Psalm 55 Title: When Sorrows Like Sea Billows Roll Series

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October 9, 2015

Tom Lowe

PSALM 55

Title: When Sorrows Like Sea Billows Roll

(To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maskil, a Psalm of David.)

Theme: A Cry of Faith in the Time of Antichrist

Psalm 55 (KJV)

1 Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.

2 Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;

3 Because 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.

4 My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.

5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.

6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.

7 Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.

8 I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.

9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.

10 Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.

11 Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.

12 For 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:

13 But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.

14 We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

16 As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.

17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

18 He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me.

19 God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.

20 He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.

21 The 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.

22 Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

23 But 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.

Introduction

There seems little doubt that David wrote this psalm when Absalom’s rebellion was coming to a head in Jerusalem. [In his Commentary on the Holy Bible, Dummelow denies David’s authorship of Psalm 55 stating “The author of this psalm can hardly be David for he speaks as a citizen of a distracted city rather than as its king, and the friend of whom he complains is his equal and not his subject.] At that time, several of David’s trusted comrades deserted him. One of note is Ahithophel— “While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom's following kept on increasing” (2 Samuel 15:12)—perhaps the wisest advisor in the nation who, after Absalom fails to take his advice, realizes David will eventually regain the throne and commits suicide (see 2 Samuel 16:20-17:13, 23). The background of this psalm was Absalom’s rebellion and Ahithophel’s treachery.

If we have been tempted to give up, to run away from our problems, then this is the psalm for us. Most of us have been where David was in this psalm—hard pressed by circumstances that are partly our own making but which have gotten beyond our control. The only thing to do is to fling ourselves into the arms of God, as David did at the close of this psalm. Psalm 55 is a prayer for God’s help when threatened by a powerful conspiracy in Jerusalem under the leadership of a former friend.

This psalm pictures what I believe to be the darkest moment of the Tribulation period. The Antichrist, the Man of Sin, is portrayed here in a remarkable way, a way that many who are students of prophesy have never considered.

Commentary

What David Felt (55:1-3). David felt what so many of us have felt when things which have overtaken us are largely the result of our own past foolishness. He tells us in verses 1-2 that he feels ABANDONED BY GOD; in verse 3 he says that he feels ABUSED BY MEN.