Betrayal
Opening Prayer
Lord, I thank You for the gift of worship and for my church. May our worship please and honor You.
Read Psalm 54:1-7
[1] For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David. When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hiding among us?” Save me, O God, by your name; vindicate me by your might. [2] Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth. [3] Arrogant foes are attacking me; ruthless people are trying to kill me- people without regard for God. [4] Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. [5] Let evil recoil on those who slander me; in your faithfulness destroy them. [6] I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, LORD, for it is good. [7] You have delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What's the difference between the two halves of this psalm?There was a period where I felt really hurt and betrayed by Christian friends. Who could I trust? During that time the Bible was my place of safety and affirmation. God’s words did not change. His love was still there. The psalmist, here identified as David, is in real physical danger, hiding in the desert caves of Judah with King Saul in close pursuit. David’s isolation grows as people close to him betray him. In Psalm 52 the Edomite enemies betrayed David’s whereabouts. In Psalm 55, David’s friends betrayed him. In this psalm David refers to strangers attacking (3). Disloyalty made them strangers. They were actually his kinsmen, the Ziphites of southern Judah! Betrayal brings heartbreaking grief of friends lost, of trust misplaced. How does David cope? Where is his confidence? In the crucial verse (4), David sings of God the helper, who sustains him. Clearly he senses God’s presence beside him, as well as being able to draw upon a whole lifetime of recollections of God’s goodness. Even in the midst of betrayal, God’s revelation in David’s life has become his strength.
Apply
What have you learned from your past experience with God that could sustain you, especially when you feel betrayed?
Closing prayer
Lord God, when I feel discouraged and abandoned, remind me again of Your constant and faithful love and care.
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