Are these common thoughts for you?: “No one else could possibly be experiencing what I am feeling. I need to escape from this discomfort of anxiety quickly!”. The biblical Passion Translation of Psalm 55 in today’s lesson shows how King David handled this common-to-mankind emotion of fear in his own heart. He expressed his anxiety with wonderful clarity within his relationship with God, knowing he was at the holy mercy seat of His calming presence (Exodus 25:17-22). This mercy seat is for us to run to as well.
“God, listen to my prayer! Don’t hide your heart from me when I cry out to you! 2–3 Come close to me and give me your answer. Here I am, moaning and restless. I’m preoccupied with the threats of my enemies and crushed by the pressure of their opposition. They surround me with trouble and terror. In their fury they rise up against me in an angry uproar.4 My heart is trembling inside my chest as the terror of death seizes me. 5 Fear and dread overwhelm me. I shudder before the horror I face. 6 I say to myself, “If only I could fly away from all of this! If only I could run away to the place of rest and peace. 7 I would run far away where no one could find me, escaping to a wilderness retreat.” Pause in his presence 8 I will hurry off to hide in the higher place, into my shelter, safe from this raging storm and tempest…22 So here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Leave all your cares and anxieties at the feet of the Lord, and measureless grace will strengthen you. 23 He will watch over his lovers, never letting them slip or be overthrown. He will send all my enemies to the pit of destruction. Murderers, liars, and betrayers will face an untimely death. My life’s hope and trust is in you, and you’ll never fail to rescue me!” Psalm 55:1-8, 22-23 TPT
There is probably no better description in the Bible or the world’s literature of what clinging fear does to a person’s mind, body, and heart than what is written in verses 2 through to 7 of Psalm 55. The emotions within us are a moaning of pain, often accompanied by tears, and we are left restless. Sometimes our minds can be preoccupied with threats of what could happen, being crushed by its pressure. We perceive we are surrounded by trouble that is horrifying in its seemingly far greater size than we can handle. We may not always be aware of it at the time, but the worst scenarios of what could happen, even death itself, play out at the back of our minds as we imagine punishment and penalties inflicted upon us. The emotion of fear can be that intense at times. Our body then responds with trembling within our chests and shuddering in our hands and stomachs. We say to ourselves:
“If only I could fly away from all of this! If only I could run away to the place of rest and peace.” (Psalm 55:6 TPT; emphasis added)
Now let’s consider a personal question for a moment. Where is the very first place that you “fly away” to when the “noisy enemies” of your peace knock at the gates of your heart and “fear and trembling come upon you and horror overwhelms you” (Psalm 55:5)?
Perhaps a family member’s waywardness is becoming very noticeable, and embarrassment is rising in your heart. Maybe we have made a mistake or taken a misstep with our families or others, and we are beating ourselves up for it. Are the uncertainties of our jobs, study, or financial situations crushing us and keeping us awake at night? Or possibly we are dreading going to a social or work gathering where we might face scrutiny. Anger or unforgiveness towards others may also draw in waves of sickening fearfulness. Or perhaps we are imprisoned in dread by the thought of leaving the security of one’s home or riding a lift (elevator) or thinking about how our body looks or enduring ongoing sickness. We find that we need to enter unfamiliar and uncertain territory we have not experienced before. Our flesh cries out in suspense and anguish in so many different ways to our circumstances.
Then our favorite false idols of comfort beckon us to “lodge in the wilderness” (Psalm 55:7) with lies of sinful restful enticement, as if in a trance: “We have comforted you in the past. Come back to us again”. The voice of King David is so very relatable:
“And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; 7 yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness” Psalm 55:6-7
Where do you wander and escape to when trouble drops upon you and you have need of a shelter of protection? What is your way of fleshly reacting and coping? Some of us stand to attention like a soldier on duty and continue through our fearfulness by sheer self-will and stoicism, refusing to admit to our emotional turmoil. For others, sinking into an armchair and numbing ourselves from anxiety in front of the media is ‘temporary bliss’. Some may first reach for self-medicating food or alcohol or smoking or a multitude of other false comforts on offer in this world to worship.
