Taught a few weeks ago at a Wednesday night prayer meeting of church.

Psalm 55:22: Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

When we meet for prayer, we bring all our needs and burdens and cast them upon the Lord. 1 Peter 5:8 promises a load of burdens on us all, for the devil is, as a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour. Burdens came into the world because of sin. Yet one verse before, we learn that we can cast all our care upon God, for he cares for us. This is the answer to satan's attacks, and to our burdens.

We see a few things in Psalm 55:22:

1. Cast thy burden... The Hebrew word means "throw out, down, or away; hurl, pluck, throw." It's a call to action! Don't ignore your burden, and don't try to hold it by your own strength. Get rid of it, and throw it to the Lord! When you cast it away, it's not your prOBlem any more, and it's not up to you to find the solution. Let the Lord figure it out--if anything happens, the Lord will have to be the one to do it.

2. ...thy burden... David had a great burden, if you read earlier in this Psalm:

To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David. Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise; Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
(Psalm 55:1-8)

For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. (Psalm 55:12-13)

PrOBably this was Absalom's rebellion, with David's equal Ahithophel also against him. David's family and friends were against him, and David was at the place in his life where he wanted to just curl up in a ball and die. His burden was so great that he couldn't deal with it--it was crushing him, and he would have loved to escape and hide somewhere where no one would ever see him again. Do we ever feel like that?

This burden was caused by David's sin. 2 Samuel 12:9-12 promises David's family would turn against him. David's burden was a punishment from God, yet David knew to run to God for help--what faith! Are their burdens in your life caused by sin? Even if they are, you need to cast them upon the Lord for help.

Burden: "That which is borne with labor or difficulty; that which is grievous, wearisome or oppressive; a birth."
Everyone has spiritual burdens--for self, and for others. People have physical burdens--cancer, disease, pain, etc. No matter the burden, the Lord can take it--see Matthew 11:28-30.

3. ...upon the LORD... NOBody else can better take your burden--not a husband, a wife, a friend, or a pastor. We are called to bear one another's burdens, but ultimately, all our trust should be on God. Our hearts' comfort should not be because our friend is doing something about our prOBlem, or because a doctor is looking after us, but primarily, because the God of heaven is on our side, working continually for our good. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. (Psalm 118:8-9)

4. ...and he shall sustain thee. With anyone else, it would say "might." With God, it's "shall" or "will." David had no doubt that God would take care of him. Sustain: "to hold from underneath; endure without failing; maintain; keep alive." The Hebrew word also means "receive." This word is in the Bible 3 other times, including 1 Kings 17:9 and Nehemiah 9:21. If God could rain down manna from heaven, and sustain Elijah many days with a widow woman's last few scraps, He can surely sustain us and meet our needs--and if you cast your burden upon Him, He will. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

5. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Give God your burdens. Every day, cast your care upon Him. Pray to Him. Have the boldness of David, that God will never allow you to be moved. This is only true for the righteous. You must follow God each day, and live being filled with the Spirit. Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. (Psalm 119:165)

Furthermore, you must first have the imputed righteousness of God:
And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. (Jeremiah 23:4-6)

David's righteousness came not from himself--he was a murderer, liar, and adulterer. He coveted another man's wife, and the New Testament tells us covetousness is idolatry. His righteousness came from his Son--the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Called Jehovah Tzidkenu--God Himself--Jesus Christ is our righteousness. Cast your burden of sin on Jesus, and He will be your righteousness before God, for only He was truly righteous in all His life. In Pilgrim's Progress, Christian lost his burden of sin at the cross: "...as Christian came up with the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more." And so the Lord receives us to himself, and sustains us, most of all when he takes our great burden of sin. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)