LHC Midday Word: PSALM Fifty Five

For the director of music.

With stringed instruments.

A maskil of David.

Listen to my prayer, O God,

do not ignore my plea;

hear me and answer me.

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

because of what my enemy is saying,

because of the threats of the wicked;

for they bring down suffering on me

and assail me in their anger.

My heart is in anguish within me;

the terrors of death have fallen on me.

Fear and trembling have beset me;

horror has overwhelmed me.

I said, ‘Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest.

I would flee far away

and stay in the desert;

I would hurry to my place of shelter,

far from the tempest and storm.’

Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,

for I see violence and strife in the city.

Day and night they prowl about on its walls;

malice and abuse are within it.

Destructive forces are at work in the city;

threats and lies never leave its streets.

If an enemy were insulting me,

I could endure it;

if a foe were rising against me,

I could hide.

But it is you, a man like myself,

my companion, my close friend,

with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship

at the house of God,

as we walked about

among the worshippers.

Let death take my enemies by surprise;

let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,

for evil finds lodging among them.

As for me, I call to God,

and the Lord saves me.

Evening, morning and noon

I cry out in distress,

and he hears my voice.

He rescues me unharmed

from the battle waged against me,

even though many oppose me.

God, who is enthroned from of old,

who does not change –

he will hear them and humble them,

because they have no fear of God.

My companion attacks his friends;

he violates his covenant.

His talk is smooth as butter,

yet war is in his heart;

his words are more soothing than oil,

yet they are drawn swords.

Cast your cares on the Lord

and he will sustain you;

he will never let

the righteous be shaken.

But you, God, will bring down the wicked

into the pit of decay;

the bloodthirsty and deceitful

will not live out half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you.

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Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Psalm 55 : “wings!” (v.6)

When you’re feeling flattened, or steam is coming out of your ears in rage, you just want to “fly away” (v.6) somewhere else and flee from the situation. David wrote “I said, ‘Oh that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest … far from the tempest and storm” (vv.6-8). He says there are plenty of unpleasant things he could take, but a close friend has let him down badly (vv.12-14).

Well, we haven’t got “wings”! We can’t fly! Or even hide away for a while! So how do we manage things?

David found a way of ‘flying’ : “but I call to God” (v.16). Need ‘lift-off’? Take it to the Lord in prayer.

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READING

Psalm Fifty Five

Read by David Suchet