During the course of our lives, many of us have endured all kinds of pain. And though some pain is more intense or more prolonged than other pain, there is perhaps no pain like the pain of betrayal. When those whom we have loved and cared for, those whom we have trusted with our lives, have taken advantage of us and thrown us under the bus. They tried to destroy us or discredit us in some way, and didn’t value us at all.

The pain of betrayal can be so devastating at times that our thoughts and our emotions can just swirl around inside of us. We may go from hurt to hopelessness, or from grief to anger and then back to grief again. We find David in the midst of that kind of pain as we read Psalm 54.

He was in the midst of betrayal. Even though he had done nothing wrong, he was on the run from King Saul, who wanted to take David’s life. David was hiding from Saul in the hill country of Judah, just west of the Dead Sea in the region of the people of Ziph, who were from the same tribe as David, the tribe of Judah.

We read in 1 Samuel Chapters 23 and 26 that two times, the people of Ziph went to King Saul and told him where David was hiding. That was devastating to David. It was a hurtful betrayal that cut David to his heart, because these were men from the same tribe, from the same family.

The first thing David did was to cry out to the Lord in prayer. He asked to be delivered from the hands of these wicked men, to be rescued by the exceeding power of the name of the Lord, the name that is above every name. He asked God to execute judgement upon his enemies who were all around him, and to let the truth be known. His situation was urgent, because he was once again on the edge of disaster.

The psalmist pleads for the Lord to listen to his cries for help. David had nowhere to go except to God. Only He could see the danger that had come upon him, as he was being unjustly treated by these men and thrown under the bus.

Arrogant and disobedient men had risen up and taken a stand against David. Violent, bloodthirsty men sought his life. They had not set God before their eyes, so they do not seek what is good in His sight. Think about these things. Think about your situation, and think about the One to whom we belong.

We may look everywhere for help, but in the end, God is our only answer for safety. The Lord God is our helper. He is the One who supports and protects us, no one else. The Lord is the sustainer of our soul, so we lean on Him. The opposition of our enemies might be upsetting at times, but it is no match for the defense of our God. Nothing takes Him by surprise or overpowers Him. No one can resist against Him, so don’t give up. Don’t lose heart.

David found comfort in knowing that a day would come when God would recompense the evil of our foes and pay them back for the misery that they have caused us by their betrayal. The psalmist prays for the Lord to silence them and put an end to their wickedness against him. They have run after evil. Now let evil run after them and overtake them.

With all that was within him, the psalmist offered a sacrifice of praise to God. He surrendered his life to God for His glory. He vowed to never cease to give thanks to God’s holy name. He trusted that God is good, and all that He does is good.

He was confident that God would deliver him from his trouble, either by life or by death. By faith, David rested in Him. We’re told in Hebrews 11 that our faith gives substance to our hope. It makes us confident of the reality of what we do not yet see. So we live in hope, a living hope. We live by faith. We live in triumph in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.