Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

Before we jump into God's Word, why don't we pray?

Lord, we ask your blessing on the reading and the proclaiming of your Word, this 55th Psalm.

And Lord, we pray that we would be people that do not just hear your Word,

but people that hear your Word and meditate upon it and apply it to our lives and live by it.

And Lord, we recognize that it's a very hard thing.

Actually, apart from you, it's impossible.

So we ask for your help.

By your Spirit, we ask that you would make these words true in our hearts

and that we would grip them and cling to you.

For they are your very words.

We pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

If you have a Bible, follow along with me, Psalm 55.

If you don't have a Bible, there should be a stack of Bibles at the back.

If not, then follow along with a friend.

That soul up there, which has the greatest pain, the Master said, is Judas Iscariot.

With head inside, he plies his legs without.

Of the two others, who head downward are, the one who hangs from the black jowl is Brutus.

See how he writhes himself and speaks no word.

And the other, who so stalwart seems, is Cassius.

If we have any classicists here, or you remember high school,

that is from Dante's Inferno, the 34th Canto,

where Dante, who is taken on a tour of hell by Virgil,

he sees Satan himself with his three heads.

And in each head is Judas in one,

Marcus, Junius, Brutus in the other,

and Gaius, Cassius in the other mouth.

Judas Iscariot is very familiar to us.

He is the one who betrayed Jesus.

The other two are the chief betrayers of Julius Caesar.

And these three, I guess, in one sense,

are the most famous betrayers of all time.

Written in the 1200s,

Dante has them in the very mouth of the chief betrayer of all, Satan.

They swore fealty and love towards their masters

and then stabbed them in the back.

There's indeed something terribly horrific about betrayal, isn't there?

Dante seemed to have found that the case.

And that story, Dante's Divine Comedy,

still resonates 800 plus years later.

There seems to be truth that betrayal is the most egregious.

For with betrayal comes the breakdown of trust

and the erosion of relationships and societal cohesion,

without which trust,

without trust, our society ceases to be.

It starts to erode and crumble and break down.

Psalm 55 is a psalm of David

that laments the betrayal of a close friend.

And here David doesn't specify who that close friend is.

I mean, in the narrative,

in 2 Samuel,

two key people betray King David.

His son Absalom

and his advisor Ahithophel.

Both are close to him,

obviously his son.

Both betray him.

Nothing is specified here.

But David was betrayed.

We're going to read in this psalm,

in a sense,

normally the psalms follow a nice,

for the most part,

organized structure.

In Psalm 55,

it's a hodgepodge of pleas

and angst and anger

and cries for help.

And then pleas

and appeals to God

and then cries for help.

This is a psalm

of somebody in anguish.

What's interesting about David as well

is that he was a betrayer

as much as these other two were.

If you remember the story of Bathsheba,

where David should have been off to war,

should have been doing what kings do,

he sees a woman who is not his wife

and he has an affair with her.

Turns out it's his close friend's wife.

And to cover up his sin

and his evil and his affair,

he has his friend killed.

David, the betrayer,

is being betrayed.

So this psalm,

it's a very helpful psalm for us

because if we're honest,

we can find ourselves on either side

of a relationship,

of either being betrayed

or being the one to betray.

It helps us to be honest

and not a proud person

as if betrayal is something

that is only possible for these people

or that group

and not for ourselves.

More than that though,

this psalm

helps us to have a heart

that is ready to understand

and receive Jesus

because Jesus

was betrayed

by the people

that he created

and he was sent

to save

and by his own disciple

for 40 pieces of silver,

Judas Iscariot.

So this psalm,

in a very real way,

is an honest look

at what betrayal does

and it's a psalm

that helps our hearts

prepare for Christ.

So we'll break the text

into three parts

and it's kind of a hard way

to break up this text

for the very reason

I mentioned at the beginning

that this is a text

of somebody who is in anguish

and pain

where he's a bit

all over the place.

But we're going to look at

the text in three different ways

and we'll be all over the text

this morning.

