Psalm 55

Trouble can be known about from afar, but it can also be so close that it is ready to drop right on your head. Think of the trouble that Jesus faced from one of his closest friends, Judas, the treasurer for the disciples, and the betrayer of the Lord. At the end of His ministry, the trouble that Jesus faced was very close to Him.

The Lord cried out to His Father, His God, in the Garden of Gethsemane. Yet He resigned His heart to His Father's will, the covenant that would be secured by His own death. If there had been some way to fly away from the cross without violating His Father's will, that way would have been found. There was no other way.

There will be consequences for evil oppressors who destroy the innocent. If it were not for the perfect faithfulness of Jesus, an atoning sacrifice could never have been found that would take away our guilt. Even at His death there were words of forgiveness for us. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” That was a very gracious assessment. Did they really not know what they were doing? That must be, since He said it. What if we think we know what we are doing and we still do it? Maybe we don't really know what we are doing. The Lord has accomplished the redemption of all who draw near to Him in faith. All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Yet there will be trouble for proud enemies who reject His kind compassion. But have mercy on me, O Lord. How will I stand? I walked away from you for so many years. I thought I knew what I was doing. And my love and obedience since my return to your worship have been far from what you require. O the love of the cross that saves me! I cling to it. May that love save many people even today. For the days are evil, and many seem to be caught up in confusion that masquerades as clarity and superiority.

When you have found the love of Christ, and you draw near to Him in worship, nothing hurts like the betrayal of a close friend, a brother, a wife, a child, someone who you used to be with in the close bonds of true religious affections. Can such people fall away and be lost forever? Can the retributive justice that they deserve be the last word for them? Why then does Jesus cry out to His Father for their forgiveness among His final words? Won't the love of the cross find them, though they were overtaken by the dark deception of this present hour?

The Lord heard the cries of His Son. The resurrection is proof of something. What does it say? It says that a new era has come beyond the day of the Law. It says that there is a hope of new life, and that if we pursue Jesus, we will find that new life with Him, for He is alive.

The evil of Judas was base. But what have I done? What have others done who I plead for even now? There is a man where it can be said of him, “It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” How can I distinguish between a Peter and a Judas?

The Lord knows. He knows what I do not know. “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.” I seem to be all over the place. Yet in His tender mercies, I will not be moved. I will be kept by His love. The final words of the psalm are simple and true. They cut through things that bother my soul, things that are probably not for me to say. They are the song of a resting heart: “I will trust in you.” So be it. I will trust in you.