Psalm 55:12-15 (continued)

Psalm 55:12-15 highlights the importance of true friendship. Jesus describes his relationship with his followers as that of friends:
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love that this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father."
It is very significant that Jesus says that no love is greater than laying down one's life for one's friends. Further, Jesus states that one can be comfortable telling a true friend everything that will be beneficial to that friend.
But all of us know from experience that true friendship is a very delicate relationship. All of us have entrusted our thoughts and feelings to someone at some time in life who has betrayed our confidence. There are some people who nurture friendship only because they think it will benefit them as an advantage with regard to prestige or money or power or advancement. When that friendship is no longer personally beneficial to them, they break it off or violate in some way.
Proverbs 18:24 says:
"Some friends play at friendship,
but a true friend sticks closer than a brother."
Proverbs 17:17 says:
"A friend loves at all times,
and kinsfolk are born to share adversity."
The way in which one cherishes and honors her or his friendships is a very important indication of the genuineness of that person's commitment to God. I cannot force another person to honor her or his friendship with me or anyone else, but I can honor my friendship to others.

John Willis

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

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

Psalm 55:9-11

The author of Psalm 55 begins his or her poem by pleading with God to hear his or her prayer because fierce enemies are threatening harm (verses 1-3). Then the composer describes the deep feelings the threats of enemies have aroused in her or his inner being (verses 4-8). Now, in verses 9-11, the poet describes the wicked works these enemies are doing:

"Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech;
for I see violence and strife in the city.
Day and night they go around it on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it;
ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace."

1. Wicked people work together to carry out their evil plans. Micah 2:1-2 gives a vivid description of the type of thing envisioned in our text:
"Woe to those who devise wickedness
and evil deeds on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in their power.
They covet fields, and seize them;
houses, and take them away;
they oppress householder and house,
people and their inheritance."
Wicked people first conceive of the evil they will do in their hearts; then they talk together to plan how they will carry out their scheme; then they actually do what they conceived and planned. So the psalmist begs Yahweh to "confuse" or "confound their speech"--by means of which they are agreeing on plans to hurt others. As one hears verse 9, one cannot help but think of Yahweh "confusing the speech" of the people who were building the city and tower of Babel so that they could not realize the self-centered plans they had conceived. Genesis 11:7, 9 say:
"[The Lord is speaking]: 'Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech.' . . . Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused [Hebrew balal] the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth."
2. "Violence" is the exertion of power or strength designed to obtain what the perpetrator desires without concern for the adverse harm his or her actions might cause the victim. "Violence" is a way of life for many self-centered people: see for example, Genesis 6:11-13; Psalms 7:16; 11:5; 18:48; 27:12; 73:6; 74:20; Jonah 3:8. "Violence" inevitably breeds "strife" between oppressor and oppressed, and thus evildoer spread chaos and confusion in a previously peaceful city.
3. The wicked use "oppression" and "fraud" to get what they want in the "marketplace." Their business practices are inhumane and destructive. They "rig scales," "lie about the value of a product," force debtors to pay them excessive interest, do all kinds of evil to their competitors, and the like. See Amos 8:4-6; Micah 6:9-13.
The activities of self-centered wicked people keep society in an uproar, make life miserable, and tear down the fabric of society. God's people need to act and speak out against all types of injustice.

John Willis

Psalm 55:4-8

After beginning Psalm 55 with a fervent prayer that Yahweh would intervene and deliver him or her from enemies in verses 1-3, the poet describes his or her innermost feelings in light of the present circumstances in verses 4-8:

"My heart is in anguish within me,
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.
And I say, 'O that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
truly, I would flee far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness;
I would hurry to find a shelter for myself
from the raging wind and tempest."

