“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 55:22 Mean?
David gives the most practical instruction in the Psalms: cast your burden on the LORD. The word "cast" (shalak) means to throw, to hurl — not to gently place. Not to carefully set down. To throw. Like getting rid of something heavy. You don't ease it off your back. You hurl it at God.
The word "burden" has a marginal note: "or, gift." The Hebrew (yehav) can mean what is given to you — your portion, your allotment, your assigned lot. The burden isn't random. It's what was given. And what was given to you, you give to God. The burden that was placed on your shoulders gets thrown at His feet.
"He shall sustain thee" — the word sustain (kul) means to bear, to support, to provide. God doesn't just take the burden. He sustains the person who carried it. The relief isn't only from the weight. It's support for the carrier. You're sustained — held up, fed, supported — by the God who received what you threw.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What burden are you still carrying that David says should be thrown at God?
- 2.Does the violence of the verb ('cast' — throw, hurl) change how aggressively you bring your problems to God?
- 3.How does God sustaining the person (not just taking the burden) change what casting produces?
- 4.What would it feel like to actually throw your heaviest burden — right now — and let God sustain you?
Devotional
Cast your burden on the LORD. Throw it. Hurl it. Get rid of it. And He'll sustain you.
The verb isn't gentle. David doesn't say "share your burden" or "discuss your burden with God" or "gradually transfer your burden." He says cast — shalak — throw it. The same word used for throwing something into a fire or flinging something off a cliff. The burden doesn't get a careful, measured transfer. It gets hurled.
The marginal note says the word for burden can also mean "what is given to you." Your assigned lot. Your portion. The thing that was placed on your back — not by accident, but by assignment. And the instruction is: throw that assignment at God. Not because it's meaningless. Because it's too heavy to carry alone.
"He shall sustain thee" — God does two things: He receives the burden AND sustains the thrower. You don't just get lighter. You get sustained. Held up. Fed. Supported. The relief from the weight is matched by the support for the person. God doesn't just take the package. He cares for the delivery person.
"He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved" — permanence. The sustaining isn't for one crisis. It's forever. The righteous person who casts their burden is a person who cannot be moved. Not because they're strong. Because they're sustained. The unmovability comes from the sustaining, not from the person's own stability.
Peter quotes this verse: "casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you" (1 Peter 5:7). The instruction carries across testaments. Throw it. All of it. Because He cares. For you.
What are you still carrying that was meant to be thrown?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
But thou, O God, shall bring them down,.... Ahithophel and his accomplices in the conspiracy against David, Judas and…
Cast thy burden upon the Lord - This may be regarded as an address of the psalmist to himself, or to his own soul - an…
In these verses,
I. David perseveres in his resolution to call upon God, being well assured that he should not seek him…
Conclusion. The Psalmist's exhortation to himself and everyone in like case, assuring himself and them that God will…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture