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PSALM 55 - Betrayed by a Friend 26 Dec 2019

Let me explain. I have a good friend. We spent time together. We had meals together. We prayed together. I trusted the advise of my friend. And this friend betrays me. Now he counsels those who persecute me.

I am not blameless myself.

I too have let down friends who trusted me. I did not follow up some promises. I shied away from some friends. I did not meet the expectation of my father.
I know this: even I sum up some reasons and excuses, I still know that it does not feel good. The people who have trusted me, may have cursed me. They may have betrayed me as well...

My relationships need healing

The New Testament of Jesus Christ gives more hope than psalm 55. Verse 23 however gives a good start: "For my part, I put my trust in you (God)."

Prayer

Dear Jesus, where I struggle with past and present relationships, please come to my aid. I lack wisdom. I am caught up in hurt emotions. Help me to unburden to you as David so often did. Help me not to stick with bad thoughts. Please give new hope and courage. As I pray, hear the sound of my voice and not always my exact words. Help me to meet your love, so that my thinking and praying can be renewed. Thank you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit for your great love.

Psalm 55

1 [For the choirmaster For strings Poem Of David]
God, hear my prayer,
do not hide away from my plea,
2 give me a hearing, answer me,
my troubles give me no peace.
I shudder 3 at the enemy's shouts,
at the outcry of the wicked;
they heap up charges against me,
in their anger bring hostile accusations against me.
4 My heart writhes within me,
the terrors of death come upon me,
5 fear and trembling overwhelm me,
and shuddering grips me.
6 And I say,
'Who will give me wings like a dove,
to fly away and find rest?'
7 How far I would escape,
and make a nest in the desert! Pause
8 I would soon find a refuge from the storm of abuse,
from the 9 destructive tempest,
Lord, from the flood of their tongues.
For I see violence and strife in the city,
10 day and night
they make their rounds along the city walls,
Inside live malice and mischief,
11 inside lives destruction,
tyranny and treachery never absent from its central square.
12 Were it an enemy who insulted me,
that I could bear;
if an opponent pitted himself against me, I could turn away from him.
13 But you, a person of my own rank,
a comrade and dear friend,
14 to whom I was bound by intimate friendship in the house of God!
May they recoil in disorder,
15 may death descend on them,
may they go down alive to Sheol,
since evil shares their home with them.
16 For my part, I appeal to God,
and Yahweh saves me;
17 evening, morning, noon, I complain and I groan.
He hears my cry, 18 he ransoms me
and gives me peace from the feud against me,
for they are taking me to law.
19 But God will listen
and will humble them,
he who has been enthroned from the beginning;
no change of heart for them,
for they do not fear God.
20 They attack those at peace with them,
going back on their oaths;
21 though their mouth is smoother than butter,
enmity is in their hearts;
their words more soothing than oil,
yet sharpened like swords.
22 Unload your burden onto Yahweh
and he will sustain you;
never will he allow the upright to stumble.
23 You, God, will thrust them down
to the abyss of destruction,
men bloodthirsty and deceptive,
before half their days are spent.
For my part, I put my trust in you.

Excerpt from THE NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1985 by
Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division
of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.

From Captured to Freedom