Psalm 55:22 - Cast Thy Burden Upon The LORD, And He Shall Sustain Thee.
Psalm 55:22 - Cast Thy Burden Upon The LORD, And He Shall
Sustain Thee.
Psalm 55:22 (KJV) Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall
sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 55:22 (NIV) Cast your cares on the LORD and he will
sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
Psalm 55:22 contains the major lesson of the psalms. [New Bible
Companion]
Feeling down? Then praise God! That's the attitude of even the
saddest psalms, which are called "laments." These laments [such as
Psalms 54 - 61) show individuals and the nation of Israel praying in
times of crisis. Of all the types of psalms, the lament is most
common. [Youth SB]
For Troubled Times - Psalms 50-56; Seven psalms of David teach
us how to respond when we bring trouble on ourselves, and when
others betray us. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
While most psalms speak of life's problems, Psalm 55 highlights
the betrayal by a most trusted and intimate friend (55:12-13) as the
cause of pain. [New Bible Companion]
This desperate call to God came in extreme circumstances which
correspond to the period of Absalom's rebellion in David's life. The close
friend who betrayed the psalmist could well be Ahithophel (2 Sa
17:1-4). David called on the Lord to "confound their speech'' (v 9) as at
Babel. This is, indeed, what happened to the counsel of Ahithophel (2
Sa 17:5-14)... Escape and flight may seem the only alternative when
as God's people we live as the minority in a hostile environment.
We find even our closest friends bowing to pressure and turning
against us. Constant prayer and faith are the only course of action
available. God will never turn against His faithful people. [Disciple SB]
We must commit our ways and works to the Lord; let him do as
seemeth him good, and let us be satisfied. To cast our burden upon God,
is to rest upon his providence and promise. And if we do so, he
will carry us in the arms of his power, as a nurse carries a child;
and will strengthen our spirits by his Spirit, so that they shall
sustain the trial. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved; to be
so shaken by any troubles, as to quit their duty to God, or their
comfort in him. He will not suffer them to be utterly cast down.
[Matthew Henry Commentary]
In all their trials and temptations he will sustain them, and
will ultimately bring them off in triumph. The meaning here cannot be
that the righteous shall never be "moved" in the sense that their
circumstances will not be changed; or that none of their plans will fail; or
that they will never be disappointed; or that their minds will never
in any sense be discomposed; but that whatever trials may come upon
them, they will be "ultimately" safe. (Barnes' Notes)
Care, even though exercised upon legitimate objects, if carried
to excess, has in it the nature of sin. The precept to avoid
anxious care is earnestly inculcated by our Saviour, again and again; it
is reiterated by the apostles; and it is one which cannot be
neglected without involving transgression: for the very essence of anxious
care is the imagining that we are wiser than God, and the thrusting
ourselves into his place to do for him that which he has undertaken to do
for us. We attempt to think of that which we fancy he will forget;
we labour to take upon ourselves our weary burden, as if he were
unable or unwilling to take it for us. Now this disobedience to his
plain precept, this unbelief in his Word, this presumption in
intruding upon his province, is all sinful. Yet more than this, anxious
care often leads to acts of sin. He who cannot calmly leave his
affairs in God's hand, but will carry his own burden, is very likely to
be tempted to use wrong means to help himself. This sin leads to a
forsaking of God as our counsellor, and resorting instead to human wisdom.
This is going to the "broken cistern" instead of to the "fountain;" a
sin which was laid against Israel of old. Anxiety makes us doubt
God's lovingkindness, and thus our love to him grows cold; we feel
mistrust, and thus grieve the Spirit of God, so that our prayers become
hindered, our consistent example marred, and our life one of self-seeking.
Thus want of confidence in God leads us to wander far from him; but
if through simple faith in his promise, we cast each burden as it
comes upon him, and are "careful for nothing" because he undertakes to
care for us, it will keep us close to him, and strengthen us against
much temptation. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is
stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee." Morning and Evening by
Charles H. Spurgeon
We must distinguish between the burden-bearing that is right
and the burden-bearing that is wrong. We ought never to bear the
burden of sin or of doubt, but there are burdens placed on us by God
which He does not intend to lift off, He wants us to roll them back on
Him. "Cast that He hath given thee upon the Lord." (R.V. marg.) If we
undertake work for God and get out of touch with Him, the sense of
responsibility will be overwhelmingly crushing; but if we roll back on God that
which He has put upon us, He takes away the sense of responsibility by
bringing in the realization of Himself.
Many workers have gone out with high courage and fine
impulses, but with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, and before
long they are crushed. They do not know what to do with the burden,
it produces weariness, and people say--'What an embittered end to
such a beginning!'
"Roll thy burden upon the Lord"--you have been bearing it all;
deliberately put one end on the shoulders of God. "The government shall be
upon His shoulder." Commit to God "that He hath given thee"; not
fling it off, but put it over on to Him and yourself with it, and the
burden is lightened by the sense of companionship. Never dissociate
yourself from the burden. My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
There are times when, like the psalmist, we feel pursued by
enemies or surrounded by difficulties. Our enemy may be financial
trouble, ill health, or a person who misjudges or opposes us so that our
"heart is in anguish" (v. 4). At that point we may be tempted to run
away, retreat, or give up. But the Lord offers us something better. In
this psalm, trials and problems cause us to cry out to him. Someone
once said, "If you are swept off your feet, it's time to get on your
knees." God encourages us to turn to him and call on him in our distress
so that he can rescue us and keep us safe in the midst of the
trouble. He may not immediately take us out of the situation, but he will
guide us through the circumstances. He gives us a wonderful promise:
If we give our burdens to him, he will take care of us. [Praying
Through The Bible By Fuller re Psa. 55:22]
Life is hard. We come face-to-face with some pretty tough stuff
as we journey through the years - difficult relationships,
sickness, stress, the death of a loved one - things that leave us feeling
weak and hopeless. We don't need to bear these burdens alone. God
wants us to give our worries and cares to Him (Matthew 11:28). He'll
give us just the strength we need to make it through. [The 365 Daily
Promise Bible By Barbour re Psa.55:22]
Christ specified the things that are dangerous to the soul. As
recorded by Mark He mentions the cares of this world, the deceitfulness
of riches, and the lusts of other things. Luke specifies the cares,
riches, and pleasures of this life. These are what choke the word, the
growing spiritual seed. The soul ceases to draw nourishment from Christ,
and spirituality dies.... Christ cannot carry their burden, because
they do not cast it upon Him. Therefore the cares of life, which
should drive them to the Saviour for help and comfort, separate them
from Him.... COL51,2
Let the soul be drawn out and upward, that God may grant us a
breath of the heavenly atmosphere. We may keep so near to God that in
every unexpected trial our thoughts will turn to Him as naturally as
the flower turns to the sun... Keep your wants, your joys, your
sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden Him;
you cannot weary Him.... Take to Him everything that perplexes the
mind. Nothing is too great for Him to bear, for He holds up worlds, He
rules over all the affairs of the universe.... There is no chapter in
our experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too
difficult for Him to unravel. SC99-101
When we are tempted to look on the dark side, let us open the
windows of the soul heavenward, that the bright beams of the Sun of
Righteousness may shine in. Let us draw near to God. He has promised that as
we do this He will draw near to us and lift up for us a standard
against the enemy. HP120
"I will trust in thee, in thy providence, and power, and mercy,
and not in my own prudence, strength, or merit; (Matthew Henry's
Commentary)
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