The first is the reality

of betrayal.

And the second is

the response to betrayal.

And then the third point

we're going to look at

is the hope for the betrayed.

So the reality of betrayal,

the response to betrayal,

the hope for the betrayed.

If you could follow along,

that would be helpful.

Look with me,

verses 3 and then

verses 12 to 14.

Because of the noise

of the enemy,

because of the oppression

of the wicked,

for they drop trouble

upon me

and in anger

they bear a grudge

against me.

Drop down to verse 12.

For it is not an enemy

who taunts me,

then I could bear it.

It is not an adversary

who deals insolently

with me,

then I could hide from him.

But it is you,

a man,

my equal,

my companion,

my friend,

my familiar friend.

We used to take sweet counsel

together within God's house.

We walked in the throng.

Notice here that the betrayers,

although are clearly now enemies,

used to be friends,

companions,

equals.

They were familiar

with one another.

They worshipped together

and made covenants,

agreements,

that would undoubtedly

invoke the name of God.

There was a deep connection

with these people

and King David.

In short,

this was a dear friend.

David does not specify,

like I mentioned at the beginning,

who this was,

nor the specific thing

that was done.

I mean,

it could be his son,

it could be his advisor,

we're not too sure.

And there's a level

of ambiguity here

that's helpful for us

because it allows us

to apply this text

in a very personal way

in our lives.

So as I see it,

betrayal can take

at least three different forms,

at least three different forms

within this text.

And we see it,

the first way,

the first form it can take

is a peer or friend relationship.

There's a betrayal.

At least it's described here

as this relationship

of two peers,

two friends,

two equals.

The second,

the text doesn't really

talk about it,

but I think it's appropriate

to talk about betrayal

in terms of a relationship

with somebody in authority.

And then the third

and final one

we'll look at

is how betrayal

can affect marriage.

Imagine that,

you confide in a friend,

a family member,

a colleague,

you pour out your heart.

It's very tough

if you are a closed-off person,

an introvert,

to be vulnerable.

I mean,

even for the most outgoing of us,

vulnerability,

maybe it doesn't come supernaturally.

It's not a thing

that we just pour our guts out

to anyone

about anything.

But imagine you confide

in a friend,

a family member,

a colleague,

only to have that piece

of information

that was offered

in that moment

of vulnerability

treated as if it was

social currency

for somebody

to use for gossip.

a piece of juicy gossip

rather than

a precious offering

of trust.

Your trust in that individual

person

will likely be severed,

but what will

likely happen

is that to a degree

your trust in all people

will be weakened.

Same goes for situations

where somebody

is in a position

of authority

only to abuse

that office

or relationship.

It's not just that

one doesn't trust

that authority figure,

but struggles

with any authority figure

that reminds them

of the abuse.

You see,

when betrayal happens,

when trust breaks down,

things really

start to unravel

and it's hard

to climb up

out of that pit,

that hole,

that problem,

that experience.

It's hard to rebound.

The final example

is of a spouse.

This is where the pain

can often run

the deepest.

When trust is broken

due to emotional

or physical infidelity,

the betrayal feels

as if a very part

of that person

is torn off,

ripped apart,

severed.

And how on earth

can you sew that back up?

Your arm is torn off,

your leg is torn off,

your guts are ripped out.

Betrayal

is deeply violent

emotionally.

Learning to forgive,

let alone that

that person,

that husband

or wife,

is almost impossible.

And will certainly

take time,

but what will end up

happening is

undoubtedly

your ability

to trust others

will again

be eroded.

You will

struggle

to trust.

You are not

willing to be hurt

again.

You put up

walls,

and that is

completely

understandable.

You see,

when you trust

somebody

and they betray

you,

betrayal

has the effect

of a carpet

bomb

rather than

a 50 cal

in the chamber

of a

master marksman.

It levels

everything

and everyone

around you.

It has ripple

effects

that destroy

parts of your lives

that you didn't

think were

necessarily connected.

