Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

Psalm 55. Like many other individual laments, this psalm prays for God's help against dangerous enemies who hate the faithful. There is a unique twist here, though: the danger comes from betrayal by a close friend (vv. 13-14, 20-21) who had seemed a fellow pilgrim on the path of life. Some deny that David could be the author of this psalm, because there is no clear instance of such betrayal in the recorded life of David. But that misses the point: the psalms are hymns, not merely autobiography. David has provided this psalm for God's people to sing under this kind of duress. In addition, David was betrayed by his son Absalom (2 Sam. 15:1-12; 16:15-23) and by his counselor Ahithophel (2 Sam. 15:12; 16:15-23).

55:1-3 Hear My Prayer. The prayer is earnest (plea for mercy, restless in my complaint), and its occasion is the noise of the enemy and the oppression of the wicked, namely, they drop trouble upon me (i.e., as if they were dropping stones) because they bear a grudge against me. As usual in the psalms, these are not simply people who dislike the singer; they are enemies of true piety, who will even take violent measures to ruin the godly and stamp out true faith (vv. 3, 9-11, 21, 23).