"Cast your care upon the LORD,
who will give you support.
He will never allow
the righteous to stumble." (Psalm 55: 22)
How do we cast our burden on the Lord?
"Thy burden, or what thy God lays upon thee, lay thou it upon the Lord. His wisdom casts it on thee, it is thy wisdom to cast it on him. He cast thy lot for thee, cast thy lot on him. He gives thee thy portion of suffering, accept it with cheerful resignation, and then take it back to him by thine assured confidence .
He shall sustain thee. Thy bread shall be given thee, thy waters shall be sure. Abundant nourishment shall fit thee to bear all thy labors and trials. As thy days so shall thy strength be .
He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. He may move like the boughs of a tree in the tempest, but he shall never be moved like a tree torn up by the roots. He stands firm who stands in God. Many would destroy the saints, but God has not suffered it, and never will. Like pillars, the godly stand immovable, to the glory of the Great Architect.
(Charles Spurgeon)
"Be aware that holiness means the eager acceptance of every trial sent you by God. This is vastly superior to the enjoyment of all extraordinary experiences. It is the philosopher's stone which changes into gold all your worries, all your troubles, all your sufferings. Realize this and how happy you would be!
(Jean-Pierre de Caussade, S.J.)
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, etc. The best way to ease thyself is to lay thy load upon God; he will take it up and also carry thee. There is many a man would be willing to go of himself if another would but carry his burden for him; but if you throw your burden upon God he will not only carry that, but will also carry you. He cares not how much weight a Christian layeth on his back; a true Israelite may ease himself, and best please his God at once. God delights not to see tears in thine eyes, or paleness in thy countenance; thy groans and sighs make no music in his ears. He had rather that thou wouldst free thyself of thy burden by casting it upon him, that he might rejoice in thy joy and comfort. Now, true confidence in God, and resting upon God, will both free thee of thy burden and also bring in the strength of God to sustain and bear thee up from falling.
Wouldst thou, therefore, own God as thy strength, and fetch strength from God to thy soul? Rest upon God, roll thyself upon him, and that
1. In time of greatest weakness
2. In time of greatest service
3. In times of greatest trials.
(Samuel Blackerby,1674)
"Cast thy burden upon him in the same way that the ship in a storm casts her burden on the anchor, which anchor holds on to its sure fixing place. And to my mind, that is the more beautiful sense of the two--a sense which once entered into, may be followed out in these glorious verses: -- And I see the good ship riding, all in a perilous road; The low reef booming on her lee; the swell of ocean poured Sea after sea, from stem to stern; the mainmast by the board; The bulwarks down; the rudder gone; the boats stove by the chains. But courage still, brave mariners, the ANCHOR yet remains: And he will flinch--no, never an inch--until ye pitch sky high; Then he moves his head, as if he said, "Fear nought; for here am I!"
(J. M. Neale's Commentary)
"Here we see the believer has--
1. A burden to try him .
2. A duty to engage him, "Cast thy burden, "etc .
3. A promise to encourage him, "He shall sustain, "etc.
(Ebenezer Temple,1850)
"Thy burden--literally, "gift," what is assigned you.
he shall sustain--literally, "supply food," and so all need ( Psalms 37:25 , Matthew 6:11 ).
to be moved--from the secure position of His favor (compare Psalms 10:6 ).
