A Song of Betrayal (Part 2)

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If one were to group Psalms 51-55 into a group and give them a basic thrust or message it would be that these Psalms are “Psalms of Betrayal”

David betrayed Urijah, Bathsheba, the child and the people of Israel because He first betrayed God through neglecting the precious reality to which the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Covenant pointed; deep fellowship with God Himself.

Then in Psalm 52 we have David betrayed by Doeg the Edomite…a foreigner.  In Psalm 53, we find another reason as to why human beings betray one another and it is due to our indwelling sin nature and rejection of God’s providence over human affairs.  

Psalm 54 records the betrayal which David faced from his own countrymen “the people of Ziph”

Psalm 55 recounts a betrayal David experienced from someone closest to him:

“But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.”—Verse 13

Let us come to learn how to weather the storm of betrayal as we consider the way in which king David reacted to this hurtful situation.

1. David’s Personal Anguish — While Psalms 52 and 54 record the betrayal David faced while he was in the wilderness fleeing Saul, this Psalm reveals a betrayal he faced while in the city of Jerusalem.  What this tells us is David was king.
   1. Unmet Expectations — Sometimes we expect the situation to get much better once we enter into our calling and find some fruit doing what God has called us to do.  David was probably the same way.  David was just as troubled when he was the king as he was when he was a fugitive on the run.  Notice the strong language:
      1. “restless” (v. 2)
      2. “anguish” (v. 4)
      3. The “terrors of death” assail him (v. 4) 
      4. “Fear and trembling” beset him. “Horror” overwhelms him (v. 5)
      5. Application—When your closest companion and familiar friends betray you, you may find yourself dealing with ever intensifying feelings of pain and anguish.
   2. Troubles Inescapable — This is perhaps the very first time we have seen David grappling with a desire to run from his problems.  Notice verses 6-8 please.  David was in the latter career of his life and ministry.  When he was young and vibrant, David was able to fight and win great battles.  But it is in the late stages of his life and ministry where he finds himself weary and worn out.  Maybe you have achieved certain milestones and victories in your youth, but now age has caught up to you as life goes on.  Maybe victories you thought you already won are now being faced with the same troubles as before:
      1. Inescapable troubles at home
      2. …with the children
      3. …with our society
      4. …with ourselves
      5. The difference between now and then is you no longer have the vigor of youthfulness to sustain you in the fight and you are left feeling drained…and you desire to flee from it all.
      6. Maybe David has wanderlust?
      7. Psalm 55 is about perseverance in later age!
2. Life in the Big City — David describes with great clarity what it’s like living in a metropolitan area in verses 9-11.  
   1. The Enemy Within
   2. Hope for the City
   3. A Prayer for Confusion—Did you notice the language of verse 9 is deliberately reminiscent of the Tower of Babel? “We would be many times worse off if evil people could actually get their acts together and work in harmony against the righteous instead of fighting among themselves, as they habitually do”
      1. Application:  When was the last time we prayed for God to confuse the wicked plans of His enemies just like He did at Babel?
3. A Turning Point — Verse 16 marks a definite turning point in this great Psalm.  Earlier, David cried to God in anguish in verses 1-2 but now David proclaims the Grace of God in 3 moving phrases:
   1. “the LORD saves me” (v. 16)  
   2. “he hears my voice” (v. 17)
   3. “he ransoms me unharmed” (v. 18)
   4. It was the personal experience of God’s grace in the past that moved David to trust God in the present.
   5. This is a prayer in which the psalmist unburdens himself of his anguish, describes the terrors he is facing, reflects on the evil of his foes, asks God for help, and then persists in laying the same things before God again and again, stanza after stanza. This psalm is a lesson in perseverance. It is also an illustration of how such persevering prayer first changes us, strengthening our faith, before God intervenes in response to change our desperate situation.
4. A Conclusion—May we, like David, learn to persevere in faith with the Lord as we grapple with being betrayed by our closest friends!