He Describes His Inner Condition (Psalms 55:4-5).
He points out to God his deep distress of heart. The situation has become too much for him. Living under the constant threat of execution by a jealous Saul could not get rid of him because of his popularity, and yet saw him as a threat to the crown, must have been very difficult for someone not brought up at court, who was not used to political intrigues and infighting. When we find ourselves out of our depth it is to God that we can turn.
‘My heart is sore pained within me,
And the terrors of death are fallen on me.
Fearfulness and trembling are come on me,
And horror has overwhelmed me.'
He declares how he was hurt, humiliated, and afraid at his undeserved treatment, and in a man of David's calibre, who had no fear of the lion and the bear and Goliath, this really meant something. As a righteous man whose only aim was to be loyal and to do good, he found their attitude difficult to comprehend. His heart was well nigh broken at the treatment that he was quite unjustifiably receiving, and he was aware that at any moment he could be in danger of an ignominious death. For he was, or would soon be, a proscribed outlaw, being sought by those who would kill him on sight. It was not that he was afraid to die, but that he feared the kind of death that he would have to face, a death of ignominy and shame like that of a hunted animal. The thought appalled him, and made him shudder. He was overwhelmed with horror at the thought.