Matthew Henry Commentary Psalms 55:1-8

"Give ear to my prayer, O God; And hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me, and answer me: I am restless in my complaint, and moan, Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked; For they cast iniquity upon me, And in anger they persecute 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. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah I would haste me to a shelter From the stormy wind and tempest." — Psalms 55:1-8 (ASV)

In these verses we have:

1. David praying. Prayer is a salve for every sore, and a relief to the spirit under every burden.

2. David weeping. Griefs are in this way, in some measure, lessened, while those that are not given an outlet increase.

David was in great alarm. We may well suppose him to be so, at the outbreak of Absalom's conspiracy and the falling away of the people. Horror overwhelmed him. Probably the remembrance of his sin in the matter of Uriah added much to the terror. When we have a guilty conscience, we must mourn in our complaint, and even strong believers have for a time been filled with horror.

But no one was ever so overwhelmed as the holy Jesus, when it pleased the Lord to put him to grief and to make his soul an offering for our sins. In his agony he prayed more earnestly, and was heard and delivered. Trusting in him and following him, we will be supported under, and carried through all trials.

See how David was weary of the treachery and ingratitude of men, and the cares and disappointments of his high station: he longed to hide himself in some desert from the fury and fickleness of his people.

He did not aim for victory, but for rest; a barren wilderness, so that he could be quiet. The wisest and best of people most earnestly desire peace and quietness, and even more so when vexed and wearied by noise and clamor. This makes death desirable to a child of God, for it is a final escape from all the storms and tempests of this world, to perfect and everlasting rest.