Psalm-55-Where-will-you-hide

Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy.

Attend to me and answer me.

I am restless in my complaint and I moan because of the noise of the enemy,

because of the oppression of the wicked.

For they drop trouble upon me and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

My heart is in anguish within me.

The terrors of death have fallen upon me.

Fear and trembling come upon me and horror overwhelms me.

And I say, oh, that I had wings like a dove.

I would fly away and be at rest.

Yes, I would wander far away.

I would lodge in the wilderness.

I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.

Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues, for I see violence and strife in the city.

Day and night they go around it on its walls.

And iniquity and trouble are within it.

Ruin is in its midst.

Oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.

For it is not an enemy who taunts me.

Then I could bear it.

It is not an adversary who deals insolently with me.

Then I could hide from him.

But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.

We used to take sweet counsel together.

Within God's house we walked in the throng.

Let death steal over them.

Let them go down to shoal alive.

For evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

But I call to God and the Lord will save me.

Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaints and moan.

And he hears my voice.

He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage.

For many are arrayed against me.

God will give ear and humble them.

He who is enthroned from of old.

Because they do not change and do not fear God.

My companion stretched out his hand against his friends.

He violated his covenant.

His speech was smooth as butter.

Yet war was in his heart.

His words were softer than oil.

Yet they were drawn swords.

Cast your burden on the Lord.

And he will sustain you.

He will never permit the righteous to be moved.

But you, O God, will cast them down.

Into the pit of destruction, men of blood and treachery

shall not live out half their days.

But I will trust in you.

Well, good morning, everyone.

My name is David.

I'm one of the pastors here.

Would you pray with me as we come to God's word?

Our Father in heaven, you know our weakness.

You know how dangerous this world is.

And that we are constantly under threat.

But Lord, we know that you have compassion for us.

Father, we know this because of Jesus.

We just pray that you would speak to us again this morning.

Through your word.

And assure us again that we are safe in you.

Please speak to us.

Please give us hearts that want to hear you.

And respond to you.

In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.

Well, to say this world is dangerous is an understatement, isn't it?

I don't know about you, but I check the locks in my house when we're going to bed twice.

I don't know why I do that.

Not trusting myself there, maybe.

In the car or when we're crossing the road, I grab Emma's hand as if she's a child.

And she hates it.

Drives her nuts.

I did it on the way to church this morning.

I was like, be careful.

You've got internet security on your laptops.

But we expect strangers to be dangerous, don't we?

We expect to be attacked by strangers.

We're ready for it.

But what about people we know, like our work colleagues?

And what about our chosen friends and our local church family?

What about our biological family?

What about our parents, our spouse, children, siblings?

Surely, surely we are safe with these people to let our guards down and be vulnerable.

In fact, we all know to get close to each other, we have to let our guards down.

We want to be close.

We need to be known and accepted.

We want to walk together through life.

Psalm 55 is King David's prayer and lament.

And it touches a nerve in all of us that is uncomfortable.

But I think we can all easily relate to it.

The closer people are to us, the more completely rattled and shaken we are when they let us down and intentionally harm us.

But let me quickly clarify what Psalm 55 and the rest of what I'm saying this morning is not referring to.

We live in a culture that believes all pain is bad.

But Proverbs 27 verse 6 says,

Proverbs 27:6

Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

If those closest to you love you enough to say hard things when you need to hear them,

remember, faithful are the wounds of a friend.

Treasure them.

But still, with this clarification, there's still many times that we feel beaten by those closest to us.

We're not told what the exact situation is for King David.

But talk of the city suggests that this was after he was settled in Jerusalem.

The neighbouring enemies have been quashed.

His days being hunted by Saul are over.

God had given David's kingdom peace.

And we can relate to this.

We are now in Christ.

In God's covenant community.

We have peace with God and one another.

But we can also relate to David when he cries out,

My heart is in anguish.

It's whirling within me.

The terrors of death have fallen upon me.

Fear and trembling come upon me.

