PSALMS LESSON 53
We will begin this lesson by giving Chapter 54 in metre.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
Chapter 54
Verse 1 "Save by thy name, O Lord, In power my judge appear; MY
earnest prayer do thou regard, And to my voice give ear.
Verse 2 "For foes against me rise, Oppressors seek my soul; They set
not God before their eyes, Nor own his just control."
Verse 3 "My helper is the Lord, With those who me defend; With ill he
shall my foes reward, on them destruction send."
Verse 4 "I'll free-will of'rings bring, And sacrifice with joy. Thy
name is good; its praise to sing my tongue I will employ."
Verse 5 "Because from all my woes The Lord hath set me free; And he
the ruin of my foes Hath made my eyes to see."
We will now begin the verse by verse study of Psalms chapter 54.
Psalms 54:1 "{To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, [A Psalm] of
David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide
himself with us?} Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy
strength."
It's all in the name of Jesus. Even the name means Saviour. Jesus
is the Saviour of all mankind, especially those that believe. This cry
of David to God to save him is our cry, as well. It is not by our
strength or might that we are saved, but by the power in His name.
Psalms 54:2 "Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my
mouth."
I may pray all night long, but I need to know that my prayer has
been heard and received of God. As long as we know that God has His
ear turned to us, we continue to pray and believe.
Psalms 54:3 "For strangers are risen up against me, and
oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them.
Selah."
This is a strange statement, but it is so true. So many times,
those who do not even know us rise up against us and say terrible
things about us. David is saying, here, that these are people who do
not know God coming against him. The sad thing, in our time, is that
brothers and sisters in other denominations say cruel things about
your ministry, when they have no idea what you believe. Notice what
Jesus said about other groups who do good in Jesus name. Luke 9:50 "
And Jesus said unto him, Forbid [him] not: for he that is not against
us is for us." All believers in the Lord Jesus Christ should be
pulling together to try to get the lost world saved. There is no time
for fighting.
Psalms 54:4 "Behold, God [is] mine helper: the Lord [is] with
them that uphold my soul."
On my own I can do nothing, but with God's help I can turn the
world upside down for Jesus. Possibly a more accurate statement would
be {I am God's helper}. I can not fail as long as He remains my Lord.
Just as God was with David, He also was with those who were on David's
side.
Psalms 54:5 "He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off
in thy truth."
We should not even take time to think bad thoughts about our
enemies. God fights the battles of the believers for them. Romans
12:19 "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place
unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay,
saith the Lord." The following Scripture goes a little more in
detail, what God will do to your enemies. Romans 12:20 "Therefore if
thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so
doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head."
Psalms 54:6 "I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy
name, O LORD; for [it is] good."
David is speaking of the sacrificing of animals, as was the
method under the law. The sacrifice of the believer is praise. Hebrews
13:15 "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God
continually, that is, the fruit of [our] lips giving thanks to his
name." Notice, the word, freely, in verse 6 above. This means that he
will sacrifice, even when it is not expected. This means the sacrifice
is of love, and not of obligation.
Psalms 54:7 "For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and
mine eye hath seen [his desire] upon mine enemies."
Then, this sacrifice above is of thanksgiving, because He has
done such marvellous things in behalf of David. We have even more to
thank Him for than David did. We are under grace, and not under the
law. Our Sacrifice was one time in the person of Jesus Christ. There
is no more need for sacrifice, Jesus paid it all. Now there is only
room for praise and thanksgiving.
We will continue this lesson by giving the 55th chapter of Psalms
in metre.
Chapter 55
Verse 1 "O God, my prayer hear, nor hide From my entreating voice.
Attend and hear, in my complaint I mourn and make a noise:
Verse 2 "For voice of foes, for wicked men in their oppression great;
Who on me cast iniquity, and who in wrath me hate.
Verse 3 "Sore pained within me is my heart, Death's terrors seize my
soul; Great trembling, fearfulness, and dread Like waters
o'er me roll."
Verse 4 "O that I, like a dove, had wings, Said I, then would I flee
Far hence, that I might find a place Where I at rest might
be."
Verse 5 "Lo, then far off I wander would, And in the desert stay;
From stormy wind and tempest I Would haste to flee away."
Verse 6 "O Lord, on them destruction bring, Do thou their tongues
divide; For in the city violence And strife I have espied."
Verse 7 "They day and night upon the walls Do go about it round:
Iniquity and sorrow there In midst of it are found."
Verse 8 "Abundant wickedness there is within her inward part; And
from her streets deceitfulness And guile do not depart."
Verse 9 "He was no foe that me reproached, For that endure I could;
No hater boasting over me, For bide from him I would."
