Have you ever had someone you considered a friend turn on you? Being betrayed by someone close to us, a friend or relative, can be one of the most painful things we could go through. The hurt, and often the consequences of a betrayal can hurt for many, many years. Our psalm this week was one written by King David, and speaks of a betrayal that he suffered. The psalm also foretells of an even greater betrayal many years later, that being of the Lord Jesus Christ at the hands of one of his disciples.
During the reign of King David he experienced a coup orchestrated by his son Absalom. That alone would have been hurtful enough, but then David found out that his good, close friend Ahithophel turned against him and joined with Absalom in his attempt to seize the throne (II Samuel 15:12, 31). How distressing that must have been, having a close and trusted friend turn against you and join your own son in a rebellion to take over the throne, and possibly even have you killed!
Betrayal is painful. Only those we love or trust can really hurt us with such a betrayal as David had experienced. Often when we suffer an emotional upset, such as a betrayal by a close friend, we can become physically sick, as well. Such an event happened to David. He became physically sick and had to take to his bed for a while (vs. 3-8). Then, to add even more insult and pain to him, some of his untrue and faithless “friends” came to visit and see how he was. Their hypocritical “sick call”, added insult to injury. These visitors lied to the king, and were really there to gather information for more slander (vs. 6).
As mentioned, this psalm not only recalled a very low point in King David’s life, it also was a prophecy of the betrayal that the Lord Jesus had at the hands of Judas Iscariot. The Gospel of John connects verse 9 with what happened with Jesus, telling that David prophesied in this psalm of the incident when Judas would betray Him (John 13:18). The enemies of David wanted him dead (vs. 5), and we definitely know that this also applies to Jesus. Israel desired the death of their Messiah, Jesus, and for His Name to perish. That has been the case with all of Jesus’ enemies throughout history. Even today they are continuing to try to make His Name perish.
We can take this psalm and apply it to ourselves, as well, when someone we trusted turns on us in a nasty betrayal, and when we feel down and depressed when so-called “friends” turn against us. The psalm is a prayer for God’s mercy when we are feeling sick or abandoned. When we’re sick, or when everyone deserts us, God remains at our side.
One thing that can happen when we are betrayed by others, when they tell and spread lies about us, is that our reputation can be destroyed. A good reputation is very hard to recover after it has been ruined. It is devastating if one friend after another starts to believe the gossip, and then turns away from us. We can take matters into our own hands, and try to strike back at this person who betrayed us or told lies about us, or we can do what is best, and leave the matter in God’s hands. Vindication may not come in this life, but it will be revealed in eternity, when the truth about everything will come to light. At that time the lies that people may have told about us, especially the ones that may have left our reputation in shreds, will be revealed, and then the Lord will vindicate us.
In closing, we may be depressed and discouraged when we are confronted with betrayal, when we face the day when our friends turn against us. However, just as David did, just as the Lord Jesus Himself did, we can turn to God at these times. The problems such betrayals bring may be bigger than us, but they are not bigger than God. The sicknesses that come may be stronger than us, but they are not stronger than God. And our enemies may be smarter than us, but they are not smarter than God. In all of our trials and tribulations we can turn to Him, and bring these problems to His throne. Jesus is our sympathetic High Priest, as He knows what we are going through because He went through them Himself. As David said, being God’s children, we can trust that our enemies will not triumph over us!
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