Psalm 55
Psalm 55
is a psalm that should be near and dear to the hearts of anyone who has felt
betrayed. This is a psalm that David
wrote when a friend plotted against him.
We don’t necessarily know who the friend is, but certainly David had
plenty of trusted allies around him.
Given human nature, not all of them would be fiercely loyal to him
beyond measure.
The first
thing that we encounter is the wound of betrayal. A person thinks another to be a friend. A person thinks another to be someone who can
be trusted. A person thinks another to
be someone who genuinely looks out for your interests as well as their
own. Then suddenly all of that is
betrayed. Suddenly, the deception of the
human heart is revealed and the betrayal is exposed.
Fundamentally,
have you ever thought about what the root cause of betrayal is? Sure, the general answer of sin can be spoken
of here. But what sin? Where is the sin rooted?
Betrayal
ultimately comes from a person’s selfishness and self-centeredness. You guessed it. Betrayal is the rearing of our old enemy the
self-monger. We betray our friends
because our own interests, beliefs, gain, and desires are more important than
looking out for our friends.
Think
about a few Biblical examples.
Judas. He handed Jesus over to
the Jews. Why? For money?
Perhaps, but we also know Judas tried to give the money back. Was it because Judas thought of Jesus as a
political Messiah and was trying to force Jesus to forcibly resist death and
rise up against Rome? Probably. Either way, Judas was either thinking of his
own pocketbook or his own ideals above God’s ways and what was good for Jesus
Christ.
What about
Doeg, the man we discussed a few days ago?
Doeg turned on David and went to Saul’s side to report David’s
location. Why? Money?
Perhaps. Personal increase in
status? Probably. Personal access to the king – the highest
authority in the land? Almost
certainly. Doeg betrays David to Saul
for personal gain.
Time and
time again we can go through this line of questioning and I think the results
are the same. Betrayal happens when we
are more interested in ourselves and our own gain than we are interested in the
people around us – and especially in God.
Of course, that’s true for all sin, not just betrayal.
As we come
back to the psalm, we really can see the pain of the betrayal in David’s
words. If David was up against the wall
with an enemy, he could understand it.
If David was backed against the wall with a known adversary, it would be
bearable. But the fact that this
betrayal is personal in nature really makes it hurt even more. David had once enjoyed this person’s
counsel. David once considered this
person an equal and a partner. He was a
friend. They used to be together in
God’s house.
For me,
that’s really the one that stings the most.
Here are people that used to go to God’s house together. They used to worship God side by side. There is no reason for betrayal. If they were both following God’s will, there
would be absolutely no reason for betrayal because they would be on the same
page. But they aren’t on that page
anymore. One of them has jumped off of
God’s page and has jumped onto their own page.
Again we see the pain of the self-mongerism that lives within us. It is when we turn to our own desires that we
really do get into trouble!
But where
does David ultimately end up? In spite
of the fact that David feels as though his friend has violated their covenant,
David turns to God. God hears David. God will respond. God will humble the betrayer. It is God who delivers.
In spite
of the pain of betrayal, David’s faith increases. His love for the Lord increases. His reliance and his dependence upon the Lord
increases. This is how we should all
respond when confronted by the sin of another.
It is also how we should respond when we are confronted by the
consequences of our own sin, too.
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