(Commentary Critical and Explanatory (CCE)
"Cast thy burden upon the Lord
These are either the words of the Holy Ghost to David, according to Jarchi; or of David to his own soul in distress, and may be directed to any good man in like circumstances. The word rendered "burden" signifies a gift and so the words are translated by many, "cast thy gift upon the Lord"; what he has given in a way of providence and of grace, acknowledge him to be the author of it; pray for a continuance of mercies, and for fresh supplies, and expect them; and also what he gives in a way of trial, the cross, with all afflictions and troubles: which sense seems most agreeable to the context; and these may be said to be "the gift" of God, as the cup of sorrow Christ drank of is said to be "given" him by his Father, ( John 18:11 ) . These are given by the Lord to bring his people to a sense of sin, and acknowledgment of it; to humble them for it, and cause them to return from it; and to try their graces: and then do they cast them upon him, when they acknowledge them as coming from him; wait the removal of them in his time; desire a sanctified use of them, and expect deliverance from them by him. Or the sense is, whatever thou desirest should be given thee by the Lord, cast it on him; that is, leave it with him to do as he pleases, who works all things after the counsel of his own will. The Targum renders it,
``cast thy hope upon the Lord;''
as an anchor on a good bottom, to which hope is compared, ( Hebrews 6:19 ) . This is done when persons make the Lord the object of their hope, and expect all from him they hope to enjoy here and hereafter. The Septuagint version is, "cast thy care upon the Lord"; of thy body, and all the temporal concerns of thy family, and everything relating thereunto; and of thy soul, and its everlasting welfare and salvation; see ( 1 Peter 5:7 ) . But Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi, interpret the word by (Kavm) , "thy burden", which is learnt from the use of it in the Arabic language. The Rabbins did not know the meaning of the word, till one of them heard an Arabian merchant say F7,
``take up (Kybhy) , "thy burden", and cast it upon the camels.''
The burden here meant is either the burden of afflictions, which is sometimes very heavy; see ( Job 6:23 ) ( 23:2 ) ; no affliction is joyous, but grievous; but some are heavier in their own kind and nature than others, and become so through the multiplicity of them, as in the case of Job; or through the long continuance of them, and especially when attended with the hidings of God's face, or with the temptations of Satan: or else the burden of sin and corruption, which is an heavy burden, and a very disagreeable one; under which the saints groan, and by which they are hindered in running their Christian race, and which they are like to carry with them to their graves; their only relief under it is to look to Christ, who has borne it and took it away; which may be meant by casting it on the Lord:
and he shall sustain thee;
in being, both natural and spiritual; and supply with all things necessary both to the temporal and spiritual life, and support under all trials and difficulties;
he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved;
to be shaken and stagger so as to fall, especially totally and finally; for the words may be rendered, "he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved forever" F8; or so to be moved by their afflictions as to desert the cause in which they are engaged; nor shall they ever be moved by men or devils, or anything whatever, from their spiritual estate, in which they are by grace; nor from the love of God and covenant of grace; nor out of the hands of Christ; nor from their state of justification, adoption, and sanctification.
(John Gills Exposition)
"(v. 22): "Cast thy burden upon the Lord,’’ whoever thou art that art burdened, and whatever the burden is. "Cast thy gift upon the Lord’’ (so some read it); "whatever blessings God has bestowed upon thee to enjoy commit them all to his custody, and particularly commit the keeping of thy soul to him.’’ Or, "Whatever it is that thou desirest God should give thee, leave it to him to give it to thee in his own way and time. Cast thy care upon the Lord,’’ so the Septuagint, to which the apostle refers, 1 Pt. 5:7 . Care is a burden; it makes the heart stoop (Prov. 12:25 ); we must cast it upon God by faith and prayer, commit our way and works to him; let him do as seemed him good, and we will be satisfied. To cast our burden upon God is to stay ourselves on his providence and promise, and to be very easy in the assurance that all shall work for good. If we do so, it is promised, 1. That he will sustain us, support and supply us, will himself carry us in the arms of his power, as the nurse carries the sucking-child, will strengthen our spirits so by his Spirit as that they shall sustain the infirmity. He has not promised to free us immediately from that trouble which gives rise to our cares and fears; but he will provide that we be not tempted above what we are able, and that we shall be able according as we are tempted. 2. That he will never suffer the righteous to be moved, to be so shaken by any troubles as to quit either their duty to God or their comfort in him. However, he will not suffer them to be moved for ever (as some read it); though they fall, they shall not be utterly cast down."
(Matthew Henry Commentary)
