Echoing similar thoughts to Psalm 41 and regardless of the specific context in David’s mind, this psalm best fits the betrayal of Ahitophel, David’s trusted adviser, during Absalom’s Revolt. Even in this, we should not read Western cultural meaning back into this song. David is not whining about some mere personal misfortune or political upset. He was always willing to surrender his throne at God’s command, and was fully aware when certain situations were the result of his own sin. Such had no bearing on the nature of this complaint.
Given the broader context of what we know of Ahitophel, we could suggest he was playing David for a sucker the whole time. He pretended to be a man after the king’s own heart, but it seems likely he was secretly advising Absalom, too. The moral implication is not that Ahitophel merely hedged his bets, but David makes him out the kind of man who preyed on him by deceit, doing his best to get David to spill his guts. Thus, few men could better estimate what David might do.
The opening is a grandly eloquent protocol of calling upon one’s feudal lord. While it was common enough for hucksters in the Ancient Near East to pour it on thick for trifles, they were typically obvious to anyone. There is nothing fake or routine here. Under the Lord’s jurisdiction, one is besieging another unjustly, and only the sovereign can understand the heart of the matter well enough to act.
David asks if the Lord would rather get him out of the way for awhile. He’s quite willing to leave behind everything and go back to his simple life on the run during the reign of Saul. When he asks God to frustrate the evil plot against him, this was consistent with what is recorded in David’s prayer regarding Ahitophel’s betrayal in 2 Samuel 15:31. He notes the violence in Jerusalem that followed, a vengeful and senseless slaughter that no man could justify before a living God.
Then he describes the alleged violator. God was a witness; all of this took place in the Presence of God Almighty, David reminds his Lord. Do not such people belong to Hell in the first place? So David requests God render them to the domain of Satan, the Eternal Jailer. But David insists that he will trust in God, not human talents or political maneuvering. God had never failed him in all his life. David lies prostrate before God, but men like Ahitophel never reverenced Him in the first place.
Then David lays out the details of his case against the traitor. Ahitophel enticed him to vulnerability, acting as a friend David willingly embraced and trusted. What a contrast to Jehovah! Don’t trust in men, but save your heart for God. He alone knows what is just and how to discern the hearts of men.
