If an enemy were insulting me,
    I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
    I could hide.
13 But it is you, a man like myself,
    my companion, my close friend,
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
    at the house of God,
as we walked about
    among the worshipers.

15 Let death take my enemies by surprise;
    let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,
    for evil finds lodging among them.

16 As for me, I call to God,
    and the Lord saves me.
17 Evening, morning and noon
    I cry out in distress,
    and he hears my voice.
18 He rescues me unharmed
    from the battle waged against me,
    even though many oppose me.
19 God, who is enthroned from of old,
    who does not change—
he will hear them and humble them,
    because they have no fear of God.

20 My companion attacks his friends;
    he violates his covenant.
21 His talk is smooth as butter,
    yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
    yet they are drawn swords.

22 Cast your cares on the Lord
    and he will sustain you;
he will never let
    the righteous be shaken.
23 But you, God, will bring down the wicked
    into the pit of decay;
the bloodthirsty and deceitful
    will not live out half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you. (NIV)

David’s assertion in verse 22 (one of the most well-known statements in the Bible) was forged in the fires of hot, bitter personal grief. As we saw when we looked at the first part of this psalm, it may well belong to the time of Absalom’s rebellion and Ahithophel’s treachery. But whatever anyone else did; however they might behave, David’s personal stance was one of trust in the Lord. He remained a man of prayer. In fact he gave himself to intensive prayer (16,17)

I guess we have all known the person (people?) who on the outside seemed one thing, but on the inside were another (21). God forgive us, maybe, at times, we have been that person. We can all be capable of hypocrisy.

Few things hurt more than the disloyalty of friends – especially when we have done them no harm. If there’s something we can apologise for, and put right, all well and good. But when there is nothing we can put our finger on that’s another matter altogether.

‘Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer.

In His arms He’ll take and shield thee. Thou wilt find a solace there.’

Such was David’s experience, and he encourages us, by example, to look up in all circumstances.

Warren Wiersbe writes: ‘David wanted wings like a dove so he could fly away from the storm. What he really needed were wings like an eagle so he could fly above the storm (Isa.40:31)…You cannot fly beyond the storm because you will find problems everywhere, but you can fly above the storm. God permits the burdens you face today to help you ”win your wings.” ‘