plea for deliverance from betrayal psalm 55:1-23 · pdf filei would flee far away and stay in...

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Commentary by Clyde M. Miller Questions by John C. Sewell

Plea for Deliverance from Betrayal

Psalm 55:1-23

Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.

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Plea for Deliverance from Betrayal

Commentary

by

Clyde M. Miller Text: Psalm 55:1-23, 1. Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; 2. hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am dis-traught 3. at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger. 4. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. 5. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. 6. I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest- 7. I would flee far away and stay in the desert; Selah 8. I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm." 9. Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city. 10. Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. 11. Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. 12. If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. 13. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,




14. with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. 15. Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the grave, for evil finds lodging among them. 16. But I call to God, and the LORD saves me. 17. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. 18. He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. 19. God, who is enthroned forever, will hear them and afflict them— Selah men who never change their ways and have no fear of God. 20. My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant. 21. His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords. 22. Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. 23. But you, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you. (NIV) Introduction: I. Maskil in the superscription probably refers to a literary or musical term.

A. It seems to indicate a skillful rendition in either case.

1. It is not certain how accurate the phraseology of the superscriptions to the psalms is.

2. It is probably better to consider the author and circum-stances of the psalm as unknown.




I. Following his initial prayer to God (1-2), the psalmist describes his problem in colorful language (3-8).

A. An imprecation follows (9a), accompanied by a further de-scription of the enemy (9b-15).

B. The psalm concludes with a lengthy expression of the psalm-ist’s confidence in his redemption from the Lord (16-23).

Terrifying Trouble

Psalm 55:1-8, Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am dis-traught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest- I would flee far away and stay in the desert; Selah I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm." (NIV) Psalm 55:1,2a, Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. (NIV) I. Four imploring expressions magnify the poet’s agony in his opening prayer: “listen”, “do not ignore”, “hear me” and “answer me”.

A. These words and phrases are not vain repetitions, but are sincere pleas of a petitioner in deep distress, as verses 2b-8, 9b-14, and 20-21 indicate.

1. Psalm 55:2b-8, My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me




and revile me in their anger. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest- I would flee far away and stay in the desert; Selah I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm." (NIV)

2. Psalm 55:9b – 14, for I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once en-joyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. (NIV)

3. Psalm 55:20, 21, My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant. His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords. (NIV)

B. “Do not ignore” is literally “hide not yourself”, that is, “do not be inattentive”.

Psalm 55:2b,3, My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger. (NIV) I. Verses 2b-3 are best rendered as a single sentence.




A. Extended progressive parallelism ties together five lines of poetry.

1. Each line adds something to the preceding.

B. The poet emphasizes his reaction to the machinations of his enemies.

1. “Distraught” is a strong term indicating agitated dis-tress affecting one’s mental capacity.

2. “Stares” indicates looking with a searching gaze.

3. The constancy of their malignity is under considera-tion.

Psalm 55:4,5, My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. (NIV) I. The two sentences in verses 4-5 present two couplets that add terror upon terror to describe the inner turmoil of the poet.

A. These successive statements present a crescendo effect by the use of the terms: “anguish”, “terrors”, “trembling” and “horror”.

B. Three verbs also add to the ascending scale of his fears: “as-sail”, “beset” and “overwhelmed”.

C. These terms indicate continuous inward distress of great magnitude.

Psalm 55:6-8, I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest- I would flee far away and stay in the de-




sert; Selah I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tem-pest and storm." (NIV) I. The poet longs for an escape route to a “shelter”, miplaf, “a place of escape”, used only here in the Old Testament.

A. Metaphors shift from that of a bird flying away (6-7) to that of a traveler (8).

II. He longs to be “far from the tempest and storm”.

B. A “tempest” is a violent storm.

Confusing Companionship Psalm 55:9-15, Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. Destruc-tive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. Let death take my enemies by sur-prise; let them go down alive to the grave, for evil finds lodging among them. (NIV) Psalm 55:9a, Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, (NIV) I. This imprecation is a cry for vindication.

A. “Confuse” and “confound” are synonyms.

B. “Confound” means “to baffle or frustrate”.




Psalm 55:9b-11, for I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. (NIV) I. The poet’s concern now has turned to concern for the public safety.

A. “Violence and strife in the city” (9b) seems to suggest inter-nal conflict among fellow Israelites.

B. This concern will be narrowed to a companion and fellow worshiper in verses 12-14.

1. Psalm 55:12-14, If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. (NIV)

2. Verses 10-11 describe constant foes.

a. Psalm 55:10, 11, Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. (NIV)

C. Definitions:

1. “Prowl” (10a) indicates “to move about stealthily”.

