November 22nd

I have so many enemies

Psalm 55

The first line of the first prayer for help in the Psalms introduces what will be a constant feature of the psalmist’s experiences: ‘Lord, I have so many enemies’ Psalm 3.1).  The exact identity of the enemies is not always known but it’s clear they have no use for God and God’s will and that their behaviour is misleading, destructive, and sometimes deadly.  These enemies are those who oppose God’s will for justice, righteousness, and peace in the world. 

In our psalm two enemies are named:

• First are those who cause violence and conflict in the city.

⁹ Baffle them, my Lord!
    Confuse their language
    because I see violence and conflict in the city.
¹⁰ Day and night they make their rounds on its walls,
    and evil and misery live inside it.
¹¹ Disaster lives inside it;
    oppression and fraud never leave the town square.

There is a breakdown in civility which leads to chaos in the city.  How contemporary this sounds!

• Second, the psalmist has been betrayed by a close friend.

¹² It’s not an enemy that is insulting me—
    I could handle that.
It’s not someone who hates me
    who is exalted over me—
    I could hide from them.
¹³ No. It’s you, my equal,
    my close companion, my good friend!
¹⁴ It was so pleasant when
    together we entered God’s house with the crowd.

²⁰ My friend attacked his allies,
    breaking his covenant.
²¹ Though his talk is smoother than butter,
        war is in his heart;
    though his words are more silky than oil,
        they are really drawn swords.

In anger, our psalmist prays:  ‘Let them go to hell’ (my paraphrase of vs.15).  He is seriously angry! 

But as he works through his anger, our psalmist reaches two understandings:

¹⁶ But I call out to God,
    and the Lord will rescue me.
¹⁷ At evening, morning, and midday
    I complain and moan
    so that God will hear my voice.
¹⁸ He saves me, unharmed, from my struggle,
    though there are many who are out to get me.

First, God ‘saves me unharmed.’   The Hebrew is shalom meaning in peace or well-being which is the goal of God’s intention to set things right.

Second, he throws his concerns back to God:

        ²² “Cast your burden on the Lord—
         he will support you!
        God will never let the righteous be shaken!”

When we understand that God sees and God cares, that we do not bear our burdens alone, we can let go of our fears, our anger, and our resentment and begin the process of healing that forgiveness brings.

In his wonderful book – The Greatest Teachings of Jesus – John

Killinger tells of a conversation he once had on an airplane.

I had my notepad and New Testament open on the tray before me, preparing a sermon.  The man next to me said, ‘Are you a reverend?  I acknowledged that I was.  I want to tell you something he said, and pointing to the NT said, ‘that book knows what it’s talking about.  I mean, about forgiving your enemies.’

It seems the man had been engaged to the daughter of his employer.  Then a new man, a smooth talker and snappy dresser, was taken into the firm, and soon had worked his way into the daughter’s affections.  When the daughter married the new man, he was promoted to manager over this man.

‘Was I mad,’ said the man.  ‘I was so consumed with anger that I quit my job.  I hated that man.  He had deprived me of everything I cared about.  If I ever wished anybody dead, it was him.

Years later, married and with a new firm, two new employees were hired.  One of them was his enemy.  The man’s old festering hatred broke loose spilling its poison everywhere.  It got so bad, he said, I thought I would either kill him or go crazy.

The worst part of it was that this man didn’t seem to mind that the roles were reversed and he was now working for me.  He was as pleasant and friendly as he could be.’

‘So what happened?’ Killinger asked.

‘Finally,’ he said, ‘it got so bad I went to my priest.  I told him I was either going to kill the man or go crazy.’  The priest said, ‘Do you remember my sermon last Sunday?’  I made some excuse because I hadn’t been in church.  ‘It was about Jesus on the cross.  As he was dying he looked down on the religious leaders who had insisted he die, and the soldiers who had crucified him, and Jesus prayed asking God to forgive them.’

The man continued, ‘It went on in my head like a light!  If Jesus could pray for those who killed him, then I could pray for this guy who had screwed up my life.  So I did.  It wasn’t easy at first, in fact maybe it was the hardest thing I ever did.  But I did it.  And you know what, we actually became friends.  Now our families get together once or twice a month.  We laugh and even talk about the old times when we first worked together.  Yes, that book really knows what it’s talking about.’

God will hear my voice.
¹⁸ He saves me, unharmed, from my struggle,
    though there are many who are out to get me.