For many of us, physical or social distancing from the situation that is causing us to worry is our initial reaction. We often cope by ‘waiting it out’ for hours or days, clothed in self-absorption, shame, and unrest until our feelings of fright have calmed down or we have been distracted to other places.
We run, hide, take cover, with hands wrapped protectively around our heads, like a soldier turning left and right to avoid grenades and mortars falling around them on the battlefield! Our flesh reacts to threat with denying, white-knuckling, self-medicating, hiding, or striving ways of coping.
At the end of verse 7, we come to some precious words: “Pause in his presence” (Psalm 55:7 TPT) or “Selah,” which occurs 74 times in the Bible; it is a Hebrew word meaning “to lift up, exalt.” It may also be a musical term meaning to “pause” or “be silent” or to enter a period of “intermission,” a time of pondering on what has gone on before and what might lie ahead as in the interlude of a long theatrical performance.
What a helpful teaching this Psalm brings, encouraging us to pause and ponder as if we were standing at the junction of two roads.
“Pause in his presence” (Psalm 55:7 TPT)
Instead of choosing a reactionary path that is decided by the flesh in the heat of the moment and made based only on our point of view (2 Corinthians 5:16), the Scriptures invite us to go to a higher place above our trouble into God’s shelter.
“I will hurry off to hide in the higher place, into my shelter, safe from this raging storm and tempest” (Psalm 55:7 TPT)
In this Psalm, King David was a suffering man of sorrows (Isaiah 53:3), trusting God above all as he dealt with a powerful rebellion of enemies against him. He was a prophetic type of Jesus, pointing us forward to the Messiah’s work at Calvary hundreds of years later to pay the price for our own rebellious sin.
Oh, could we but pause in Christ’s presence at His hill of rescue! Oh, that we could turn and lift our heads and see Christ’s outstretched arms welcoming us there! Oh, for one look at Jesus, one sight of His cross, we would experience the melting away of all our anxiety, the death of all our fear!
Let’s pause in Christ’s presence at the “higher place” at the hill of Calvary: “you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22). Here we view the sorrowful Jesus, dying like a cursed criminal. Man's wickedness oppressed him as He carried our sin whipped and nailed into His body to the finality of our death sentence on the cross. He was made into all that is vile and detestable by the unholiness He bore for us, incurring His Father's white-hot fury and wrath: “Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked; For they bring down trouble upon me, And in wrath they hate me.” (Psalm 55:3 NKJV).
See our redemption purchased by each drop of His cleansing crimson blood splashing over us; hear our names called out and experience the peace of the Father of our adoption's words, "Fear not…You are mine" (Isaiah 43:1; Romans 8:15). Though we may feel powerless against what feels like an army of fear besieging us, we can be confident that the Lord is the stronghold of our lives (Psalm 27:1,3). He has infinite power to raise us up, transform, and make us holy (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
As we linger, let peace fly into our hearts by the wings of the dove and the Prince of Peace (Psalm 55:6; Isaiah 9:6). See our weariness and burdens supernaturally lifted by the Holy Spirit and shifted onto Jesus’ broad shoulders (Matthew 11:28-30).
Jesus whispers: “Do not fear; I will help you” (Isaiah 41:13), and then He shows us again our brand-new hearts, hearts that are shining in freshness and cleanness from the radiance of being in Christ, hearts that are soft from being loved without end.
Oh, pause in Christ’s presence, remembering His words at Gethsemane: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Mark 14:34) and see “the terrors of death have fallen upon him” (Psalm 55:4). Know that we need not fear evil nor the shadow of death, for the rod and staff of God was used against Jesus, our substitute, to clear us of His judgment for sin and Satan’s final weapon of eternal death. Now we are comforted, and fear has been driven out of our souls, for divine retribution against Jesus has astoundingly purchased and saved us (Isaiah 35:4; Psalm 23:4; 1 John 4:11,18). We have been transformed into captivated lovers of Jesus who are no longer sin-stained and condemned slaves of Satan:
“He will watch over his lovers, never letting them slip or be overthrown. He will send all my enemies to the pit of destruction…My life’s hope and trust is in you, and you’ll never fail to rescue me!” Psalm 55:23 TPT