Psalm 55

~~~~~ Psalm 55 ~~~~~ 

When I first read Ps 55, nothing seems to ‘pop’ out.  But as I read it again and again, I find Psalm 55 such a practical guide on what I should do when I face trials and problems in my life.

Background:  Probably written when Absalom, David’s son, and Ahithophel, his counselor & friend, attempted to dethrone him.

What did King David do under such circumstances of trials and betrayer?

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” – Ps 55:22

How did David cast his burden on the Lord?

What I gather from these verses are: David complaint and made a lot of noise to God.  He was very honest with God about his feelings 

“Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily” – V2

How did David feel and what did he complain to God about?

“My heart is severely pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.  Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me.  So I said, ‘Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed, I would wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.  I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.’ ” – v4-7

• He was fearful, tremble, and in horror.
• He wanted to escape and run away from the problem.

These feelings are so familiar.  How many times I wanted to run away from our problem?  And there are so many times when I was fearful, worried, tremble, etc. 

God knows our feelings and He wanted us to talk to him about it.

What happen when we cast our burden to the Lord?

“He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.” – v18

Is the problem still there after complaining to God? Yes, certainly.  I remember going through exactly what David did during one point in time when I was struggling with a problem in my life.  Cried during devotion time, cried in cell group when friends prayed for me, cried in church, and of course, I wanted so much to get out of the problem.

But, my soul indeed felt set free, and redeemed.  It felt as if a burden has been lifted out of my heart.

What did David do after casting his burden to the Lord?

“As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.” – v16, 17

“I will trust in You” – v23

David did what was the best thing to do.  Prayed, prayed and prayed.  And he trusted in God.

Result of all these

“But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction;” – v23

In our current context, satan is the one that God will bring down.  God will bring him down, so satan and his plan WILL be destroyed.

And what are Satan’s plan? – to steal, kill and destroy.  Steal, kill and destroy the joy, love and trust I have for the Lord.  I certainly do not want to fall into Satan’s trap.  And the only way to escape from this trap is pray and trust that the Lord is my deliverer.