God pronounced by the prophet was threatened. But years later, when his son rebels and leads a coup against his father, much more is at stake. David is king and this it is a very serious matter to lose a kingdom. In addition to David losing his kingship to his son, the kingdom, itself was in peril. This rebellion could occasion a split in the kingdom, a fracture that may not be healed.

         So, this Psalm is preparation for that event. And as we consider this, it is necessary for us to learn the lesson to trust God now in the trial that we face because He is preparing us to persevere in a greater test in the future. 

         Please don’t let that discourage you. It should be an encouragement. Some of you are in the midst of trials now. For some of you, the major trial, the second trial is upon you. Look back and remember how God prepared you to go through this exact trial when you went through something similar and lessor years ago. He is as faithful in the big things as He is in the small.

         Others of you are in a trial, and perhaps it seems insurmountable, like David fleeing from Saul. But God is able and willing to deliver you. If you are young and have many years ahead of you, then be faithful now in the midst of your trial so you will learn to trust in the Lord for the future God and future trials He has in store for you.

         And even though your current trial may be a training ground for a future event, you have also been prepared to endure and persevere in your current trial. Look back and remember how the Lord upheld you and delivered you in times past. He will do so again.

EXEGESIS

55 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. 

1    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. 

         David is in trouble and he is not the source of his trouble. He says that that his enemy drops trouble on him. The wicked oppress him. Doeg was one oppressor. The men of Keilah also sought to drop trouble on David. The Philistines in Gath drop trouble on him, too. He is running and there is no place of refuge. 

         David is restless in his complaint. That means he has no rest from the enemy and must continually cry out to God for deliverance. 

         David psychological state in this Psalm is not well. David is a strong Christian. He trusts in God and his psalms constantly call us to God. We find great encouragement in them. But consider some of his words in this psalm.

         He complains but to someone who can do something about it. God. He moans. Oh God, ooohhh, what will I do!

         This sort of complaint is not inconsistent with a faithful Christian. We do need to move beyond our complaint, beyond our moaning, beyond our fear. But the fact that it is there is human.

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. 

         More of David’s mind. He is in aguish. He is in fear, even terror. He is afraid to die. He is trembling and full of horror. This is not the picture we have of David, the warrior. But his response is to ask God to hear his prayer.

         If David, the warrior who killed Goliath feels this way, it should not surprise us when we feel anguish at our circumstance, terror, fear. Trembling is an amazing response. This usually onlyh happens in the face of immediate danger. David faced this when it says that Saul was on one side of the mountain and David escaped to the other side.

         David had 600 men with him, so it was a movement to move all 600 of them opposite of Saul’s army of 3000. No doubt, he felt that his death and the death of all of his men was imminent. 

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.” 

         David would like to get out of this situation. If he could, he would just fly away. We often feel this way. The pressures of life fall upon us and we don’t want to do it. If we could, we would just let somebody else deal with it.

         But David cannot do that. He is a public person with responsibilities. Even in the time when David is fleeing Saul, he is part of the court of Saul. He is the champion who defeated the giant. He is Jonathan’s close friend and associate. Six hundred men have gathered to him and David is their political and military leader. He cannot simply give up. He has to fight through the trial.

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. 

         David calls upon God to divide their tongues and thus destroy them. This is a good prayer. Make the counsel of the wicked folly. Cause their good counsel to be disbelieved. Make their bad counsel to be taken seriously. 

This is exactly what happens when David flees Absalom. The good counsel was to pursue and destroy David immediately but David’s loyal counselor persuaded Absalom to delay and this gave David time to escape and regroup.

So, it is not just good counsel that is needed from God. We can also ask Him to confuse and thwart wicked counsel that can used against us.

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.

         David has to learn this lesson many times. To be Christ-like is to be betrayed by friends. David has legitimate enemies, the Philistines, Goliath, schemers within Saul’s administration that want to take David out. That does not surprise him and he has the constitution to withstand enemies. He is a warrior, a fighter and enemies come with the territory.

         But David is dismayed when his friends betray him. The close friend knows David’s heart. He knows that David is not rebellious against the King. He knows that David’s heart is true to God, king and country. 

And yet, his friend betrays him anyway. Why? We are not given the specific reasons but we can surmise. Someone close to David knows David’s secrets. What has David said of Saul that is not printed in the Scripture? And how can those words be turned against him? Perhaps this friend is jealous of David’s relationship to Jonathan? David is the man chosen by God to be the next king but why does he deserve it? Perhaps if David is taken out, then this friend’s star will rise? Envy and ambition have been the source of many betrayals.

