Monday, May 23, 2011

Reflecting on the Psalms: Chapter 55

Psalm 55

To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David.

1Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.
 
2Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;
 
3Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.
 
4My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
 
5Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
 
6And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
 
7Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
 
8I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
 
9Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
 
10Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
 
11Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
 
12For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
 
13But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
 
14We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
 
15Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
 
16As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
 
17Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
 
18He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me.
 
19God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.
 
20He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.
 
21The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
 
22Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

23But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.

Chapter 55

Whenever I deal with burdens in life, I take comfort in knowing that I can cry out to God, as David did in verses 1-2. And whenever I cry out to God, I take comfort in knowing that He'll hear me and respond as He sees fit. If He didn't respond, my efforts would be a waste of time, but they haven't been in the past in terms of His delivering me from my darkest moment. And, as I've said before, I haven't really dealt with enemies but that doesn't mean I don't face spiritual battles on a daily basis. With God's help, I can overcome that, which I think is where verse 3 comes in. David faced much opposition, yes, and whenever I lose to that opposition, I like being reminded that God wants to use that for me to grow closer to Him and for me to depend on Him. That's kinda what the deal was when I gave into the enemy's lies, which I've talked about before. I cried out to God because I could not deal with the enemy on my, which is how I related to verses 1-3 as a whole. I remember dealing with a sore pained or anguished heart, as described in verse 4. That resulted from giving into the enemy and ignoring God, I'd say. I did feel overwhelmed at that time (v. 5) because I didn't know how to deal with the enemy on my own. I suppose I wanted to flee away from my situation (vv. 6-8) instead of having God deal with it. I'm glad I didn't, though, because that would've just made things worse. Verses 9-10 speak of Jerusalem, which Matthew Henry comments on by stating the following, "No wickedness so distresses the believer, as that which he witnesses in those who profess to be of the church of God. Let us not be surprised at the corruptions and disorders of the church on earth, but long to see the New Jerusalem. He complains of one that had been very industrious against him. God often destroys the enemies of the church by dividing them." Yeah....what I have to add to that is God has His place in destroying enemies and I'll let Him deal with that. I can't really relate to verse 11, but I will comment on verse 12. Henry comments on verse 12 by stating the following, "The true Christian must expect trials from professed friends, from those with whom he has been united; this will be very painful; but by looking unto Jesus we shall be enabled to bear it. Christ was betrayed by a companion, a disciple, an apostle, who resembled Ahithophel in his crimes and doom." Yeah, I can't say I've ever been betrayed by any of my Christian friends, but verses 12-14 will give me something to relate to in case I ever am. And since Christ was betrayed by Judas, perhaps I would end up dealing with that in a fashion similar to that of Christ if I was ever betrayed by a fellow Christian or just a friend in general. I suppose if I were to count that former internet friend of mine, as I mentioned in a previous posting, he kinda did betray me. And verse 15 talks about the fate of those who betray God's people, which is reminder to me that I shouldn't betray my friends because there would most likely be consequences for and God would frown upon it.

Now I think I'll reflect on verses 16-23. I know that, as I've done in the past, I can call upon God (v. 16) and I'm glad I can do it any time I need to (v. 17). Otherwise, I'd be limited to when I could do it, which wouldn't be fun. When I'm facing a spiritual battle, I can trust that God will deliver me from it (v. 18), as He did during my darkest moment. I'm glad I'm not living a lifestyle where sin in glorififed because if I did, I would experience pain and affliction that would have been brought upon myself as a result of no accepting Christ. That verse makes me want to touch people so they can know Jesus and not live life as a slave to sin. I can't really relate to verse 20, but verse 21 shows how deceptive man can be and that if I depend on him, I may end up being betrayed if his actions don't match his speech. I choose to cast my cares upon God (v. 22) since I know that I can trust Him with them and since He won't mock me for it as a man might. I like that part where it says "he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved" because it reminds that God is my foundation and that I won't be shaken if I trust in Him. My trust in His is a continual thing and I am thankful that God has saved me from the pit of destruction.

                                                    Source used:

Henry, Matthew. "Concise Commentary on Psalms 55". "Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
on the Whole Bible". <http://www.searchgodsword.org/com/mhc-con/view.cgi?book=ps&chapter=055>. 

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