Walk Of Life – Day 17, September 2022 – Thoughts From The Book Of Psalms
Psalm 55 – Trusting God Against Treacherous Enemies
In this psalm the psalmist is struggling due to a dangerous threat to his life made by his trusted associates. One can connect this psalm to the time when Absalom rebelled against his father, King David with the help of his trusted counselor Ahithophel. David forgave Absalom of his past mistakes but he was not grateful and tried to win people’s heart to gain fame and power like that of a king. Having had a pleasing appearance, he won the hearts of the people and started turning them against the anointed king. 2 Samuel 15. On the other hand, Ahithophel whose advise was like that of the one enquired of the Lord went against his closest friend, King David. 2 Samuel 16:23. David was troubled and distraught due to this . When he realised that this rebellion could not be won by sword, he turned to his caring Father who could give him victory against this treachery.
David in great anguish cried out to the Lord because those with whom he worshiped God in the sanctuary, ate and had fellowship with had gone against him. It was as if a spear is being forced into his heart and twisted around till he gets bled out. David mourned in distress making noises, sighed and cried as his heart was deeply wounded. The terror of death and inevitable ruin overwhelmed him with horror. Just like a dove who would fly away swiftly to hid from the birds of prey, he wished to have their wings so that he could flee to an unreachable, secret and safe place where he could find rest. Not able to find a favoring solution to his problem, he had to go away from Jerusalem so that the land would not be destroyed by Absalom.
The destructive forces seemed to have defeated David, yet he trusted God to sustain and restore his kingdom in the right way. He prayed for two kinds of his enemies. One on whom he pronounced curses in desperation- “Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the realm of the dead, for evil finds lodging among them.” Verse 15 and the other a prayer to humble those who were against him, “God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change—he will hear them and humble them because they have no fear of God.” Verse 19
Evening, morning and noon, David prayed for his own irrespective of their treachery so that they would be humbled and corrected by God. This brings us to a question, how many times we pray for those who sin against us especially when they are from our own family or brethren? David’s situation is not uncommon to this age as you can find people around you who pose to be godly, talk pleasantly and caringly but might not have any love of God in their hearts. Such people wait to attack you in your weakest area so that you lose your honorable place. Like David you need to trust God and pray fervently for the rebellious brethren or family member, “for God is love, whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” 1 John 4:16,20,21