15   Let death steal over them; 

let them go down to Sheol alive; 

for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart. 

Such betrayers and wicked men deserve to die. But David’s taunt is that they are too wicked even for death. Let them go to hell while yet alive. This would be a fitting judgment for them who seek my death while they are living.

David claims they are evil in their dwellings and in their heart. It is difficult to see what is in a person’s heart. But the Bible says that you will know them by their fruit. Out of the heart the mouth speaks. So, when a man does wicked deeds, spreads lies about David to the king, contributes to the man-hunt to kill David, then David knows what is in his heart, wickedness.

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. 

         David again faces impossible odds. The wicked have formed against him. They have the resources to take him out. They have the ear of the king and an army at their disposal. David is fearful, horror stricken, trembling. 

What does he do? He prays. This may feel like nothing. He is running from Saul (or Absalom) and not able or willing to mount and offensive attack. So, he prays. But prayer is not doing nothing. Prayer is calling upon the One who can do something.

God can destroy the counsel of the wicked. God can stir up the enemies of David’s enemies to attack them and leave off attacking David. God can strike fear or remorse in the heart of Saul. 

David prays night, morning, noon. Prayer is an all the time thing. Lest we forget our need and the answer to our need, we turn to God three times a day. This is a good reminder not only to thank God for our food but at our food call upon God to deliver us from our enemies.

David is in great straits. He not only prays to God, he utters his complaint, he moans in anguish. To complain and to moan may seem as if God is not listening or unwilling to answer but that is not how David takes it. He does complain and moan but he reassures himself that God hears and answers.

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. 

         David believes that God will redeem him in safety. He has seen God do this in his life repeatedly and this has given him confidence to trust in God in this most repressive moment. Even when the odds are greatly against him, many arrayed against me, he trusts in God to deliver him. Perhaps David has learned that God only tends to act on our behalf when it is obvious that we cannot save ourselves and He must deliver us.

         God will hear and humble them. There is confidence here on David’s part that he is righteous and his enemies are wicked. We do not take this for granted. In a particular situation, you may be wicked and your adversary may be righteous. Your adversary is not wicked simply by the fact that he is your adversary. David’s enemies could make the claim that they are righteous and David is wicked. The deeds matter. David has done no evil. His enemies seek his harm unjustly. 

David appeals to God as judge. Judge between us, Lord, according to our actions, deliver me and condemn the wicked.

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. 

         This is a harsh lesson. David’s friend betrayed him. We do not know who this friend is. Jonathan is his closest friend and stays loyal to death. Joab turns on David at the end. Absalom betrays him. Ahithophel betrays him. But assuming this Psalm is penned as David flees Saul, we do not know who this companion is.

         David was in the court of Saul, in the inner circle of the court. He ate at Saul’s table and was a close counselor to the king. No doubt, there were potentially many that were in confidence with David and a few he could call close companions. The closer a companion is, the more hurt they can cause.

         David had no clue this companion would betray him. His speech was smooth as butter. We spoke and his words were soothing. I trusted him because he sounded trustworthy. And yet, he was scheming. What I thought was kindness and concern were daggers ready to destroy me.

         This is a frightening aspect, particularly for those in authority. The temptation then would be to let no one get close. Be vulnerable to no one because they may use your words against you.

         Whatever you say can and will be used against you. But remember those are words of the accuser. And a Christian must put his trust in the Lord. Do not fear to have friends but choose your friends wisely. You cannot always know those who will be betray but it is also wise to be discerning.

22   Cast your burden on the Lord, 

and he will sustain you; 

     he will never permit 

the righteous to be moved. 

         David has multiple burdens. One, the immediate crisis that is upon him. His life is in danger and he cannot save himself. Such a situation is a blessing in disguise. It seems like a cursed moment because the circumstances and the enemies are against him. But in such a predicament, he must acknowledge that only God can sustain and save him. 

David knows that this is always true. We are always reliant upon the Lord, for our every breath, for every morsel of food, for the waters of life but set in such straits, David must call upon God.

I can attest with David that being reduced to one hundred percent reliance upon God is a good lesson to remember that we are always one hundred percent reliant upon Him. However, we tend to forget this. Once our ship is righted and the immediate danger passes, we return to the delusion that we are the authors and the masters of our own destiny. And God, in His wisdom, reminds us not only that He is in control but that He is watching over us and will deliver us from evil.

