Hi everyone. Welcome to trainingforliferedeemed. …I’m Dan I’m sitting here with my father David Jackson We are working our way through the Psalms. Dad we’re up to Psalm  55. We’re going to read this one together. Yeah because there’s a leader who says or sings only one part and then the congregation do the other part I’ll be the congregation. And many voices. Lead us away.

So

1.09 David and Dan

Psalm 55

⁰ For the director with stringed instruments.

A maskil of David.

The Song Leader (to God)

¹ Give ear to my prayer, God,

and do not hide yourself from my plea for grace.

² Pay attention to me and answer me.

I ramble in my thinking, and I am in an uproar.

³ From the voice of an enemy,

from the face of the pressure of the wicked,

because they dislodge wickedness onto me,

and with anger they hate me.

⁴ My heart writhes within me,

and terrors of death fall on me.

⁵ Fear and trembling enter me,

and shuddering overwhelms me.

⁶ And I said, “Who will give me wings?”

Like a pigeon I will fly and I will settle.

⁷ Behold, I will relocate far away to retreat.

Let me lodge in the wilderness. Selah

⁸ Let me hurry to a refuge for myself,

from the rushing wind, from the storm.

⁹ Swallow, my lord, divide their speech,

for I see violence and dispute in the city.

¹⁰ Day and night they go around her on her walls,

and trouble and sorrow are in her midst.

¹¹ Destruction is in her midst.

It is never absent from her plaza:

There is oppression and deceit.

¹² For (it is) not an enemy who abuses me.

I could bear that.

It is not someone who hates me who gangs up on me.

I could be hidden from him.

Song Leader (to his betrayer)

¹³ You (ms) are a man of my rank,

and my comrade whom I have known well.

¹⁴ We consulted well together.

We walked with the crowds in the house of God.

The Congregation

¹⁵ Desolations are upon them.

They go down to Sheol alive.

Because disasters are in the places where they stay, in their midst.

The Song Leader

¹⁶ As for me, I cry to God,

and Yahweh saves me.

¹⁷ Evening, morning, and noon I keep on thinking and raging,

and he hears my voice.

¹⁸ He ransomed my life whole from an attack on me,

Because there are many who are at me.

¹⁹ God hears and he puts them down,

He sits enthroned as in the past. Selah

The Congregation

Nothing changes with them,

and they do not fear God.

The Song Leader

²⁰ He reaches his hand.

While enjoying his peace he profanes his covenant.

²¹ His mouth produces speech as smooth as butter

but a hostile approach was in his heart.

His words are more tender than oil,

but they are drawn swords.

The Congregation (to the Song Leader)

²² Throw your lot to Yahweh.

He will provide for you.

He will never dislodge the righteous.

The Song Leader (to God)

²³ And you, God, cause them to go down to the deepest pit.

They are men of bloods and treachery.

They do not make it to the half of their days,

but I trust in you.

3.47 Dan

But that there’s a lot in this psalm. It’s a long one. 23 versus I think you said there were. Yep. When we go through this, so. It’s very clear that this guy is generally in angst and yeah he’s very upset about the betrayal that’s happened to him. He talks about different types of betrayals that he could have handled but the person who’s betrayed him is clearly close someone who he loved, who David possibly loves who has betrayed him…

Get us going here with this with the beginning.

4.28 David

Okay well this is, there’s only a couple of psalms in this set that don’t say you know when David was doing X Y and Z. In the way that it’s set up, it looks like this is a second song written following his betrayal by the people in Keilah and Ziph. So he’s still wandering around in the wilderness. He’s got all these evil people, but it’s, he’s making this shift in this song. It’s as if you know that Psalm 54 was the first reaction to being betrayed. And then the weeks have gone by and he’s sort of sitting around going. You know the last few weeks, my nights are just raging and  confusion. And he’s reflecting all the thoughts and the thinking. and the emotion that’s going on in his heart. And so you get a lot of language here about you know my heart writhes. the terrors of death. All of those things are going on inside him.

I think that’s not too difficult for us to identify with. Yeah those nights when you just can’t get to sleep and you’re mulling over the hurt the betrayal. I think of some ladies I know whose husbands have you know being abusive and run off and Yeah. I actually think back to my mother at some stages that sense of when you are betrayed by somebody who was your equal. He says you’re the same rank as me Well for David to say that the only person of the same rank as Saul. Yeah. And he describes the good time The time when he and Saul had some level of trust and identity and then the betrayal of that is sharper than the betrayal of all these other people. But just that that scene of raging and rolling around in the middle of the night is terrible.

I think we’ve all been there. But it really echoes And to put that into song — I liked the way this psalm is a song leader singing to a congregation and the congregation then replying. It’s called antiphonal singing. You get it at the football.

