Day 164 Psalms 55-60

Psalm 55
This psalm is a prayer for help offered by someone who has been betrayed by an "equal," a "companion," a "familiar friend" (55:13). The treachery and infidelity of his friend cuts him deep. We do not know who this friend is, but in the modern world it might be an unfaithful spouse or a disloyal boss or co-worker. His first instinct is to run away. The voice wants is to escape the pain--to take "the wings of the dove . . . , fly away and be at rest" (55:6). In powerless rage he wishes God would send those who "bring trouble" upon him "down alive to Sheol" (55:15)—into the dark underworld—where they could feel the desolation he experiences. He is helpless to defend or revenge himself. All he can do is call upon God to "redeem" him, rescue him "unharmed from the battle" he wages. It is an unfair fight "for many are arrayed against him" (55:18). He is alone, apart from his God. His betrayer is one with whom he had
made "a covenant"—a mutual agreement based upon trust, like a wedding vow (55:20). Now his faith in human beings is shattered, and now all he can do us tell him himself—"Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you," (55:22), because the LORD is faithful when friends and spouses are false--in his trustworthiness he is incapable of betrayal.
Psalm 56
Again we find a voice facing persecution from those "who trample" on him with provocation (56:1). The psalmist uses the word "trample" twice—he is being crushed by his enemies. But he is "not afraid"—he says this twice (in verses 4 and 11). He is unafraid not because the danger is illusory—the danger is all too real and present. But God's steadfast love—his power to save-- is even more real and present than any peril. With God at his side, the psalmist asks—"What can flesh do to me?" (56:4) and again, "What can a mere mortal do to me?" (56:11). And the answer to both questions is the same—Nothing. He has a friend and a guardian who cares what becomes of him. His troubles do not go unheeded—God has "kept count" of his tossings and turnings in the night. God has saved his "tears in a bottle" (56:8). Now the psalmist promises to "perform" his vows in the temple and give his "thank offerings" to the
LORD, because God in his steadfastness has saved his unsteady "feet from falling," so that he may "walk in the light of life" (56:13) unafraid.
Psalm 57
This psalm is a call for help that develops into a song of thanksgiving. In the first stanza (verses 1-4), faced with persecution the psalmist begs for God's mercy and takes refuge in the temple "under the shadow of your wings" (57:1)—this refers to the carved golden cherubim in the Holy of Holies whose extended wings represent the protection of the LORD. God extends that protection to the psalmist—he fulfills his purpose for him (57:2). God provides himself as the goal and meaning of the psalmist's life. Therefore, he is able "lie down with lions" and not be afraid. The refrain—verse 5—lifts up the one who is faithful and always able to offer refuge to those to trust him—this refrain is repeated in verse 11 to reinforce its message. In the second stanza (verses 6-10) the psalmist is "bowed down" by the plotting of his enemies. He is bowed—but not broken. "My heart is steadfast, O God," he says (57:7), and his faith
gives him victory over the hostile forces that seek to crush him. And he gives thanks for his deliverance with singing and the music of harp and lyre—"I will awake the dawn," he says (57:8). He exults the "faithfulness" of God that rises above the earth and "extends to the clouds" (57:10).
Psalm 58
This is a angry little psalm. It begins by addressing the pagan gods of Israel's neighbors who "devise wrongs" and "deal out violence on earth" (58:1-2). Israel is surrounded by pagan nations that behave like reptiles and vicious wild animals. The psalmist calls upon God to "break the teeth in their mouths" and "tear out the fangs of the young lions" (58:6)—destroy the weapons they use to oppress his people. The psalmist's reaction to this oppression and injustice is violent anger—"The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done; they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked" (58:10). God is just and he will reward his people with vindication and freedom from those who threaten them—both the pagan nations and the false gods.
Psalm 59
In this psalm the king prays for deliverance from his enemies as part of the temple worship. He pleads his own innocence—"For no transgression or sin of [his]" they lie in ambush for him (59: 3-4). He compares the enemies of Israel to a pack of wild dogs "prowling about the city" (59:6)—and they show as much humanity as vicious animals. But God "in his steadfast love" will keep his promise to his anointed one. He will "let [the king's enemies] be trapped in the pride" (59:12) and brought down, so that the LORD's power may be resound to the ends of the earth. The enemies of the king are pack of vicious curs--they howl and yap in the night (59:14). Their growling means nothing. But in the temple the anointed king "sings aloud" to the LORD "in the morning" (59:16). And he has good reason to sing, because God in his "steadfast love" keeps his promises to the one who trusts in him.
Psalm 60
God is angry and he has allowed the nation to be defeated in battle; the impact of it is compared to an earthquake (60:2). Now the worshipping community in the temple prays that God will repair the damage that the nation has suffered and "give [them] victory" in order that "those whom [the LORD loves] may be rescued" (60:5). The community recalls that God has made a promise "in his sanctuary" to give the land to his people Israel (60:6-7). The land is sacred because it represents the fulfillment of God's promise. It is the evidence that Israel is a chosen people. While they possess the land, God is with them. The land is their guarantee. But if they should ever lose the land, then they would no longer have proof that they are his chosen one. Their meaning would be lost. They would be only another among many. So this psalm begs God not to reject them, but rather to "tread down [their] foes, and confirm the land as their possession. "