And horror overwhelms me.

We feel like who we are and the protection of close relationships are headed for disaster.

We're not going to recover.

Did they ever love me?

Do they still care about me?

Did anything I did have any value?

Do you?

People were talking and making noise against David.

Their words and actions just drop trouble on him.

He just feels beaten down.

in verses 9 to 11

as David looks around Jerusalem

instead of seeing faithfulness and peace

he sees violence and strife

how can I put myself out there and be vulnerable

when I can't trust my very own people

not to hurt me

if they knew my sin

would they stop talking to me

if I express a thought

will I be shut down and treated like an idiot

if I give my time and efforts

will I just simply be used

if I fail

will I be criticized

will I lose face

in the community

then in verses 12 to 14

we hit the deepest source of agony

for it is not an enemy who taunts me

then I could bear it

it's not an adversary who deals insolently with me

then I could hide from him

but it is you

a man

my equal

my companion

my familiar friend

we used to take sweet counsel together

we enjoyed sweet fellowship together

within God's house

we walked among the throng

he'd opened up with this person

this was an ally

this was a friend and support

someone with whom he had deep bonds of intimacy

standing shoulder to shoulder

worshipping the same God

I lowered my defences with you

maybe

we're not told

but maybe David wrote this psalm

when his very own son

Absalom

was conspiring to overthrow and kill him

his son stood at the gate of the city

and intercepted anyone on their way to the king

and told them

the king's not going to listen to you

he won't care about you

he won't look after you

I'll do that for you

and he stole the hearts

of all Israel

away from God's chosen king

and then

he goes to the king

to his face

to his father

and asks for permission

to go to Hebron

to offer sacrifices to the Lord

those words sound so sweet and good

don't they

but all the while

he's sending out

messengers

to rally all Israel

to come back

to Jerusalem

and slaughter his father

verse 21

his speech was smooth as butter

yet war was in his heart

his words were softer than oil

yet they were drawn swords

can you imagine how David felt?

now not many of us

would have had

our physical life threatened

like this

but we can hear

people imply

by their words

and their behaviour

you are

unfair

you are

doing a bad job

you are

not worth respecting

you

are not worth listening to

you

are not

worth loving

you deserve

God's punishment

we hear these things

what do we do

in that situation?

how do we try and cope?

none of us can stand up

underneath that

how do we try and cope?

you probably do what I try and do

I'm guessing

don't we complain

to those we think

will listen to us

and say

wow

they really did the wrong thing

to you

you are such

a victim in this situation

you deserve much better

instead of talking to the person

who wronged us

don't we just

complain to others

to try and get their support

but isn't this spreading violence

through the city?

don't we just want to run away

from the issue

and the person

we avoid them

if we can

otherwise

we just never raise

that topic

ever again

or we change jobs

we change friends

we change churches

and don't we just

justify

unleashing our anger

either we fly

off the handle

or we suppress it

and just interpret

everything they do

as utterly

evil

from that point on

and then we try

and make them suffer

by withdrawing our love

or attacking them

with our tongue

and then don't we just

try and find a place

to hide

we keep them

at arm's length

from then on

because I am not

going to be hurt

like that again

we complain

we run away

we unleash our anger

we find a place

we can stay in hiding

but David

remains unmoved

and says

that I will trust

in you

how?

how on earth

does he do that?

how does he get

to that point?

what does the

response of faith

look like

when you are under

attack from those

closest to you?

