Verse 1
"For the conductor, with string music, a maskil of David."
"With string music" — accompanied by strings.
"A maskil" — a poem of insight, meant not only to be sung but to be pondered and learned from.
Verse 2
"Give ear to my prayer, O God, and do not hide from my plea."
"Give ear" — incline Your ear, a close and full listening.
"Do not hide" — do not turn away from the humble plea that rises from the depths of the heart.
Verse 3
"Attend to me and answer me; I am restless in my complaint, and I moan."
"Attend to me and answer me" — a double cry of urgency.
"I am restless in my complaint" — I wander in unrest within my own lament, in turmoil, without rest.
Verse 4
"Because of the voice of the enemy, before the oppression of the wicked; for they bring trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me."
"The voice of the enemy" — the threatening voice that surrounds me.
"In anger they bear a grudge" — with deep, lasting hatred, not passing anger, they pursue me.
Verse 5
"My heart writhes within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me."
"My heart writhes within me" — my heart trembles and convulses inside me.
"The terrors of death have fallen upon me" — a real, overwhelming fear, an honest portrait of human dread.
Verse 6
"Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror covers me."
"Horror covers me" — a deep shudder wraps my whole being. The fear is not only in the mind, but in the body itself.
Verse 7
"And I said: Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest."
"And I said" — I said within my heart, out of longing.
"Oh, that I had wings like a dove" — the dove is chosen deliberately: gentle, innocent, seeking a safe place.
"I would fly away and find rest" — the longing to escape to peace, not power.
Verse 8
"Behold, I would wander far off; I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah."
"I would wander far off" — I would flee to the distance, away from the noise.
"I would lodge in the wilderness" — I would dwell in the desert, far from the turmoil.
"Selah" — a pause for reflection.
Verse 9
"I would hasten my escape from the raging wind and storm."
"I would hasten my escape" — I would rush to find shelter and refuge.
"From the raging wind and storm" — the storm is an image of the distress pressing in on me.
This part of Psalm 55 is an honest prayer from within the storm. David does not hide his fear; he spreads it before God. And out of the cry rises a longing — not to flee from life, but for the rest of the soul, the quiet beyond the storm. In the parts that follow comes the answer: the trust that God hears, and the great realization, "Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you."