2. “Malice and abuse” (10b) describes the hatred of the enemies.




3. “Destructive forces” (11a) take the form of “threats and lies” (11b).

a. Is anarchy being described here?

b. One cannot be sure.

Psalm 55:12-14, If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. (NIV) I. Verse 12 is structured in external progressive parallelism.

A. Two conditional sentences are internally balanced.

1. The poet declares that he could “endure” or even “hide from” an outside enemy.

B. Verses 13-14 provide a strong contrast to verse 12.

1. Psalm 55:12-14, If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. (NIV)

2. His present troubler is a “companion” and “close friend” (13) and a fellow worshiper (14).

3. “Sweet fellowship” (14a) was once enjoyed between the two as they journeyed “with the throng” to “the house of God” (14b).




4. How painful it must have been to endure the broken fellowship of a former companion and friend!

Psalm 55:15, Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the grave, for evil finds lodging among them. (NIV) I. Verse 15 returns to a consideration of public enemies (9b-11) and takes the form of a second imprecation (9a).

A. Psalm 55:9-11, Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. (NIV)

1. Since these enemies have worked stealthily (10a), let “surprise” attend their lot.

B. Verse 15b describes sudden death.

1. “Grave” is literally “Sheol”, the unseen state of the dead.

2. Verse 15c describes the constant presence of the “evil” in the hearts of his enemies.

Restless Resolution

Psalm 55:16-23, But I call to God, and the LORD saves me. Eve-ning, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. God, who is enthroned forever, will hear them and afflict them— Selah men who never change their ways and have no fear of God. My companion attacks his




friends; he violates his covenant. His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords. Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. But you, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you. (NIV) Psalm 55:16, 17, But I call to God, and the LORD saves me. Eve-ning, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. (NIV) I. The psalmist here provides the turning point of his condition with a declaration of confidence in God’s power and willingness to deliver.

A. “Saves” (16b) refers to deliverance from his plight.

B. “Evening, morning and noon” (17a) may indicate set times of prayer, or could refer to the constancy of his prayer.

C. The cry is one made “in distress” (17b), so complete resolu-tion has not yet come.

D. His confidence that God hears his prayer (“voice”, 17c) may be based on past deliverances or on his faith in the faithfulness of God.

Psalm 55:18, He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. (NIV) I. Verse 18 declares his bold confidence in divine redemption.

A. “Ransoms” ordinarily describes the payment made to buy back one enslaved or held captive, but it can, and apparently




here refers to God’s free ransom based on His divine initiative (cf. Isa. 55:1).

1. Isaiah 55:1, "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. (NIV)

2. He believes that God can deliver from “many” as well as few (cf. Jer. 20:10-11).

a. Jeremiah 20:10, 11, I hear many whispering, "Terror on every side! Report him! Let's re-port him!" All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him." But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stum-ble and not prevail. They will fail and be thor-oughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. (NIV)

Psalm 55:19, God, who is enthroned forever, will hear them and afflict them— Selah men who never change their ways and have no fear of God. (NIV) I. God is here presented as an eternal king.

A. The poet declares that God will hear the psalmist’s plea and will answer with deliverance.

1. Since the enemies are impenitent and ungodly, God “will…afflict them”.




Psalm 55:20, 21, My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant. His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords. (NIV) I. The author returns to a consideration of his former “companion” who “attacks his friends” (20a) and in the process “violates his cove-nant” (20b).

A. “Covenant” here doubtless indicates an expected bond that should exist between friends rather than a legal document or ar-rangement.

1. The declarations of verse 21 suggest as much.

B. Vivid metaphors are employed in verse 21 to sharpen the contrast between the declarations and actions of this former companion.

1. “Smooth as butter” suggests the ease with which one can change his stance, as butter can easily be made to change its form.

2. Declarations of friendship are met with war-like inten-tions.

3. The soothing effects of oil used as a treatment of dis-comfort describes his declarations, but in reality they are sharper than “drawn swords”, still maintaining the con-cept of a heart with war-like intentions.

Psalm 55:22, Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. (NIV)




I. Verse 22 provides a word of encouragement for the reader to do as he is doing.

A. Distress may attend “the righteous” for a time, even leading the sufferer almost to despair, but deliverance will come to the trusting person who casts his cares on God (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7).

1. 1 Peter 5:7, Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Psalm 55:23, But you, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you. (NIV) I. Verse 23 closes the psalm with a confident belief that God will dis-comfit “the wicked”.