I think Psalm 55

teaches us

to complain

to run

to share your anger

and to hide

we've been given

this Psalm

to pray

to use

to follow

the person

who prays this

along with God's

King

will complain

to the one

who truly

hears us

we will run

it by God

when we want to

run away

we will share

our anger

with the only

judge

and we will

find

that our

steadfast

Lord

is a safe

place

to hide

if we

follow David

in using

this Psalm

in praying

like him

we will find

that we are

actually following

the son of David

so first

let's go

through these

complain

to the one

who truly

hears you

when we are

falsely

accused

or undermined

or insulted

or intimidated

we feel so

alone

don't we

we desperately

want someone

to listen

to us

to deeply

understand

our pain

and then to

help us

put things

back in

order

so we go

to our

chosen

friends

we go

to our

family members

we go

to pastors

we go

to psychologists

and they

all have

a good

place

a helpful

place

they're a

gift

from God

but who

on earth

is wise

enough

to understand

your situation

in all

its detail

who has

the capacity

to have

complete

compassion

for you

who is

righteous

enough

to discern

and give

you justice

who has

the power

to put

things

right

present

your case

to the

one

who truly

and completely

hears you

the major

change in

this prayer

comes in

verse 16

onwards

the change

is not

in the

situation

itself

but in

the praying

person

in verse

16

David

starts

calling

God

Lord

in capitals

Yahweh

the personal

covenant

keeping name

of God

David knows

and remembers

he belongs

to a God

merciful

and gracious

slow

to anger

and abounding

in steadfast

love

and faithfulness

keeping

steadfast

love

for thousands

forgiving

iniquity

and transgression

and sin

but who

will by no

means

clear the

guilty

complain

to the

one

who truly

hears

you

and when

someone offers

their complaint

to you

the very

best thing

you can do

for them

is bring

their complaint

before the

Lord

on their

behalf

so let's

help each

other do

that

I was

watching

the

original

Jurassic Park

this week

and who

doesn't wish

that was a

real place

it's amazing

and you know

that famous

scene

when the

power goes

out

it's in

the rain

and the

electric

fence

keeping

the

enormous

T-Rex

contained

to some

degree

but then

the wires

just start

breaking

like guitar

strings

and then

the worst

nightmare

steps

into reality

the monster

is hunting

this one

car

with two

kids

and a

man

inside

the horrors

of death

are overwhelming

them

and the man

just runs

away from

the vehicle

leaving the

two kids

in the

car

and the

T-Rex

destroys

the car

and having

come so

close to

death

the girl

is just

shaken to

the core

and she

keeps repeating

this one

line

it wasn't

I almost

died

she keeps

repeating

he left

us

he left

us

we all

know

life is

full of

threats

and dangers

and I'm

not

referring

to people

here

as the

T-Rex

okay

when you're

in an

argument

for instance

the issue

itself

can just

feel

enormous

you've

got no

chance

it feels

unstoppable

and it's

just

damaging

everyone

around

it

but what

really does

the biggest

damage is

when we

feel left

alone

saying

they left

us

now

combine this

with the

other feeling

we all

know

very

very well

when

someone

is

saying

things

against

you

when

conflict

just

seems

to

intensify

not get

better

when

attempts

at doing

good

are called

evil

when others

are just

seeking

their own

interests

and others

know about

the situation

and it feels

like they're

doing nothing

about it

as if

they're

approving

of it

what is

the one

desire

that creeps

up in

us

and it

just feels

overwhelming

feels like

we have

to give

into it

I think

it's

verse 6

oh

that I

had wings

like a

dove

I would

fly away

and be

at rest

yes I

would wander

far away

I would

lodge in

the wilderness

I would

hurry

to find

a shelter

from the

raging

wind

and

tempest

if we

don't run

away

completely

don't

we find

a shelter

that protects

us from

the raging

storm

I just

won't ever

raise that

topic

with that

person again

I'm happy

to chit

chat

but I'm

not trusting

that person