Betrayal is

a terribly

violent,

violent thing.

Consider the wording

here used by

King David,

verses 4-8.

Read with me.

My heart

is in anguish

within me.

The terrors

of death

have fallen

upon me.

Fear and

trembling

come upon me

and horror

overwhelms me.

And I say,

oh,

that I had wings

like a dove,

I would fly away

and be at rest.

Yes,

I would wander

far away.

I would lodge

in the wilderness.

I would hurry

to find shelter

from the raging

wind and tempest.

How very human

a response

to betrayal,

especially

verses 6-8,

is escape.

An escape

to the wilderness,

no less.

In Scripture,

the place

of the wilderness

is where danger

lurks.

It's where

desolation

happens.

It's where

the place

that cannot

support life

apart from

God's intervention.

It is the place

where people

go to die.

Here we see

a desire

in a sense

not to exist.

And that isn't

necessarily

a desire

to die,

but to be rid

of the anguish

and pain.

And yet,

this is followed

by verse 8,

which is as if

David shakes off

such a dark thought

and looks to

deliverance

instead of escape.

Verse 8,

I would hurry

to find a shelter

from the raging

wind and tempest.

How often

in the times

of our anguish

are our thoughts

not very linear?

We go from

anger to confusion

to thoughts

of escape

to thoughts

of revenge

to praying

to the Lord

if you are

a Christian

or maybe not

just praying

up there

to the universe

and then

all of a sudden

you are in anguish

and then you are angry

and then you are sad

and depressed

and it is all over

the place

our emotions.

Here we see

David

expressing that

very kind

of

kind of

smorgasbord

this emotion

soup

that is very

natural

and very

much a human

response.

Betrayal

may take

various forms

but it

sure

does result

in the same

thing

does it not?

Pain

for the

individual.

However

it is not

just pain

for an

individual

betrayal

has social

ramifications

as well

and I mentioned

that at the

beginning.

