Introduction

We have been going through the Psalms one at a time. And to make it simple I have chosen to take them in order, Psalm 1, 2, 3 and so one

Now we have looked at some pretty wonderful Psalms

Like the shepherds Psalm

Psalm 23

Like the first Psalm

But, we have also plowed through some rather distressing Psalms

David had a lot of problems in his life

And he expressed his feelings and his faith in his Psalms

The 54^th Psalm we spoke about last week was one such where David had been betrayed and he prayed

I thought to skip this Psalm; but, there was something that spoke to me as nothing else has

This appears to be the first Psalm that addresses the issue of being betrayed by someone who has been close to us

Here is a story about a relationship: A young couple got married and went on their honeymoon. When they got back, the bride immediately called her mother. "Well," said her mother, "so how was the honeymoon?"

"Mama," she replied, "the honeymoon itself was wonderful -- so romantic! But......." Suddenly she burst out crying. "Mama, as soon as we returned, Sam started using the most horrible language --things I'd never heard before! I mean, all these awful 4-letter words! You've got to come get me and take me home... PLEASE MAMA!"

"Sarah, Sarah," her mother said, "calm down! Tell me, what could be so awful? WHAT 4-letter words?"

"Please don't make me tell you, Mama," wept the daughter, "I'm so embarrassed -- they're just too awful! COME GET ME, PLEASE !!"

"Darling baby, you must tell me what has you so upset. I'm your mother -- tell me these horrible 4-letter words!"

Still sobbing, the bride said, "Oh, Mama...words like: Wash, Iron, Dust, Cook..."

I have looked for a few illustrations to help us in our understanding of this Psalm

One preacher has said: "We don’t need to linger very long with the Psalms to realize that they are remarkable prayers.

John Calvin said the Psalms reveal the anatomy of the soul

They point to every human aspiration

and every disappointment

The Psalms speak to us and for us

Pastor William Carter said, the Psalms generally speaking are a lot more honest then we allow ourselves to be . . . especially in church

A teacher has said that as he taught his students the Psalms he has required them to write their own.

After teaching them the literary tricks of Hebrew poetry and parallel phrases the students have done remarkably well.

His students have amazed him by how quickly they are able to express their prayers in a polished and poetic way.

This same teacher goes on to say how curious he is that his students Psalms seem rather tame.

He says they sound rather suburban to him

They he contrasts some of the Psalms in the Bible as being pretty raw.

The Biblical Psalms do not hold back, they cry out from the very beginning about their pain, anguish, anger, bitterness and just plain raw emotions

Lets turn to Psalm 55:1 - 2 as we begin to look at just a part of the Psalm

Body

The intensity of David’s prayer

Give ear to my prayer, O God, And do not hide Yourself from my supplication. {2} Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily,

Let’s read these verses in another version, it may help us to see a point I want to make

God, listen to my prayer and do not ignore my cry for help. {2} Pay attention to me and answer me. I am troubled and upset

Many of us were brought up in churches and traditions where one prayed quietly and respectfully with dignity

Many of us usually following the example of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples

But, David’s prayer is nowhere near quiet and dignified

As I read the beginning of David’s prayer it seems that it should be shouted

Hey God - Listen up!!

David’s shout probably put about three or four exclamation marks in the air

I am reminded of Marlin Brando in the film "A Street Car Named Desire." I have never seen the entire film; but, there is one place where Brando is standing on the street calling "Stella"

He calls and calls "Stella"

Some one leans out the window and tells him to stop yelling

But, Brando ignores that person and keeps calling

David was not about to allow himself to be ignored

There is none of the quiet refinement of the 23^rd Psalm

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. {2} He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

Where the 23^rd Psalm is calm, serene, a gentle lamb in a green pasture

The 55^th Psalm is agitated, troubled, a bull in a china shop

One preacher says that even among the Psalms this one is pretty belligerent

This is a Psalm of some one in a "raging wind and tempest"

What’s going on?

That time was like the time we are in

A time of economic turmoil

A time of oppression

A time of fraud in the market place

A time of war or some battle

And general complaints about crime and violence in the city

But, lets turn to Psalm 55:

The real storm betrayal

For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: {13} But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. {14} We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. {15} Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

This is the thing that is really troubling David, betrayed by a friend

There are a number of times that David was betrayed by some one close to him

We don’t know which one this was

It may have been David’s close advisor who betrayed David to Absalom in his rebellion

When you look at a typical congregation there may well be people that want to say words like these

I counted on my best friend, and she let me down

I trusted my wife, and look what she did

I was depending on my partner, and he took me for a ride

I was relying on my son or daughter, and they humiliated me

Steven McCutchen tells about a woman who went to church one Sunday. She had just discovered her husband was leaving her for another woman. He was in love with somebody else, he said. The marriage was over, he said, and he had somebody else who could better meet her needs. She went to church that morning in a fog. She was sure everybody knew. She had a good idea why her friends would stop whispering when she would come around. She wanted to run and hide, but there was no place to go. He had emptied the bank accounts, she had access to nothing, all because his needs came before his commitments.

