TREACHERY
1 Give ear to my prayer, O God;
do not hide yourself from my supplication.
2 Attend to me and answer me;
I am troubled in my complaint.
I am distraught 3 by the noise of the enemy,
because of the clamor of the wicked.
For they bring trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.4 My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “O that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7 truly, I would flee far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness;
8 I would hurry to find a shelter for myself
from the raging wind and tempest.”9 Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech,
for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11 ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.12 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.
13 But it is you, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend,
14 with whom I kept pleasant company;
we walked in the house of God with the throng.
15 Let death come upon them;
let them go down alive to Sheol,
for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.16 But I call upon God,
and the Lord will save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon
I utter my complaint and moan,
and he will hear my voice.
18 He will redeem me unharmed
from the battle that I wage,
for many are arrayed against me.
19 God, who is enthroned from of old,
will hear and will humble them,
because they do not change
and do not fear God.20 My companion laid hands on a friend
and violated a covenant with me
21 with speech smoother than butter
but with a heart set on war,
with words that were softer than oil
but in fact were drawn swords.22 Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.23 But you, O God, will cast them down
into the lowest pit;
the bloodthirsty and treacherous
shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.
When we read this psalm closely, we find that the most insulting fact is that we are demeaning a friend’s treachery.
The Psalmist seems to expect poor behavior from true enemies, but there is an intense sting when those whom we consider friends do us wrong.
12 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.
13 But it is you, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend,
14 with whom I kept pleasant company;
we walked in the house of God with the throng.20 My companion laid hands on a friend
and violated a covenant with me
21 with speech smoother than butter
but with a heart set on war,
with words that were softer than oil
but in fact were drawn swords.
Sometimes, when we see our own situation mirrored in the scriptures, we realize that we are not alone. (Misery loves company.)
Prayer
God, as I think of what I need from friends in my life, remind me to behave correctly with those who consider me their friend. Amen.