Look with me

at our text

verses 9

to 11

destroy

destroy

oh lord

divide

their tongues

for I

see

violence

and strife

in the

city

day

and night

they go

around

it

on its

walls

and iniquity

and trouble

are within

it

ruin

is in

its

midst

oppression

and fraud

do not

depart

from

its

marketplace

notice

that

those

who betray

often commit

other acts

that further

erode

society

specifically

in this

case

of the

Psalms

we see

the city

and the

walls

described

as

no longer

being

the very

objects

of safety

but the

objects

where

strife

and

conspiracy

take place

also

the

marketplace

which is

to be

the

very place

that provides

sustenance

again

buying

and trading

livelihood

is again

eroded

and destroyed

security

and commerce

no longer

function as

they ought

to

verse 23

speaks of

such people

as having

blood on

their hands

and being

treacherous

these people

do not

build up

they are

not selfless

they do not

promote the

common good

but only

personal gain

you see

betrayal

is justified

if it means

I succeed

whether

it's said

or not

it's to

hell with

everybody

else

and everybody

else

in society

starts looking

not like

heaven

but like

hell

things start

to break

down

selfishness

reigns

supreme

the breakdown

of trust

that accompanies

betrayal

will always

erode

always weaken

always strain

much more

than just

the two

parties

involved

so if

betrayal

is so

destructive

and it

is

how are

we to

properly

respond

this

brings us

to our

second

point

the response

to

betrayal

look with

me

first here

at verses

1 and 2

verse 9

and then

verse 15

to 17

see we're

jumping around

quite a bit

starting in

verse 1

give ear to

my prayer

oh God

and hide

not yourself

from my

plea for

mercy

attend to

me

and answer

me

I am

restless

in my

complaint

and I

moan

verse 9

destroy

oh Lord

divide

their tongues

and then

verse 15

and on

let death

steal over

them

let them

go down

to

let them

go down

to

Sheol

alive

for evil

is in

their dwelling

place

and in

their heart

but I

call to

God

and the

Lord

will save

me

evening

and morning

and at

noon

I utter

my

complaint

and moan

and he

God

hears

my voice

looking

first at

verses 1

to 2

we find

the first

example

of a proper

response to

betrayal

is in the

opening verses

crying out

to the

merciful

God

who

hears

this

isn't

a throw

away

verses 1

and 2

God

delights

to hear

our prayers

he does

he doesn't

have

headphones

in

he is

not

ignoring

us

he

doesn't

get

annoyed

with

our

petitions

look at

verse 2

and then

again

verse 17

attend to

me

answer

me

I am

restless

in my

complaints

and I

moan

doesn't

sound

too

formal

does

it

verse

17

evening

and morning

and noon

I utter

my

complaint

and moan

and he

hears

my

voice

God

who

hears

and on

one

hand

we

ought

to

come

to

God

with

reverence

because

he

is

our

creator

and

king

but let

us

not

forget

that

if

we

have

faith

in

Christ

Jesus

he

is

our

father

and we

can

come

to

a

father

the

perfect

father

just

as

we

are

broken

and

bruised

and

beat

up

and

full

of

emotions

that

aren't

linear

that

sometimes

often

times

we

can't

make

sense

of

we

moan

we

complain

day

and

night

noontime

all

the

hours

we

come

to

the

Lord

we

come

to

the

Lord

we

come

to

the

Lord

in

fact

throughout

the

Psalter

throughout

the

Bible

the

Lord

is

not

just

okay

but

welcomes

our

continual

petition

our

continual

petition

constantly

it's

like

as

if

we

are

saying

I'm

holding

you

at

your

word

I'm

not

letting

you

off

the

hook

you

have

to

answer

me

last

week

was

the

twelfth

Sunday

after

Trinity

Sunday

and

the

collect

or

the

communal

prayer

it's

one

of

my

favorites

and

this

is

what

it

says

almighty

and

everlasting

God

you

are

always

more

ready

to

hear

than

we

are

to

pray

and

you

constantly

give

more

than

we

desire

or

deserve

he's

always

more

ready

to

hear

than

we

are

to

pray

he

hears

and he

delights

in your

prayers

the

almighty

everlasting

God

wants

you

to

talk

to

him

friends

remember

that

truth

let

it

seep

down

deep

into

your

bones

remember

it

when

you

are

in

peril

remember

it

when

you

are

full

of

guilt

remember

it

when

things

seem

perfect

remember

it

pray

to

the

Lord

so

we

pray

but

what

do

we

pray

for

what

is

an

appropriate

prayer

in

a

situation

like

this

well

look

with

me

at

verse

9

destroy

oh

Lord

and

divide

their

tongues

we'll

pause

right

there

here

we

have

an

allusion

to

to

the

the

tower

of

Babel

from

Genesis

11

in

that

story

the

the

hubris

and

pride

of

the

city

of

of

Babel

it

it

it

is

such

that

to

an

