Psalm 55:1-20 (KJV): But it was thou...my guide and mine acquaintance

From Psalms

Psalm 55
(For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David.)

¹Give ear to my prayer, O God;
     and hide not thyself from my supplication.
²     Attend unto me, and hear me:
I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;
³     Because of the voice of the enemy,
      because of the oppression of the wicked:
for they cast iniquity upon me,
      and in wrath they hate me.

⁴My heart is sore pained within me:
      and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
⁵Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me,
      and horror hath overwhelmed me.
⁶And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove!
      for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
⁷Lo, then would I wander far off,
      and remain in the wilderness.                        Selah.
⁸I would hasten my escape
      from the windy storm and tempest.

⁹Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues:
      for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof:
      mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
¹¹Wickedness is in the midst thereof:
      deceit and guile depart not from her streets.

¹²For 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:
¹³But it was thou, a man mine equal,
      my guide, and mine acquaintance.
¹⁴We took sweet counsel together,
      and walked unto the house of God in company.

¹⁵Let death seize upon them,
      and let them go down quick into hell:
      for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

¹⁶As for me, I will call upon God;
      and the LORD shall save me.

¹⁷Evening, and morning, and at noon,
      will I pray, and cry aloud:
      and he shall hear my voice.
¹⁸He hath delivered my soul in peace
      from the battle that was against me:
      for there were many with me.
¹⁹God shall hear, and afflict them,
      even he that abideth of old.                           Selah.
Because they have no changes,
      therefore they fear not God.

²⁰He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him:
      he hath broken his covenant.

One theory about Psalm 55 is that it was written when Absalom, David's son, had lead a rebellion against him.  Then David found out that Ahithophel, a member of his cabinet and close friend, had gone to join with Absalom.  He had betrayed David.  Many of us have been betrayed.  We know that when someone you have trusted betrays you it hurts.

In verses 13 and 14 we find some truths about these betrayals.  These people, in your presence will swear their loyalty, they will pray for you, and pray with you.  Then as soon as you turn your back they will betray you.  There are people like that all around us.  These people who act as guides and close friends, only to set us up.

We know this can be said of certain people but as I type this I can't help but to think this is also true about our addictions.  Our addictions initially offer some kind of escape, like a friend.  A solace.  A place where we felt welcome, where we felt we belonged.  Only after time to find betrayal.  That the escape was no escape at all - that our problems had become compound.  That our solace had been a trap.  That the chains of this trap were deceptively strong and binding.

Thankfully though there was, and still is, a way out.  We simply had to ask for help.  However, asking for help was not easy.  We didn't know how to ask or who to ask.  Eventually we found people who could show us that we needed to ask God.  In time, we would also learn how to ask - in honest way that was pleasing to God.  Through this journey of learning how to ask we became faithful and we had become stronger in this faith.  After some time we found we could also help others find their way out of the trap.  The trick then was to make sure we never found our way back - everyday that still remains the goal.

Thanks for letting me share.