again

we might

withdraw

further

back in

the community

maybe in

bible study

you offer

a suggestion

and people

seem to

treat you

as stupid

or you

feel ashamed

of your

prayer that

seemed to

go all

over the

place

and you

just decide

I'm going

to be

quiet from

now on

I'm not

really going

to share

what I need

prayer for

we find

these little

shelters

to hide

behind with

one another

we're very

good at it

when we

are attacked

within our

own walls

by those

we trusted

suddenly the

city that

was once

safe and

the lonely

wilderness that

was once

dangerous

are reversed

the desire

to run

away and

find a

place to

hide is

very powerful

and it's

legitimate

it's very

reasonable

apparently this

is the only

time in the

Psalms King

David expresses

his desire to

run away

but imagine

if God's

king ran

away

what would

this do to

the order

and security

of those he

was responsible

for what

would this do

to the public

reputation of

God's name

the damage

of running

away is too

great

but the

desire to

run away

is also

too great

what do we

do

we follow

David

we run

it by

God

when we

want to

run

away

God

fully

appreciates

our need

for a

hiding

place

but in

the end

God is

the one

who should

decide if

we should

run

so that's

why I've

used the

phrase

run it

by God

in some

cases

there are

very good

reasons to

withdraw

but don't

just go off

the emotions

run it

through

God's

will

to decide

and I

think also

when we

express

this desire

in all

its rawness

be brutally

honest with

God

he sympathizes

with us

and he

satisfies

this desire

you might

have to

express it

morning

noon

and night

but he

will satisfy

the desire

when you

share it

with him

directly

with him

so let

me pause

and ask

is there

a false

hiding

place

a shack

in the

wilderness

of your

own

making

that you

need to

come out

from

is there

a tough

conversation

you need

to have

is there

a new

level of

risk

you need

to

need to

take

do

you need

to

initiate

not

knowing

what

the

response

will

be

is there

a new

degree

of

raw

honesty

with

God

complain

to the

one

who

truly

hears

you

run

it

by

God

when

you

want

to

run

away

and

the

third

step

on

the

path

of

faith

is

a bit

unexpected

and

you

might

even

think

it's

sinful

I

did

it

first

our

psalm

gives

us

words

to

express

our

anger

look

at

verse

9

and

verse

15

destroy

oh

Lord

divide

their

tongues

for I

see

violence

and

strife

in

the

city

verse

15

let

death

steal

over

them

let

them

go

down

to

Sheol

the

place

of

the

dead

alive

for

evil

is

in

their

dwelling

place

and

in

their

heart

it's

raw

intense

language

it

makes

us

ask

the

question

are

we

really

meant

to

follow

David

at

this

point

there's

a few

factors

we need

to

consider

first

if

you

read

the

story

of

David

again

and

again

he

made

every

effort

to

make

peace

with

his

enemies

secondly

remember

that

David

is

the

king

he

could

have

someone's

head

chopped

off

in a

moment

so

notice

where

he's

directing

his

anger

third

David

wasn't

just

angry

for his

own

sake

he was

angry

for what

the

person

was

doing

to

God's

community

God's

covenant

community

and

fourth

we need

to

factor

in

that

as

God's

chosen

king

the

words

spoken

against

King

David

are

spoken

against

God

in a

more

direct

way

than

what

you

and

I

can

claim

so

those

factors

in

mind

is

David

just

releasing

his

anger

to

God

as

some

kind

of

self

therapy

he's

just

got

to

get

it

out

I

don't

think

so

I

think

he's

doing

a lot

more

than

that

he's

really

asking

God

to

be

God

God

you

be

God

and

judge

look

at

the

language

divide

their

tongues

the

city

is

corrupt

sounds

a lot

like

the

Tower

of

Babel

that

city's

words

and

actions

were

desiring

to

overthrow

God

ruling

their

lives

so

God

confused

them

and

limited

their

ability

to do

evil

and

then

in

verse

15

let

them

go

down

to

Sheol

alive

in

other

words

God

take

their

lives

early

and

unexpectedly

but

listen

how

similar

these

words

are

to

Numbers

Numbers 16 · chapter mention