A. “The pit of destruction” is literally “a well of a pit”.

1. The word “pit” is often used as a metaphor of Sheol or the grave (Job 33:18-30).

a. Job 33:18, 30, to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword. to turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may shine on him. (NIV)

B. The threat here is that ungodly predators will have their lives cut short by God.

1. Such an end was considered a failure of life that would cause shame to one’s successors.




2. Hence, the shameful conduct of both the plural and singular enemies described in the psalm would be turned back upon themselves.

Application: I. The Bible does not promise that God’s faithful will never suffer un-just treatment from one’s enemies or even betrayal from one’s former religious companions.

A. After all, our Savior was betrayed by one of his apostles (Jn. 13:18, quoting Ps. 41:9).

1. John 13:18, "I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.' (NIV)

2. Psalm 41:9, Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. (NIV)

3. God, however, delivered Christ from the throes of this personal betrayer as well as from the multitude of detrac-tors who gave Him up to death.

4. The resurrection and ascension were the revelations of His victory.

B. We can place our confidence in God and in Christ even in the face of an unjust treatment that might even lead to physical death.

1. Our ultimate hope is in eternal life that no one can snatch from us (John 10:28-30).




a. John 10:28-30, I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30I and the Father are one." (NIV)




Questions

Psalm 55:1-23

(Questions based on NIV text.) 1. The Psalmist pled with God to ________________________ to his _______________, not to ______________ his _________________, for God to ____________________ and ___________________ him. 2. The Psalmist’s _________________ _________________ him. He was ____________________ at the _____________________ of the ______________________, at the ____________________ of the _____________________, because they brought _________________ down upon him and _________________________ him in their _______________________. 3. This caused the Psalmist’s __________________________ to be in _______________. The _______________ of _________________ _______________ him, ________________ and _________________ had ______________ him, _______________ had _______________ him. 4. Have you ever felt this way? If so, under what conditions? ______ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Under these circumstances the Psalmist could either flee or fight. He decided to _______________________ saying that he had the _____________ of a ______________ he would _________________ _____________________ and be at _________________. He would _________________ _________________ _________________ and




______________ in the ______________. He would _____________ to his ___________ of ______________ far from the _____________ and ________________. 6. The Psalmist further prayed, “_________________________ the _____________, O Lord, _______________ their _______________, for I see _____________ and ______________ in the ___________.” Of which city was he speaking? ______________________________ 7. “_______________ and ______________ they _______________ about on its _____________; _______________ and _____________ are within it. _____________ ______________ are at ____________ in the ________________; ______________ and ________________ never leave its _________________.” 8. Who were the Psalmist’s enemies? _________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. What especially grieved the Psalmist? _______________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. “If an _________________ were _________________ me, I could _______________ it; if a _______________ were _______________ _______________ _______________ me, I could _______________ from him. But it is ___________, a ____________ like __________; my _______________, my _______________ _________________, with whom I once ____________ ______________ ______________




as we _____________ with the ____________ at the _____________ of _________________.” 11. Have you ever been betrayed by a close friend with whom you had once worshiped? Have you had your Judas? If so, give your feelings and reactions to the betrayal. ________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12. The Psalmist additionally prayed, “Let __________________ take my _________________ by _________________; let them go down _______________ to the _______________, for _________________ finds _________________ among them.” Was the Psalmist praying that his enemies be buried alive? _________________ If so, was that a proper prayer for a servant of God to utter? Why or why not? ____ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 13. The Psalmist said, “But I _______________ to _______________, and the ______________ _______________ me. _______________, _____________ and _____________ I _____________ ___________ in ___________, and he _____________ my _____________. He ______________ me ______________ from the _________________ ______________ against me, even though many _________________ _________________.” 14. “_____________, who is ______________ _________________, will ________________them and _______________ them – men who




never _____________ their ____________ and have _____________ _________________ of _________________.” 15. How hard is it to change your ways? Consider stopping smoking or loosing weight. _________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 16. “My _______________ _______________ his _______________; he _______________ his _______________. His _______________ is _______________ as _______________, yet _________________ is in his ___________; his _____________ are more ______________ than ____________, yet they are ______________ ______________.” 17. Are you influenced by charismatic “slick talkers”? How can you identify people with pure and good hearts? _____________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 18. The solution to our problems: “________________________ your ___________________ on the _________________ and he will ___________________ you; he will ___________________ let the ___________________ _________________. I _________________ in you.” 19. “But you, O God, will bring _______________ the ____________ into the _____________ of _______________; _________________ and ____________ men will not ______________ out ____________ their _________________.”




20. What is the most difficult thing you have ever experienced? How did you deal with this problem? How would you deal with it now if you had it to do over? ______________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



plea for deliverance from betrayal psalm 55:1-23 · pdf filei would flee far away and stay in...

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