David’s Terrifying Oppression
October 28, 2021
Commentary
If we are ever tempted to give up or to run away from our problems, then this is the Psalm for us. It seems that David wrote this Psalm when Absalom’s rebellion was coming to a head in Jerusalem. He felt what so many of us have felt when things have piled up on us largely as the result of our own foolishness and sin. It is true that God freely forgives us of our sin if we confess it (I John 1:9) but He nearly always lets us live with the consequences of our sin. Everything that has happened to David can be traced back step by step to his sin. Sin is a terrible thing. We may think that we will have just one little fling but it doesn’t end there. We set in motion the forces of the wind and we reap the whirlwind.
David does what any mature believer should do when in distress; he comes boldly to the throne of grace (verses 1-3). He is so deeply grieved by the attacks of his enemies that his spirit is wallowing in agony (v. 4). His fear is so great that he begins to tremble (v. 5). His whole world was crumbling around him. He was tired of fighting for his throne. His natural tendency was to flee from his oppressors. He longed for peace at any price to the point that he decided to escape his troubles and problems as a dove would escape by flying away to a place of refuge in the desert (vv. 6-8). He asked God to confuse the wicked who oppressed him (vv. 9-11).
Application
It is necessary for me to discuss with my family some of the consequences of sin using various examples. Example: The drinking of alcohol causes many deaths on the highway as well as causing various health problems, broken homes etc.
Psalms 55:1– 14 (NET)
1 Listen, O God, to my prayer. Do not ignore my appeal for mercy.
2 Pay attention to me and answer me. I am so upset and distressed, I am beside myself,
3 because of what the enemy says, and because of how the wicked pressure me, for they hurl trouble down upon me and angrily attack me.
4 My heart beats violently within me; the horrors of death overcome me.
5 Fear and panic overpower me; terror overwhelms me.
6 I say, “I wish I had wings like a dove. I would fly away and settle in a safe place.
7 Look, I will escape to a distant place; I will stay in the wilderness. (Selah)
8 I will hurry off to a place that is safe from the strong wind and the gale.”
9 Confuse them, O Lord. Frustrate their plans. For I see violence and conflict in the city.
10 Day and night they walk around on its walls, while wickedness and destruction are within it.
11 Disaster is within it; violence and deceit do not depart from its public square.
12 Indeed, it is not an enemy who insults me, or else I could bear it; it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me, or else I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a man like me, my close friend in whom I confided.
14 We would share personal thoughts with each other; in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.