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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
15 Let death steal over them;
let them go down to Sheol alive;
for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
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.
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.
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.
22 Cast your burden on the LORD,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.
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. – Psalm 55:1-23 ESV
David had been betrayed by a close friend, and this psalm reflects his struggle with anger, frustration, and the desire for revenge. David does not disclose the identity of this individual but simply refers to him as “my equal, my companion and close friend” (Psalm 55:13 NLT). David had his fair share of enemies, like King Saul, Doeg the Edomite, and the entire Tishite clan, but this failed relationship with a former friend was different altogether.
This friend turned foe had shaken David to the core. It was one thing to suffer the scorn of a sworn enemy, but to have a close associate become the source of such pain and suffering was difficult to bear. David provides an almost clinical description of the physical symptoms he suffered as a result of this unexpected conflict.
My heart pounds in my chest.
The terror of death assaults me.
Fear and trembling overwhelm me,
and I can’t stop shaking. – Psalm 55:4-5 NLT
David was in a state of desperation and despair, and longed to escape the relentless pressure he felt.
Oh, that I had wings like a dove;
then I would fly away and rest!
I would fly far away
to the quiet of the wilderness. Interlude
How quickly I would escape—
far from this wild storm of hatred. – Psalm 55:6-8 NLT
My wife has a phrase she tends to use when things are not going well. When faced with an unpleasant situation or circumstance, she says, “I wish we could go to an island.” When those words come out of her mouth, she is expressing the same thing David did when he said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!” (Psalm 55:6 NLT). Like David, my wife occasionally finds herself in situations that cause her to want to run away and hide. She pictures a secluded island, far from the cares and troubles that confront her. For David, it was the wilderness of Judea, outside the walls of Jerusalem. I find his choice interesting because the wilderness was where David spent so many years hiding from the paid assassins of King Saul. You would think that the wilderness would be the last place David would want to go, but those barren, rocky hills had become a place of refuge, peace, and protection for him. It was in the wilderness that he found rest, safety, and a sense of well-being.
Life as the king living within the crowded walls of Jerusalem was anything but easy. There was intrigue, infighting, money issues, family quarrels, government concerns, and the constant threat of war because of all of Israel’s enemies. In the opening verses of this psalm, David cries out to God and paints a rather bleak picture of his current state of affairs.
I am overwhelmed by my troubles.
My enemies shout at me,
making loud and wicked threats.
They bring trouble on me
and angrily hunt me down. – Psalm 55:2-3 NLT
Serving as the king and shepherding the people of God was a high-pressure job. It was virtually impossible to keep everybody happy. As king, David had plenty of enemies whose sole goal in life was to bring his reign to an abrupt end. These adversaries came from within and without, posing a constant threat to his reign and placing David was under a tremendous amount of pressure. In this instance, things had taken a more difficult twist because one of his closest friends had turned on him. David states, “It is not an enemy who taunts me – I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me – I could have hidden from them. Instead, it is you – my equal, my companion and close friend” (Psalm 55:12-13 NLT).
David doesn’t disclose the details of his friend’s transgression, but it was bad enough to make David want to run away and hide. This was not a one-time reaction for David. He had a habit of running away from difficult relationships. The Book of 2 Samuel records when David’s son Absalom staged a coup to take over the kingdom. When David received word of his son’s actions, he chose to abdicate the throne and abandon the royal city.
A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, “All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!”
“Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!” David urged his men. “Hurry! If we get out of the city before Absalom arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster.” – 2 Samuel 15:13-14 NLT
Rather than face his son and protect his throne, David ran away. In Psalm 55, David is faced with another situation where he must choose either to flee or fight. Running is always an attractive option. Some of us literally run away from problems, while others of us do it figuratively. We may escape through busyness, drowning our problems in preoccupation with something else. We may turn to drugs or alcohol, attempting to cloud our perception that the problem even exists. We may run to some form of entertainment, hoping to distract our minds from the issue at hand. Or we may run from our problems by attempting to ignore them altogether. Whatever tactic we take, running from our problems rarely works, and it never makes them go away. David knew that.
So, instead of running away, David turned to God. He called on God and asked Him to do what only God can—provide rescue and relief.
But I will call on God,
and the Lord will rescue me.
Morning, noon, and night
I cry out in my distress,
and the Lord hears my voice.
He ransoms me and keeps me safe
from the battle waged against me,
though many still oppose me.
God, who has ruled forever,
will hear me and humble them. – Psalm 55:16-19 NLT
David knew from experience that his best option was to trust God. Running never solved anything. As bad as things might have been, David knew that God could handle his problems, his enemies, his clash with his former friend, and anything else that came up in his life. His advice? “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall” (Psalm 55:22 NLT).
David’s enemies were real. His situation was difficult and further complicated by his friend’s disingenuous words and deceitful actions. But David knew that running away might provide temporary relief from his problems, but it would never bring resolution. Only God could do that.
We can confidently face whatever comes our way by taking it to the Lord and trusting Him with the outcome. Don’t run away. Run to Him. He is where we will find peace, safety, rescue, and resolution to our problems.
The group Selah recorded the following song, and its lyrics provide a fitting summation of David’s words.
You are my hiding place
You always fill my heart
With the songs of deliverance
When ever i'm afraid
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
Let the weak say
I am strong,
With the strength of the lord
You are my hiding place
You always fill my heart
With the songs of deliverance
When ever i'm afraid
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
Let the weak say
I am strong,
With the strength of the lord
Father, I am not sure why I don’t run to You more often and more readily. You have never failed me or let me down in the past, but I still find myself running away rather than turning to You. When faced with problems, I long for escape, when what I should long for is You. You alone can help me. You alone can rescue me. You alone are the answer to every problem that confronts me. Amen
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.