6.59 Dan:

Yes you do. Real football That is. Where they sing.

7.04 David

Yes that’s right. So you need a Cantor or a song leader. Who stands up and gives the first line And then everybody comes back at you.

And the power of that Left right left Right rhythm. So it’s as if the congregation is talking sense to David or to the one who’s been betrayed and while he’s pouring out his guts, they’re coming back pointing him to trust the Lord. And that’s, that’s really a cool congregational dynamic.

We don’t do that. I don’t remember doing that in any church except when we sang I think Psalm 150 out of Psalm Praise, where you have a Cantor singing one line and everybody repeating it. You get it in a lot of African-American slave chain gang songs. Harry Belafonte used to sing some of that stuff. That was that sort of rhythm that builds this power to I’m just churning away in the middle of the night and here’s the whole congregation of God saying Hey. Trust the Lord He’s going to take care of it. And then you tell them about how you’re feeling and they come back and hit you again. It’s a great song.

8.24 Dan

It’s a bit of a model too I guess for how it’s meant to work Like. Today if you’re struggling and all the rest of it you should be able to come to your congregation or people from your congregation who should then encourage you and help you to actually focus back on God’s. In prayer to God God’s the one who will rescue you God’s the one who provides for you. And you know whether he rescues you in this life. At this point or whether he rescues you big time Yeah, rescues you. And he’s always there rescuing you And I think. Some of the stuff that the congregation say is some of the best bits of the Psalm Yeah.

9.00 David

 So you that line there you. You are a man of my rank my comrade. Whom I’ve known. Well, you know if it was, if it was some stranger it wouldn’t bother me but you. And then the congregation comes back and says desolations are on them. They go down the she’ol alive. Yeah they’re going to get it. Hmm. so when they talk about “they” they’re talking about the guy he speaks to as “you.” “You, Saul have done all these terrible things and the congregation is yeah they’re going to get it. Yeah God is just.

9.34 Dan

Yeah. But I heard this Yeah. The focus. I feel like the congregation is what is about is bringing it back around to to God. Yeah. Throughout this thing of yes they get it Like I’m on your side They’re going to get punished but also, you know, yeah They don’t fear God is, is your next line And then yeah You know throw your lot to Yahweh is going to come up later in verse 22 as the thing that the congregation is saying to, to this person who’s struggling Yeah. So I think it’s a good call for us. you know, To be a long actually alongside our fellow Christians. And to be there when they need it

10.10 David

to turn the music of. Assemblies our congregation. into this. You know, put the proposition out there and respond to it. So he said you know you you are my special friend and you betrayed me. The congregation say yeah they’re going to cop it. And then he says, he’s ransomed my life from all those who attack me. God hears he puts them down. So he’s affirming what the congregation just said. And then the congregation come back and say yeah nothing changes with them because they don’t fear God. Reminding us of the atheist. Yep.

And then the song leader goes. To the next. step. God reaches out his hand while enjoying his peace. While this enemy enjoys God’s peace, he profanes the covenant. and he goes on to talk about what his enemy has done. and then the congregation come back with. Well throw your lot with Yahweh. And don’t worry about them. Just focus on God Yeah, yeah, yeah.

11.10 Dan

And this whole idea of yeah you’re righteous You’re fine Yes. You’re safe. Because God’s with you Yep. But then ends up with at the end there God is going to cause them to go down to the deepest pit They’re men of blood and, yeah treachery. Yeah. It’s a very. I mean. I gave a brief summary of this psalm before we were doing this I was like you know the person is in trouble. They need God. God rescues them It’s a standard kind of structure for a lot of psalms. but this is a longer one that goes in more depth. And it looks more closely at the inner struggles that are happening

11.45 David

Some of the imagery I think is is classic. He talks about the enemy rolling or dislodging rocks on his head in the accusation. He’s talking about the accusation Saul has accused David of treachery, treason, wanting to kill Saul and take the kingdom. David’s not wanting to kill Saul at all. He’s left that in God’s hands.

So he’s dislodging all of this stuff down on them. And then the call goes back from the congregation that says…take your lot, which is your life, your burdens, and just leave it with God. And he, will never dislodge you. So you’re rock solid firm your enemies trying to roll rocks on your head and you’re leaving in your whole position in the hands of God. Yeah. When we come later to another psalm, David’s hiding in a gully, in a cave. And I’ve walked up, you’ve walked up that gully too and you just imagine walking through the gully and somebody rolling rocks down on you. yeah. There you go…

12.59 Dan

Ah, Dad well that brings us to the end of this Psalm That’s the end of this episode. If you would like to come and grab the study notes for this episode, you want  to head over totrainingforliferedeemed.com/111 or are we up to 112? 111!. 111. If you haven’t hit subscribe please do that. And make sure you come back and join us next week.