24.5 Lord, You Are My Friend

(Psalm 55:13-23)

But it is you, my companion,
my colleague and close friend.
We had intimate talks with each other
and worshiped together in the Temple.
May my enemies die before their time;
may they go down alive into the world
of the dead!
Evil is in their homes and in their hearts.

But I call to the Lord God for help,
and he will save me.
Morning, noon and night
my complaints and groans go up to him,
and he will hear my voice.
He will bring me safely back
from the battles that I fight against
so many enemies.
God, who has ruled from eternity,
will hear me and defeat them;
for they refuse to change,
and they do not fear him.

My former companion attacked his friends;
he broke his promises.
His words were smoother than cream,
but there was hatred in his heart;
His words were as soothing as oil,
but they cut like sharp swords.

Leave your troubles with the Lord,
and he will defend you;
he never lets honest men be defeated.

But you, O God, will bring those murderers
and liars to their graves
before half their life is over.
As for me, I will trust in you.

24.4 The Lord Remains A Faithful Friend

(2 Timothy 4:16-18)

No one stood by me the first time I defended myself; all deserted me. May God not count it against them! But the Lord stayed with me and gave me strength, so that I was able to proclaim the full message for all the Gentiles to hear; and I was rescued from being sentenced to death. And the Lord will rescue me from all evil and take me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

24.3 Abandoned By Other Friends We Still Hope In the Lord Our Friend

(Job 19:14-19, 25)

My relatives and friends are gone.
Those who were guests in my house have forgotten me;
My servant girls treat me like a stranger and foreigner.
When I call a servant, he doesn’t answer –
even when I beg him to help me.
Children despise me and laugh when they see me.
My closest friends look at me with disgust;
Those I loved most have turned against me.

But I know there is someone in heaven
Who will come at last to my defense.

24.2 Comfort Is Suffering

(Job 2:11-13)

Three of Job’s friends were Eliphaz, from the city of Teman, Bildad, from the land of Shuah, and Zophar, from the land of Naamah. When they heard how much Job had been suffering, they decided to go and comfort him. While they were still a long way off they saw Job, but did not recognize him. When they did, they began to weep and wail, tearing their clothes in grief and throwing dust into the air and on their heads. Then they sat there on the ground with him for seven days and nights without saying a word, because they saw how much he was suffering.

24.1 Together Until Death

(Ruth 1:16-17)

But Ruth answered, “Don’t ask me to leave you! Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried. May the Lord’s worst punishment come upon me if I let anything but death separate me from you!”