20 He hath sent forth his hands against his well-wishers, He hath polluted his covenant.
If I have done my well-wisher evil, And draw mine adversary without cause,
I profane not My covenant, And that which is going forth from My lips I change not.
And the king saith to runners, those standing by him, `Turn round, and put to death the priests of Jehovah, because their hand also `is' with David, and because they have known that he is fleeing, and have not uncovered mine ear;' and the servants of the king have not been willing to put forth their hand to come against the priests of Jehovah.
Lo, this day have thine eyes seen how that Jehovah hath given thee to-day into my hand in the cave; and `one' said to slay thee, and `mine eye' hath pity on thee, and I say, I do not put forth my hand against my lord, for the anointed of Jehovah he `is'.
And all the elders of Israel come unto the king, to Hebron, and king David maketh with them a covenant in Hebron before Jehovah, and they anoint David for king over Israel.
And Absalom saith unto Joab, `Lo, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, and I send thee unto the king to say, Why have I come in from Geshur? -- good for me while I `am' there -- and now, let me see the king's face, and if there is in me iniquity then thou hast put me to death.' And Joab cometh unto the king, and declareth `it' to him, and he calleth unto Absalom, and he cometh unto the king, and boweth himself to him, on his face, to the earth, before the king, and the king giveth a kiss to Absalom.
and Absalom sendeth spies through all the tribes of Israel, saying, `At your hearing the voice of the trumpet, then ye have said, Absalom hath reigned in Hebron.' And with Absalom have gone two hundred men, out of Jerusalem, invited ones, and they are going in their simplicity, and have not known anything; and Absalom sendeth Ahithophel the Gilonite, a counsellor of David, out of his city, out of Gilo, in his sacrificing sacrifices; and the conspiracy is strong, and the people are going and increasing with Absalom.
And the man saith unto Joab, `Yea, though I am weighing on my hand a thousand silverlings, I do not put forth my hand unto the son of the king; for in our ears hath the king charged thee, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Observe ye who `is' against the youth -- against Absalom;
To the age I keep for him My kindness, And My covenant `is' stedfast with him.
And they set against me evil for good, And hatred for my love.
Too much hath my soul dwelt with him who is hating peace. I `am' peace, and when I speak they `are' for war!
I live -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Doth he not -- in the place of the king who is causing him to reign, Whose oath he hath despised, And whose covenant he hath broken, With him -- in the midst of Babylon -- die? And not with a great force, and with a numerous assembly, Doth Pharaoh maintain him in battle, By pouring out a mount, and in building a fortification, To cut off many souls. And he despised the oath -- to break covenant, And lo, he hath given his hand, And all these he hath done, he escapeth not. Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: I live -- Mine oath that he hath despised, And My covenant that he hath broken, Have I not put it on his head?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 55
Commentary on Psalms 55 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 55
It is the conjecture of many expositors that David penned this psalm upon occasion of Absalom's rebellion, and that the particular enemy he here speaks of, that dealt treacherously with him, was Ahithophel; and some will therefore make David's troubles here typical of Christ's sufferings, and Ahithophel's treachery a figure of Judas's, because they both hanged themselves. But there is nothing in it particularly applied to Christ in the New Testament. David was in great distress when he penned this psalm.
In singing this psalm we may, if there be occasion, apply it to our own troubles; if not, we may sympathize with those to whose case it comes nearer, foreseeing that there will be, at last, indignation and wrath to the persecutors, salvation and joy to the persecuted.
To the chief musician on Neginoth, Maschil. A psalm of David.
Psa 55:1-8
In these verses we have,
Psa 55:9-15
David here complains of his enemies, whose wicked plots had brought him, though not to his faith's end, yet to his wits' end, and prays against them by the spirit of prophecy. Observe here,
Psa 55:16-23
In these verses,