Psalm 55:12-15

Hostile enemies threaten the productivity and very existence of the composer of Psalm 55: see especially verses 2-5. But now, in verses 12-15, a much deeper problem emerges, which is extremely disconcerting to the poet:

"It is not enemies who taunt me--
I could bear that;
it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me--
I could hide from them.
But it is you, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend,
with whom I kept pleasant company;
we walked in the house of God with the throng.
Let death come upon them;
let them go down alive to Sheol;
for evil is in their homes and in their hearts."

It is very difficult when a person realizes that people "out there" whom he or she does not know very well have decided to try to hurt that person physically, or with abuse or slander by letters or phone calls or in the newspaper or other media, or by intentionally barring that person from certain activities or gatherings, etc. Psalm 55 does indeed address this problem.
But there is a much deeper problem Psalm 55 broaches. The psalmist has a "familiar friend," a "companion," an "equal," who has betrayed him or her, who has stabbed him or her in the back, who has joined his or her enemies in their attacks on the psalmist.
Many of us have had business associates--people with whom we worked on a job--, individuals with whom we went to school and have been friends for many years since graduation, buddies in the armed services, long-time associates in civic organizations, political co-workers, and the like, who have betrayed us. And this is very hard.
But the psalmist's "familiar friend" is a spiritual brother or sister, with whom the psalmist shared trust in God and fellowship in worship, whom he or she describes with the words: "we walked in the house of God with the throng"--we went to church together for many years; we worshipped Yahweh together "in the house of God."
The worst betrayal of all is that of a "familiar friend" who claims to worship the same God and professes the same faith and the same lifestyle. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus with a kiss, and when he did so, Jesus referred to him as a "friend" who had betrayed him (Matthew 26:47-50; Mark 14:43-46; Luke 22:47-48; John 18:1-9).
The author of Psalm 41 encounters a situation strikingly similar to that which the author of Psalm 55 faces. First the composer of Psalm 41 describes the enemies who are bent on destroying him or her in verses 5-8, then says in verse 9:
"Even my bosom friend in whom I trust,
who ate of my bread, lifted the heel against me."
All of us who have been victims of betrayal by a spiritual sister or brother to whom we entrusted our deepest feelings and needs and problems, seeking help from one whom we were convinced was genuine, know the massive disappointment that comes when that person betrays our confidence.
May God help us not to betray the trust of our friends.
[More to come]

John Willis