Driving up Ngauranga Gorge, I sometimes see vehicles that have broken down partway up. There can be multiple reasons, but it is common to see vehicles that are carrying heavy loads which have failed. The burdens were too much to bear, and they would have to be shifted to another vehicle to complete the journey.
Life can be like that. We carry lots of burdens through life, due to the effects of sins on our relationship with God, each other, and the world. Sometimes it is too much to bear. But Psalm 55 encourages us to cast our burdens on God, rather than carry them ourselves. David’s life was overwhelmed by trouble, but he trusted God to save him. We can do the same.
The psalm begins with a passionate cry for help. Using four different verbs, David asks for God’s help, seeking him to “give ear to my prayer… hide not yourself… attend to me and answer me” (vv.1-2). David is pleading for mercy, restless from complaints against the actions of his enemies who “drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me” (v.3).
David’s heart is filled with anguish; he is terrified of death, and tackling feelings of fear and horror (vv.4-5). These feelings are so strong they threaten to overwhelm him.
So much so that it is tempting to run away. If only David had wings to fly away, then he would “lodge in the wilderness” finding shelter from the trouble that was like “the raging wind and tempest” (vv.6-8).
The home of much of that trouble is “the city”, probably Jerusalem, full of violence, strife, wickedness, trouble, ruin, oppression, and fraud (vv.9-11). Sounds familiar. David calls on God to destroy those causing all this destruction. While as pilgrims we seek the good of the city, ultimately we too wish to see wickedness removed.
But it was not only general wickedness he faced, but betrayal by “my companion, my familiar friend” (v.13). This makes the betrayal worse. An enemy could be understood (v.12), but he had spent time sharing counsel and worship together (v.14).
Against all these things, David prayed for God’s justice rather than personal vengeance. He prayed that “death would steal over them” and they would go to face judgement (“Sheol”; v.15). This was not because of their attacks against him per se, rather that “evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart” (v.15).
Unlike the evildoers, David called on God “and the LORD will save me” (v.16). He always had reason to hope. He could utter complaints any hour of the day, and God would hear his voice (v.17). God was still in control. He redeemed David’s “soul in safety, from the battle that I wage” despite his many foes (v.18).
God saw David’s circumstances, heard David’s cries, and would “give ear and humble them” because God is “he who is enthroned from of old” (v.19). God would eventually rescue him from those who do not fear God.
For David, betrayal was a presenting factor in the circumstances leading him to write. So he revisits the earlier discussion of a friend’s betrayal. He speaks of how his friend made promises but broke them (v.20). His friend had said one thing, but meant (and continued with) another (v.21).
Against this backdrop, David sought God’s strength. He encourages the reader to “cast your burdens on the LORD, and he will sustain you” (v.22). This is not immediate release, but sustainment until the time of their judgement (v.23). Those who do not fear God will be destroyed.
The betrayals of a friend, and the wickedness of Jerusalem in general, led astray by unrighteous people, were terrible burdens on David. They overwhelmed his emotions, causing him to want to run away to escape it all. Yet David did not flee except to God, who he trusted to save him.
When we face the same overwhelm and struggle from life’s burdens, we too can flee to God and cast our burdens upon him. God will not let us down or fail us, because he is in ultimate control. Through the Holy Spirit, we can feel God’s presence with us as we walk through the tempest. We might not be free of our troubles immediately, but we will be led safely through. Those who do wicked will one day be judged, if they do not repent and find forgiveness in the precious blood of Christ.
The burdens of the world are too much to bear, but we do not have to bear them ourselves. We do not have to face betrayals of friends or the wickedness and destruction of others in the world by ourselves. Instead, we can place these burdens on God, as we take up Christ’s yoke. His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. We will find rest for our souls there.
Life is full of chaos, and burdens that break us down. But God can carry them, and save us too.