chapter

16

when

Korah

and

many

respected

men

in the

community

rise

up

against

Moses

God's

chosen

servant

Moses

says

in

number

16

if

these

men

die

as

all

men

die

or

if

they

are

visited

by

the

fate

of

all

mankind

then

the

Lord

has

not

sent

me

but

if

the

Lord

creates

something

new

and

the

ground

opens

its

mouth

and

swallows

them

up

with

all

that

belongs

to

them

and

they

go

down

alive

into

Sheol

then

you

shall

know

that

these

men

have

despised

the

Lord

and

as

soon

as

he

had

finished

speaking

all

these

words

the

ground

under

them

split

apart

and

the

earth

opens

its

mouth

and

swallowed

them

up

so

they

and

all

that

belonged

to

them

went

down

alive

into

Sheol

verse

19

God

will

give

ear

and

humble

them

he

who

is

enthroned

from

of

old

because

they

do

not

change

and

do

not

fear

God

there's

two

things

we need

to learn

from

this

in

as

much

as

what

someone's

done

to

us

is

sinful

their

offense

is

ultimately

against

the

Lord

so

when

we

cry

out

in

anger

for

God

to

judge

we

are

actually

handing

the

matter

over

to

the

Lord

the

only

judge

if

you

don't

give

your

anger

to

the

Lord

you're

setting

yourself

up

as

judge

vengeance

is

mine

I

will

repay

says

the

Lord

but

the

other

thing

we

need

to

learn

is

that

God's

chosen

king

can

say

this

to

a

degree

that

you

and

I

can't

to

speak

and

act

against

God's

chosen

king

is

to

challenge

God

himself

and

it's

an

incredibly

arrogant

and

stupid

and

deadly

thing

to

do

but

haven't

we

all

spoken

and

sung

and

prayed

words

to

the

Lord

Jesus

words

that

are

smoother

than

butter

but

then

try

and

live

with

a

desire

to

overthrow

him

ruling

our

lives

I

am

the

covenant

breaking

companion

others

especially

those

closest

to me

will

have

need

to

pray

this

psalm

about

me

you

are

the

covenant

breaking

companion

we

want

to

identify

with

David

and

we

can

and

we

should

and

we

must

but

to

do

that

we

must

also

identify

with

those

who

carry

out

violence

and

fighting

within

God's

community

this

psalm

is

ultimately

about

the

son

of

David

the

one

enthroned

forever

alone

in the

garden

outside

the

city

rejected

by

his

own

people

betrayed

by

his

closest

friend

abandoned

by

those

closest

to

him

no

one

was

praying

on

his

behalf

sweating

drops

of

blood

the

terrors

of

death

overwhelming

him

he

cried

out

to

the

father

he

wanted

to

run

away

take

this

cup

from

me

but

instead

of

running

he

hid

in

his

father's

promises

and

he

stood

still

silent

while

being

falsely

accused

though

innocent

he

was

swallowed

up

going

down

to

Sheol

alive

but

God

heard

him

he

redeemed

his

life

in

safety

raising

him

up

he

was

vindicated

though

he

went

down

to

Sheol

the

place

of

the

dead

he

was

the

first

to

experience

that

God

never

permits

the

righteous

to be

moved

you

can

cry

out

to

God

and

be

heard

only

because

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

didn't

run

away

but

was

swallowed

up

on

your

behalf

if

you

don't

take

your

anger

to

the

Lord

you

will

seat

yourself

as

judge

and

you

will

be

driven

to

complain

to

other

people

spreading

the

violence

you

will

be

driven

by

bitterness

and

resentment

until

you

get

that

vengeance

that

your

verdict

demands

but

if

you

take

your

brothers

or

sisters

sin

against

you

to

the

judge

the

judge

who

swallowed

up

his

own

son

then

and

only

then

will

you

be

in

a

place

to

have

that

tough

conversation

that

leads

to

restored

fellowship

among

the

throng

of

God's

people

Paul

trip

points

out

something

really

helpful

he says

our need

for Christ

is just

as big

when we

are sinned

against

as when

we sin

ourselves

so instead

of hiding

in the

wilderness

you and I

have a much

better place

to hide

verse 22

cast

your

burden

on the

Lord

and he

will

sustain

you

he

will

never

permit

the

righteous

to be

moved

how much

more

this side

of Christ's

death and

resurrection

can we

say