The she heard the choir sing, "Cast your burden on the Lord, and God will sustain you." Those words are in this Psalm, but it is hard to believe them, and do them, when the burden is heavy and your still in shock

Pastor William Carter gives us this illustration. Somebody he knew was dealing with emotional abuse at home. It got to a boiling point when she wanted to strike back. After putting up with one final screaming match, she picked up something to throw at him as he turned to walk away. It was a Bible, their family Bible. She thought, "Well, maybe I shouldn’t throw this at him, of all things." So she sat down and started reading. Some how, maybe because the Psalms are in the middle of the Bible, she opened to Psalm 55 and read these words.

Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

They didn’t help; not right away. But she started to find words like these in the book. In Psalm 55:20 - 21, She read the words: This is from the NIV

My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant. {21} His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords.

The woman went to Pastor Carter and said, "It was as if God found me. I can’t explain it." "What should I do?" Pastor Carter says, "I usually always think long and hard before I answer a question like that. You know how it is when somebody turns to you; you’re responsible for their life. This time, however, I blurted out an answer. Im don’t know if it si the right answer. I just blurted out "Keep reading the Psalm."

She replied, "But, I’ve already read it." Pastor Carter told her, "But keep reading it: for, five, six times an hour. Maybe more may be less.

She asked, "How long shall I keep reading the Psalm?" Carter replied, "Until you don’t need to read it anymore."

Pastor Carter goes on to say, "You see, skimming through the Scriptures doesn’t always help. You’ve got to chew on them. Some of the texts have a lot of gristle. You can’t swallow them easily. You’ve got to keep chewing. You have to keep the text on you plate and keep working on it. Nobody gets through deep, serious pain by taking a pill. The Bible gives us these Psalms as a gift, but we have to stay with them. And if we do, not only do we learn how to pray, we also learn something about ourselves.

If we examine Scripture we will find many stories of such betrayal

But, the one we remember the most is the betrayal of Judas Iscariot.

The Psalm seems to be a prophecy of Judas and his betrayal of Jesus

He really seems to fit the mold of our Psalm this morning

He was one of the twelve

A close and constant companion

A familiar friend

One with who Jesus kept pleasant company

We are appalled at Judas’ treachery

How could one of the twelve do such a thing

Judas along with the other eleven saw miracles

Dead men walked

Five small loaves of bread and a few fish fed 5, 000

He saw Jesus walk on water

He was there when Jesus calmed the storm

When Jesus gathers His twelve disciples together for that last supper, He tells the group, "One of you is going to betray me."

Lets turn to Matthew 26:20 - 25 to see the tragic event of that betrayal

When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. {21} Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me." {22} And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?" {23} He answered and said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. {24} "The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." {25} Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, "Rabbi, is it I?" He said to him, "You have said it."

In verses 14 of that same chapter Judas had already gone to the Chief Priests and gotten his 30 pieces of silver

Jesus knew and His heart must have been heavy

My familiar friend has risen up against me

There is something we need to see in this tragedy

In John 13:26 Jesus offered Judas a sop, a piece of bread dipped in the sauce

Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

Ryrie makes this note, at Eastern meals it was customary for the host to offer one of the guests a morsel of bread as a gesture of special friendship. By this Jesus was showing His love for Judas, the betrayer.

And one other thing to see in John 13:3 - 5 Jesus washed the disciples feet

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, {4} rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. {5} After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

Jesus washed all twelve mens feet, including Judas

We don’t know why Judas betrayed his friend Jesus

Maybe Judas just fell out of love with Jesus.

That happens sometimes

One day we think someone is wonderful and the next day that individual does or says something that does not live up to our expectations

Perhaps that individual reminds us differences between us and we start hating him for that - for the difference - enough to begin thinking of some way to hurt them back

Barbara Brown Taylor says she went to a retreat once where the leader asked everybody to think of some one who represented Christ in their lives. Every one was thinking about noble and pleasant people. When it came time to share the answers, one woman stood up and said, "I had to think hard about that one. I kept thinking, who is it who told me the truth about myself so clearly that I wanted to kill him for ut?"

Can you see that is one of the reasons why Jesus got Himself murdered. He kept telling the truth. He told the truth about God, and He told the truth about people. Some people were so upset when He told them the truth about themselves that they forgot the truth about god and they picked up a fist full of nails and crucified Him.

Now we sit here and say, "I wouldn’t do that."

Our society is not so enlightened and progressive that individuals in our society wouldn’t do just as the Jews and Romans

Evidenced in the fact that many pay councillors a great deal of money to exonerate them from their sin

The hard truth about each of us is that we are capable of building relationships, and capable of tearing those relationships to pieces

We are able to make promises to people we love, and we are able to sell them out to the highest bidder

Sometimes we lean on friends and family for help

And other times we’re in it only to take advantage of them

One of the trials of being adults is realizing that every choice we make will effect the lives of a lot of people

We have the ability to hurt others by choosing only what pleases us

We have to decide what is the greatest good, for the largest number of people

I guess we have a small glimpse of what God is up against when he chooses to save the world

God is faithful and consistent with usw

Even when we are the familiar friend that selfishly causes a rift between God and ourselves

When we are selfish, destructive, and self-centered

But, even then sometimes God gets through to us

Turn to Hebrews 4:15 here we have the statement that

Jesus suffered every temptation and trial we face in our lives

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

He has been betrayed by an unfaithful friend like many of us have

When we cry out like David

God, listen up - I’m hurting

Jesus knows just how we feel

Just how we feel

Do we have the courage to lay it all out before our Lord?

We can be like David

We can let it all hang out