1. A person's feelings in any given situation are very important. God is very interested in our feelings, and very sympathetic and understanding to our emotions. We should never hesitate to express our feelings to God, or to others whom we trust and who can help us.
2. Our psalmist expresses two feelings in verses 4-8. First, he or she is extremely afraid: verses 4-5. The poet's enemies are obviously many and powerful, and the composer is afraid of what they might do to her or him. One specific fear is that these enemies might kill the psalmist: verse 4b. Another psalmist, in a different circumstance, with different enemies, declares that since Yahweh is her or his light, salvation, and stronghold, she or he will not be afraid (Psalm 27:1-2). But God's servants respond differently in different situations.
3. Second, the author of Psalm 55 wants to flee far away to a place of safety: verses 6-8. He or she imagines a dove who is able to fly to a distant shelter and find refuge from "raging wind and tempest." Psalm 84:3; Ezekiel 17:23; 31:13; Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19 picture birds finding shelter from the elements and predators. The psalmist's feelings expressed in verses 6-8 are strikingly similar to those of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 9:2-3:
"O that I had in the desert
a traveler's lodging place,
that I might leave my people
and go away from them!
For they are all adulterers,
a band of traitors.
They bend their tongues like bows;
they have grown strong in the land for falsehood, and not for truth;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
and they do not know me, says the Lord."
Most of us have days when we would like to "get away from it all." Our plans have failed; a loved one has done something terribly wrong; a child has died; a friend has betrayed us; a business venture has turned sour; the authorities have exposed unethical activities of a political or religious leader; a church has divided; a grandparent's health has suddenly taken a turn for the worse; dreams have been shattered; a long-time respected married couple is divorcing; a plane crash has killed 150 people; and the list goes on and on.
The psalmist gives us words to express our innermost feelings. Maybe we should use these words in our times of trouble, because they probably come very close to the way we are really feeling. A part of the healing process is an honest articulation of our feelings.

John Willis

Psalm 55:1-3

The composer of Psalm 55 faces the same problem as the poet who uttered Psalm 54: he has enemies who seek to destroy him or her. But the problem is even deeper for the author of Psalm 55, because one of his enemies, probably the leader of his enemies, is one who formerly was "my familiar friend" (verses 12-14). Our psalmist begins with a plea to Yahweh in verses 1-3 very similar to that in 54:1-3:
"Give ear to my prayer, O God;
do not hide yourself from my supplication.
Attend to me, and answer me;
I am troubled in my complaint.
I am distraught by the noise of the enemy,
because of the clamor of the wicked.
For they bring trouble upon me,
and in anger they cherish enmity against me."

1. The idea of God or a person "hiding" or "hiding his (or her) face" has various meanings in the Bible. Psalm 55 provides one good example: in verse 1, the poet beseeches God not to hide himself from his or her supplication; then in verse 12, the poet speaks of "hiding" from his or her enemies. The prayer in verse 1 that God not "hide himself" from the speaker's supplication is parallel to "give ear" to his prayer in line 1, so this means: answer my prayer by intervening and defeating my enemies--see Psalm 89:46. The thought is similar to that of God "hiding his face" in passages like Psalms 22:24; 27:9; 30:7; 88:14; 102:2; Isaiah 59:2.
2. When serious troubles afflict human beings, God has given them a spiritual mechanism called "complaint" to help them release the feelings caused by their pains and losses and reverses, and to deepen their dependence on God. Our psalmist declares his or her complain in verses 2 and 17, and feels that when God realizes how severe that complaint is, he will answer the psalmist's pleas. Psalms 64:1 and 142:2 express similar feelings. Job often declared that he could not but complain because of the severity of his sufferings (see for example, Job 7:11-14; 9:27-28; 10:1; 21:4; 23:2). It is true that often complaining is not justified, as one can see in some examples of the complaining of the Israelites in the wilderness. On the other hand, Jesus complained as he faced arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane as he cried: "I am deeply grieved, even to death," and begged his Father to take away this ordeal from him if at all possible (Matthew 26:36-46); and Paul complained because of his "thorn in the flesh," and pleaded with God three times to remove it from him because it was so painful (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). So some complaining is wholesome as servants of God honestly express the depth of their (physical, emotional, spiritual) pains to God and seek his healing intervention.
May God deepen our trust in him when hard times come.

John Willis