Cast Your Burden

The title of Psalm 55 calls it a contemplation by David on stringed instruments. It is honest about pain: My heart is severely pained within me. The terrors of death have fallen on me. David's first wish is to escape. Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then I would fly away, and be at rest. He would hurry to a shelter from the stormy wind.

The deepest wound is betrayal. It was not an enemy who insulted him. But it was you, a man like me, my companion, and my familiar friend. They had shared sweet fellowship and walked in God's house together. This friend violated his covenant; his mouth was smooth as butter, but his heart was war. David asks God to bring judgment, leaving justice to God rather than taking it himself.

Instead of flying away, David calls on God evening, morning, and at noon, and he is confident God will hear. He turns to everyone who reads: Cast your burden on Yahweh and he will sustain you. In the New Testament, Peter echoes this when he tells believers to cast all their worries on God, because he cares for them (1 Peter 5:7). David ends simply: I will trust in you.