deliverance from “frenemies”.

God will give ear and humble them,

he who is enthroned from of old, Selah

because they do not change

and do not fear God.

Psalm 55:19

David’s prayer for deliverance from “frenemies” is accompanied by a firm trust in God’s refining justice. What is a “frenemy”? It is a friend who has turned against you, which is the pain David gave to God in this psalm (see Psalm 55:13). David trusts that those who work against God and His people, who betray even close friendships, do so to their own downfall. They seek the ultimate harm of God’s people and plan, but ultimately they themselves will find that God will cast them into destruction. They destroyed a relationship. God will destroy them. David trusts God, even as he waits for God’s justice to have its effect.

Why does God bring justice against those who oppose His rule? Why would He humble those who intimately betray? The two reasons stated in this verse are powerful: 1) They do not change, that is, they refuse to humble themselves and repent of their sin. These our lives diabolically dedicated to evil and pain. They have no intention, no desire, no sense of the holy, and in their twisted deception of themselves, will not turn to God. 2) They do not fear God. They have been captivated in self-fulfillment to such a degree that they will stomp on their closest relationships to get what they want. They worship the false and profane a holy God by what they selfishly desire to achieve. For those who will not repent and will not bend the knee and humble the heart before God, His judgment will fall. This is an inescapable reality.

Meanwhile, the rewards for God’s righteous ones are renewing. He hears the cry of the one who is harassed by God-haters who are former friends (Psalm 55:16-17). God safely redeems those under human oppression when they call out (Psalm 55:18). He keeps His righteous people in place, even as all the world capitalizes on betrayals to try to eliminate them (Psalm 55:22). 

In the end those who oppose God and seek the destruction of His people and plans do not live to see half their days (Psalm 55:23). The heritage received and passed on for God’s people of faith is protection, trust, security, and most importantly, redemption. We are saved! David’s observations concerning even the most emotionally intimate of oppressions all find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus. Jesus is our Savior, Defender, Judge, Redeemer, and Friend!