Verse 10 "But thou, a man, my equal, guide, Who my acquaintance wast:
We joined sweet counsels, to God's house In company we
passed."
Verse 11 "Death shall them seize, and to the grave Alive they shall go
down; For wickedness is in their homes, Among them sins
abound."
Verse 12 "But as for me, I'll call on God, Jehovah shall me save.
He'll hear me when I cry aloud at morning, noon, and eve."
Verse 13 "The Lord delivered hath my soul, That it in peace might be
From battle that against me was; For many were with me."
Verse 14 "The Lord shall hear, and them afflict; Of old he hath abode:
Because they never changes have, They therefore fear not
God."
Verse 15 "Against the men at peace with him He hath put forth his
hand; The covenant which he had made, By breaking he
profaned."
Verse 16 "Than butter smoother were his words, While in his heart was
war; His speeches softer were than oil, And yet drawn swords
they are."
Verse 17 "Cast thou thy burden on the Lord, And he shall thee sustain;
Yea, he shall cause that still unmoved the righteous shall
remain."
Verse 18 "But thou, O God, in righteousness, Those men shalt
overthrow, And in destruction's dungeon dark At last shalt
lay them low."
Verse 19 "Deceitful, bloody men shall die Ere half their days they
spend; But I with confidence on thee Will evermore depend."
We will now begin the verse by verse study of Psalms chapter 55.
Psalms 55:1 "{To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, [A Psalm] of
David.} Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my
supplication."
This is the desire of everyone who has ever prayed. Lord, hear me
and do not turn the other way. Give me your undivided attention for a
moment.
Psalms 55:2 "Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my
complaint, and make a noise;" Psalms 55:3 "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."
We do realize from the repetition of this prayer, that David is
in earnest. Some would have us believe that we are not to pray more
than once for a particular problem, but the fervent prayer of the
righteous availeth much. Jesus even gave us an example of praying more
than once. Mark 8:22 "And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a
blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him." Mark 8:23 "And he
took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when
he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if
he saw ought." Mark 8:24 "And he looked up, and said, I see men as
trees, walking." Mark 8:25 "After that he put [his] hands again upon
his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man
clearly." You can see from this that there is nothing wrong with
praying more than once for something you need from God.
Psalms 55:4 "My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors
of death are fallen upon me."
This is the same David that said, Yea though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. What is different
then? David has a wounded spirit here. Sometimes the person, who has
the greatest faith, has difficulty realizing that God is as near as
their next prayer, because they have gotten down on themselves and
think that God has stopped answering their prayers. David, at this
point, has given up hope for help from on high. He feels all alone and
forgotten. Perhaps, Jesus felt a little bit of this, when all His
friends left Him. At one point in the crucifixion, even the Father
turned away from Him. We have each, at some time in our life,
travelled down this same road. We, perhaps, must get to the end of
ourself, and then God takes up the battle for us.
Psalms 55:5 "Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and
horror hath overwhelmed me."
The enemy has come against David so greatly, at this point, that
he has begun to believe him. To feel that God is not near, protecting
and keeping us from the enemy, would cause this type of panic to come
upon any of us. The secret of not falling into this type of fear is in
standing firmly on the solid Rock {Jesus Christ our Lord}.
Psalms 55:6 "And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! [for
then] would I fly away, and be at rest."
When these fearful things come, O to have the wings of a dove and
fly away with God. Just as David desired, here, to escape from all
this trouble, we sometimes desire to fly away to the peace that only
God can give. The eagle would be the course taken with power and
might, but the dove is the way of peace.
Psalms 55:7 "Lo, [then] would I wander far off, [and] remain in
the wilderness. Selah."
David is saying that he wants to be far removed and hidden from
all the problems around him. Selah, in this particular instance, could
be saying, what a wonderful thing to stop and think on. The wilderness
spoken of would be a place of hiding from his problems.
Psalms 55:8 "I would hasten my escape from the windy storm [and]
tempest."
No one, including David likes to stay in the midst of a storm. He
is ready to go wherever there is safety from all of this trouble.
Psalms 55:9 "Destroy, O Lord, [and] divide their tongues: for I
have seen violence and strife in the city."
David is asking God to stop all this bad talk about him. This is
not a physical war that David is fighting. It is a fight where brother
is against brother, and they are all taking sides. It seems all the
sides are against David.
Psalms 55:10 "Day and night they go about it upon the walls
thereof: mischief also and sorrow [are] in the midst of it." Psalms
55:11 "Wickedness [is] in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart
not from her streets."