extent

that

God

in

both

his

mercy

but

especially

his

justice

confuses

the

language

of

the

city

so

that

they

no

longer

have

the

ability

to

conspire

and

in a

sense

make

themselves

gods

I

say

mercy

because

it

is

a

merciful

thing

to

know

the

depths

of

your

pride

in

the

field

judgment

so

that

you

may

repent

here

David

is

alluding

to

this

he

is

praying

to

the

Lord

that

the

plan

of

his

conspirators

that

are

seeking

to

betray

him

that

have

betrayed

him

that

are

it

seems

that

are

going

to

betray

him

further

that

all

of

their

plans

will

go

belly

up

that

they

will

have

no

success

that

they

will

end

their

planning

that

it

would

stop

working

it

is

an

appeal

to

reverse

the

progress

of

the

enemy

by

consuming

the

enemy's

ability

to

plot

and

scheme

it's

a

very

good

prayer

it's

a

prayer

worth

praying

it

really

is

in

general

it's

a

prayer

worth

praying

against

people

that

do

wrong

and

who

are

going

in

a

wrong

direction

and

whose

decisions

will

have

effects

on

many

people

it's

important

to pray

such

prayers

like

this

we

also

see

that

David

is

desperate

and

calls

on

God

and

demands

of

him

that

his

justice

be

executed

and

that

his

servant

be

vindicated

and

we

see

this

in

verse

15

and

this

is

where

it

gets

a

bit

dicey

for

us

let

death

steal

over

them

let

them

go

down

to

sheol

that

is

another

term

for

the

grave

to

death

may

they

go

down

to

sheol

alive

for

evil

is

their

dwelling

place

and

in

their

heart

it

may

seem

rather

jarring

to

hear

from

scripture

that

it

is

an

acceptable

thing

to

pray

these

type

of

prayers

but

we

must

understand

that

such

prayers

are

calls

for

justice

and

vindication

and

not

bloodthirsty

revenge

it's

very

important

David

is

calling

on

God

to

give

these

evil

unrepentant

conspirators

total

justice

for

their

grotesque

behavior

and

it

is

grotesque

but

the

question

is

isn't

God

a

God

of

love

this

does

not

seem

loving

there's

much

more

to say

on the

justice

of

God

and

how

it

pertains

and

connects

and

is

related

to

the

love

of

God

but

I'll

just

say

this

that

God's

justice

is

never

at

odds

with

his

love

to

love

is

to

protect

to

vindicate

justice

so here

we see

that

without

God's

complete

justice

he could

never

be

a

completely

loving

God

if I

love

my

children

if I

love

my

wife

if I

love

my

family

if I

love

the

congregation

and I

am not

willing to

fight

for that

to

oppose

evil

to

oppose

harm

to

seek

out

justice

my

love

is

by

word

alone

it

means

nothing

I

mean

it's

nice

I

love

my

children

I

love

my

wife

I

love

the

congregation

but it

truly

means

nothing

it's

a

weak

love

it's

an

imperfect

love

it's

a

love

that

lacks

a

spine

God

here

is

a

God

of

love

precisely

because

he's

a

God

of

justice

friends

respond

to

betrayal

mistrust

calamity

whatever

it may

be

by

praying

to

the

almighty

and

everlasting

God

for

his

justice

to

take

root

and

leave

it

to

him

I

mean

a

big

part

of

that

is

praying

to

God

that

people

would

turn

from

their

wicked

ways

that

God

does

not

desire

the

death

of

a

sinner

but

that

they

would

repent

and

turn

to

him

but

nevertheless

there

are

people

that

do

not

and

it

is

important

to

pray

that

God's

justice

be

executed

you

know

in a

very

interesting

way

when

the

enemies

of

God's

people

drive

God's

people

to

prayer

the

enemy

has

already

signed

and

sealed

his

fate

either

they

will

repent

and

seek

amendment

or

they

will

suffer

the

full

extent

of

justice

either

in

this

life

or

the

next

either

way

they're

conspiring

and

they're

planning

their

betrayal

will

fail

because

it

must

God

will

have

the

victory

and

has

the

victory

and

that

is

an

encouragement

when

our

emotions

are

all

over

the

place

when

anguish

has

gripped

our

hearts

when

we

look

to

God

and

we

are

praying

to

him

and

we

are

petitioning

and

we

are

petitioning

and

we

are

petitioning

we

feel

like

we're

not

being

heard

but

God

hears

he

has

already

promised

a

victory

and

this

is

a

great

bit

of

hope

which

leads

to

our

third

point

our

final

point

that

we

truly

have

hope

if

we

are

betrayed

look

with

me

verses

1

and

2

16

to

19

22

and

23

actually

first

we'll

go to

verses

16

to

19

but

I

call

to

God

and

the

Lord

will

save

me

evening

and

morning

and

at

noon

I

utter

my

complaint

and

moan

and

he

hears

my

voice

he

redeems

my

soul

in

safety

from

the

battle

that

I

wage

for

many

are

arrayed