Psalms 55:1

“O That I had wings like a dove”

Psalms 55:1-5 “Give ear to my prayer, o God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise; because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.”

When you have enemies the best thing to do is to pray to God. In talking about enemies the key phrase to notice here is “they cast iniquity upon me.” In other words they blame you for things.

The phrase “they cast iniquity upon me” is a very interesting phrase because that is exactly what happened to Jesus Christ the sins of all the world were cast upon him. Not only was Jesus accused of crimes He did not commit but all the iniquity of the world was cast upon him.

It happened to Jesus and it could happen to you. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” This is not a light cross to bare. Look at the phrases used in verses 4 and 5 of Psalms 55 “My heart is sore pained…the terrors of death...fearfulness and trembling…horror hath overwelmed” If you follow Jesus you can be sure the people of this world will cast iniquity upon you. They will lie about you. They will slander you every. They will do everything in their power to throw you in jail using deceitful and manipulative means available.

Psalms 55:6-8 says, “And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.”

The practical solution to any such storm of persecution is to avoid it, to get away from it. Sometimes however the fiery trials of life cannot be avoided or escaped. The best solution to handling persecution of this kind is to rely upon the Holy Spirit as your comforter. That is why Psalms 55:6 says, “Oh that I had wings like a dove.”

This is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 3:16, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him.”

When they cast iniquity upon you you should do everything in your power to avoid, to escape that sort of circumstance such is the practical thing to do. If such a cross is yours to bare why then pray this prayer, “Oh that I had wings like a dove” The Holy Spirit will be your comfort and your strength. Jesus will be your hiding place and your place of rest.

Psalms 55:9, “Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues; for I have seen violence and strife in the city.” In praying for judgment against evil doers the tongue is mentioned. Great violence often can be caused by the tongue. Take for example the lies of political leaders that have been used to gain power, to start wars and to destroy millions of lives all by the power of the tongue. Sometimes all it takes is a few words of false witness to have someone cast into a prison or a mental facility. The evil words and works that evil me do though God will destroy.

Psalms 55:10-11 , “Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it. Wickedness is in th e midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.

When it is time for the judgment of God? Certainly you would think when day and night there is nothing but wickedness.

Psalms 55:12-14, “For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.”

Apparently King David had a problem where someone who was His friend had become corrupted by the evil around Him. There is a solution to that sort of problem, a way to escape that kind of temptation and influence the way is found in Psalms 1:1-2 which says, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD: and in His law doth he meditate day and night.”

You can be sure that those who corrupt others with their evil influences will not go unpunished if they continue in their ways refusing to turn from their sins to Jesus. This is why Psalms 55:15 says, “Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwelling, and among them.”

There is only one way to escape hell and destruction and that is to repent of your sins and accept Christ as your Savior.

$Description: C:\BibleGemsDoc\Image37.gif$

___________________________________________________