Psalm 55
(psalm by David)
Betrayed by a Friend

Listen, God, to my prayer! Don't reject my request. Please listen and help me. My thoughts are troubled, and I keep groaning because my loud enemies shout and attack. They treat me terribly and hold angry grudges. My heart is racing fast, and I am afraid of dying. I am trembling with fear, completely terrified.

I wish I had wings like a dove, so I could fly far away and be at peace. I would go and live in some distant desert. I would quickly find shelter from howling winds and raging storms.

Confuse my enemies, Lord! Upset their plans. Cruelty and violence are all I see in the city, and they are like guards on patrol day and night. The city is full of trouble, evil, and corruption. Troublemakers and liars freely roam the streets.

My enemies are not the ones who sneer and make fun. I could put up with that or even hide from them. But it was my closest friend, the one I trusted most. We enjoyed being together, and we went with others to your house, our God.

All who hate me are controlled by the power of evil. Sentence them to death and send them down alive to the world of the dead.

I ask for your help, LORD God, and you will keep me safe. Morning, noon, and night you hear my concerns and my complaints. I am attacked from all sides, but you will rescue me unharmed by the battle. You have always ruled, and you will hear me. You will defeat my enemies because they won't turn and worship you.

My friend turned against me and broke his promise. His words were smoother than butter, and softer than olive oil. But hatred filled his heart, and he was ready to attack with a sword.

Our LORD, we belong to you. We tell you what worries us, and you won't let us fall. But what about those people who are cruel and brutal? You will throw them down into the deepest pit long before their time. I trust you, LORD!

Psalm 62:1-8
(A psalm by David for Jeduthun)
God Is Powerful and Kind

Only God can save me, and I calmly wait for him. God alone is the mighty rock that keeps me safe and the fortress where I am secure.

I feel like a shaky fence or a sagging wall. How long will all of you attack and assault me? You want to bring me down from my place of honor. You love to tell lies, and when your words are kind, hatred hides in your heart. Only God gives inward peace, and I depend on him. God alone is the mighty rock that keeps me safe, and he is the fortress where I feel secure. God saves me and honors me. He is that mighty rock where I find safety.

Trust God, my friends, and always tell him each one of your concerns. God is our place of safety.

Jeremiah 20:7-18
Jeremiah Complains to the LORD

You tricked me, LORD, and I was really fooled. You are stronger than I am, and you have defeated me. People never stop sneering and insulting me. You have let me announce only destruction and death. Your message has brought me nothing but insults and trouble.

Sometimes I tell myself not to think about you, LORD, or even mention your name. But your message burns in my heart and bones, and I cannot keep silent. I heard the crowds whisper, "Everyone is afraid.

Now's our chance to accuse Jeremiah!" All of my so-called friends are just waiting for me to make a mistake. They say, "Maybe Jeremiah can be tricked. Then we can overpower him and get even at last."

But you, LORD, are a mighty soldier, standing at my side. Those troublemakers will fall down and fail-- terribly embarrassed, forever ashamed. LORD All-Powerful, you test those who do right, and you know every heart and mind. I have told you my complaints, so let me watch you take revenge on my enemies.

I sing praises to you, LORD. You rescue the oppressed from the wicked. Put a curse on the day I was born! Don't bless my mother. Put a curse on the man who told my father, "Good news! You have a son."

May that man be like the towns you destroyed without pity. Let him hear shouts of alarm in the morning and battle cries at noon. He deserves to die for not killing me before I was born. Then my mother's body would have been my grave.  Why did I have to be born? Was it just to suffer and die in shame?