If I did not know better, I would think he was speaking of our
cities in the United States. Day and night, the drugs are being sold
and innocent lives are being taken. There seems to be no end to the
mischief. Mischief brings sorrow to all who are involved. There is no
solution to these problems, except through the Lord Jesus Christ. They
needed a spiritual awakening, and our nation now needs a spiritual
awakening, as well.
Psalms 55:12 "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:" Psalms 55:13 "But [it was] thou, a man mine equal, my guide,
and mine acquaintance." Psalms 55:14 "We took sweet counsel together,
[and] walked unto the house of God in company."
This, that David is going through, sounds all to familiar. You
will not let an enemy hurt you this much. His friend, who he thought
to be a brother in the Lord, has done this terrible thing to him.
Church people, look at this. What are we doing to the family of God?
God does not want a divided house. If we are His children, we must
learn to help each other, not tear each other down. What a
disappointment to find that a brother or sister in Christ has turned
against you. I believe it is, perhaps, one of the deepest hurts we can
have.
Psalms 55:15 "Let death seize upon them, [and] let them go down
quick into hell: for wickedness [is] in their dwellings, [and] among
them."
David is expressing, here, the fact that if they have turned
against David {a servant of God}, they have turned against God. Their
fate is an eternity in hell. They have chosen wickedness over God.
There is no more hope for them.
Psalms 55:16 "As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall
save me."
David has left his enemy in the capable hands of the Lord and he
has turned to spend all his time worshipping God. He is giving us good
advice here. Stop whining about those lost and go to the Lord. The
Lord will not only save us, but will heal our memories of the traitors
we once called friends.
Psalms 55:17 "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and
cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice."
David, in a sense, is saying, I will pray without ceasing and God
will hear and answer my prayer.
Psalms 55:18 "He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle
[that was] against me: for there were many with me."
Notice, the past tense here. He delivered his soul, long before
David asked. Now David has stopped looking at those who fought him and
started looking at those who are with him. This is, again, very good
advice for us. Jesus saved us long before we asked Him to. Think of
the brothers and sisters in Christ who have not gone away from God,
and stop thinking so much of those who went astray.
Psalms 55:19 "God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that
abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they
fear not God."
Some may profess belonging to God, but if they do not turn from
their evil ways, they are not His. They do not fear God, so they do
not obey God. They are lost.
Psalms 55:20 "He hath put forth his hands against such as be at
peace with him: he hath broken his covenant."
God's covenant with man is conditional. We are blessed if we do
His will, and we are cursed if we do not His will. Those rebellious
ones have broken the covenant of God themselves.
Psalms 55:21 "[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."
This is saying the same thing that Jesus said. He told some who
said they believed in Him, to get away, He never knew them. They said
things with their mouth that were not really in their heart. God looks
on the heart of man. God judges us by the things that are in our
heart, not by the lies that come out of our mouth.
Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain
thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
This is probably some of the best advice in all of the Bible.
Cast your cares upon the Lord, for He cares for you. With Christ
dwelling in you, you shall not be moved by any false wind of doctrine,
or by any problem that comes your way.
Psalms 55:23 "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."
David is expressing the downfall of those who are not living for
God. We, who have read the Bible, know the terrible fate that awaits
those who do not love God and serve Him. The pit, that is spoken of
here, is possibly the lake of fire. David is wise in deciding that
what comes or goes, he will serve the Lord. I can say with him,
whatever comes or goes, I determine in my heart to serve the Lord.
Questions 53
1. It is all in the name of ________.
2. Who is Jesus the Saviour of?
3. Why do we continue to pray and believe?
4. Who has come against David in verse 3?
5. Quote Luke chapter 9 verse 50.
6. Quote Romans chapter 12 verse 19.
7. If we feed our enemy, what will happen to the enemy?
8. What is the sacrifice the believer makes?
9. The sacrifice is of _____, and not of _________.
10. What shows us just how earnest David is in his prayer?
11. The _______ prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
12. Jesus lay His hands on the _____ ____ twice to heal him.
13. What is wrong with David in verse 4 of chapter 55?
14. When did Jesus have this feeling of being all alone?
15. What would cause the type of panic that David is experiencing in
verse 5?
16. Oh that I had wings of a _______!
17. What would David have done, if he had those wings?
18. What is the basic difference in an eagle and a dove?
19. What was David wanting to hide from?
20. What, in verses 10 and 11, reminds us of our time?
21. Who had caused all of this terrible pain to David?
22. If they have turned against David, who are they really against?
23. David has left his enemy in whose hands?
24. What has David done for himself?
25. How often did David decide to pray?
26. When did God deliver David's soul?
27. Are all who profess Christianity saved?
28. God's covenant with man is ____________.
29. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but _____ was in
his heart.
30. Who brings the evil one down into the pit of destruction?
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