The Steadfast Righteous- This is not a claim to absolute righteousness. In many places, David confesses both his sinfulness and his particular sins. He is not saying that God owes him favor based upon his merits. He appeals to God for grace and mercy. But having appealed to God for grace and mercy, He calls upon God to judge the situation righteously, according to truth. And He knows that God sees all and knows all. In the situation that David is praying about, he is innocent of wickedness. David is appealing to God to reveal the truth, vindicate the righteous and judge the wicked.

 There is particular strength in being righteous. When you are right, you can leave the consequences up to God. This is different than simply seeking wisdom. Many of our decisions have to do with wisdom. Shall I take this good job or that one? Shall I move to this good place or that one? Shall I go to this good church or that one? We ask God for wisdom and we make choices.

But decisions based upon right or wrong are much easier. I have sworn allegiance to God and to his people. To betray them by embracing God’s enemies is to defy God and break covenant. We see this now as some in the church are embracing Critical Race Theory, which is a false gospel, or Homosexual lifestyles, which is a direct abomination of God’s law, or feminism, which defies biblical roles of husband and wife. These are not wisdom issues. These are Bible principles. So, you simply choose to believe and do what God says and let him sort out the consequences. This may require you to call upon God to purify His Church, vindicate you in thinking and doing that which is right, switching churches, losing your job, or maybe in the future, being in danger of fines or jail for so-called hate crimes.

When you in a crisis of decision making. It is helpful to ask God to make the decision clear by having the decision be one of right and wrong, biblical principles, instead of merely a wisdom issue. And make sure you have that clear. Then you ask God to reveal the truth and judge accordingly. 

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. [1]

Have confidence in God’s ability to act. We are eternal beings and can thus be patient in our expectations of God’s justice. We know that if the wicked prosper, it will only be for a time. When they die, they give account to God justice will be meted out. This enables us to rest in the Lord knowing that He watches over all and governs things to His good ends.

But we should also take note of David’s words here and remember that the way of the sinner is hard. As I have said previously, “Bad guys don’t like bad guys.” David’s wicked friend has betrayed him, the righteous one but bad guys also regularly betray bad guys. It is in their DNA.

Men of bloodshed and destruction live and die by the sword. What they mete out on others comes back to haunt them. When once you weave a web of deceit, you will surely be caught in it. And so the duration of the wicked is short. Wickedness cannot sustain itself long, not even a lifetime. David says they will only live out half their days, or half a normal life.

Now, this true of the fleshly sinner as well as the scheming sinner. A man or woman given to drunkenness, or a drug habit, or fornication, will reap ill health from their behavior. Drink, drugs, and licentiousness hurt the body. Such bad behavior shortens the lifespan.

But scheming wicked doers are even in greater danger. Those who break covenant with God start down a path that surely leads to destruction. A web of lies cannot be contained. It spawns another web and another, and alliances that are at cross-purposes.

Think now about the globalists, BLM, Antifa. Some of their rhetoric about the new enemy, extremists like the Christian right, is pretty scary. They oppose fascism (Antifa) and yet support fascist regimes, like Cuba. Their message is incoherent. The far-left is now promoting censorship, big Corporations, especially Big Tech and Big Pharma, while at the same time repressing free speech. 

The left politicians who just want to stay in power know that their ideology won’t sell to the majority American populace, so they temper their message with generalizations and lies to gain votes. But the true ideologues who have already embrace socialism, Marxism and communism, are at war with them internally. This situation will implode, Lord willing, sooner than later. 

EXHORTATION

         He begins, Give ear to my prayer, O God

         And ends But I will trust in You

In between, there is a lot going on. How do you begin and end? Does your crisis cause you to say, “Give ear to my prayer, O God.”? Is this your prayer, morning, noon and night? Does this prayer lead you to David’s conclusion, “I will trust in You.”?

We can read this Psalm in just a few moments. We can come to the conclusion that the wicked will not ultimately prosper. We can realize that our troubles, whether caused by enemies, or by our own foolishness and sins, or simply by health or financial troubles, all cause us to seek God ask for deliverance. 

It is true that God is doing a great work in the world. He is doing so for His purposes. And along the way, He is doing something in us that will impact the work He is doing in the world. When we call upon God to act, He does. And He uses various circumstances to cause us to call upon Him.

Bottom line, do you trust Him? Do you trust Him to deliver you? Do you trust Him to vindicate you against false accusations and enemies? Do you trust Him to reveal wickedness and lies of evil men? 

This trust is what enables us to live in peace in the midst of the trouble that is dropped on us. Trust the Lord.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 55:title–23.