The book of Psalms has a psalm for every emotion we feel. As we journey through this life, we face joy and sorrow, seasons of wilderness and seasons of plenty, and there is a psalm for each one. So pray them over your life. Run to them. Sing them over your day. Recall them in the night.
In this season, Psalm 55 has become a close friend. In many ways, I wish it hadn't. No one wants this season. But this is life; it is real, and such seasons come. God has a word for these moments.
It has been a hard and dizzying time. People we thought we could trust have betrayed us. I look to some leaders and find evil, malice, and slander. The fruit of the devil has grown in places meant to be marked by the gospel, and we have been broken by it. If you know this kind of season, or are in one now, let's listen together to this close friend of Scripture.
Plead with God
The psalmist cried out to God with honesty and passion. He felt forgotten, and so he went to the one place that mattered: to God. Even a cry of pain can be a cry for mercy.
So often we turn elsewhere first; to old vices or simple comforts of escape. We try to hide in these things. But vices leave us more broken, and comforts offer only temporary relief. What if instead we cried out to God first, in our pain, with all the honesty and confusion that comes with it?
Verse 3 rings true to what I'm going through. My enemies' words have cut deep and laid my soul bare. Groaning and complaint are all my heart can muster some days. If that's where you are too, know you're not alone.
That, in fact, is one of this psalm's central themes: you are not alone. God hears, acts, protects, and heals. That is good news, even when all we can see is the bad. Yet in the middle of the attack, we often long to escape; so did the psalmist.
In verses 6–7, he admits he wants to flee the trouble entirely. If he had wings, he'd fly away like a bird. We have all felt that pull to run when times are hard. But often, like the psalmist, we find ourselves stuck in the trenches, facing real evil. So what does this psalm teach our hearts to do in the trenches? Turn to the only one who can rescue us; the only true harbor. We must turn to the Lord.
Look to God
The psalmist now turns his eyes to the one who can help. He's no longer simply asking for an ear; he's calling on God to act; to "confuse" and "confound" the slanderers. When people slander us, we too can cry out to God to confuse and confound their attacks. This is a prayer for God's justice, and in times of strife, we need to pray for exactly that.
We learn that the person hurting and attacking the psalmist was once a close friend; someone who worshipped alongside him. That friend now stands as an enemy. Later, in verse 15, the psalmist's prayer grows even harder to hear: "Let death take him by surprise." Can we really pray words like that? The answer is yes.
This is not a prayer of vengeance, or a reaction to a simple insult. It's reserved for specific and serious situations; if you find yourself praying this way often, that's worth pausing to search your own heart. But look at what led the psalmist here.
His "friend" acts with violence toward the peaceful. He breaks his covenants again and again. His words are dishonest and manipulative, and war is constantly in his heart. This describes someone actively destructive to the people of God; someone who, because he walks in places like worship spaces, is a spy within rather than an enemy outside. People like this warrant a prayer that limits the damage they do to God's name.
This is the person who walks in our churches, sits in our small groups, and even stands in places of leadership; slandering, lying, manipulating, abusing the people of God, all while guarding their position with empty spiritual platitudes. These are not people who will step down and honestly examine their hearts; they will double down and attack instead. For them, a prayer of this weight is warranted.
Place Your Confidence in God
The psalm ends with a call to the reader in verse 22: "Cast" your burden on the Lord. Don't sit with your pain. Don't sit in your hurt. Go to the one who is powerful enough to carry it. When we are not strong enough, God is; he will sustain us through every storm.
"God will never allow the righteous to be shaken." This doesn't mean hard times will never come; it means that when they do, God will protect and sustain his people. No ultimate, eternal harm will befall them. That is why we can cast our burdens on him; he sustains, carries, and protects.
Finally, God judges. In the psalm's final verse, the psalmist declares that God will bring down evil people, destroying them for their evil works. This isn't wishful thinking; it's a promise. So as we witness evil and endure hardship, we can trust that it will end at the feet of God. He will end evil. Hope for that day, and long for it. Trust the Lord in the midst of trial.
Conclusion
A psalm that begins in such pain ends in a declaration of God's power and our trust in him. It walks us through the full range of emotion this life brings: pain, strife, betrayal, attack, and gives us words to pray, written by someone who, like David, lived through all of it himself. It ends with a hopeful declaration of God's sovereignty and justice over our problems. So as we hold this close friend, Psalm 55, let us say with it: even though things are difficult and I am hurting, I will trust the Lord and lay my burdens on him. What a friend we find here. Let this psalm journey with you.