Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 55:22

"Cast thy burden upon Jehovah, and he will sustain thee: He will never suffer the righteous to be moved." — Psalms 55:22 (ASV)

Cast thy burden upon the Lord—This may be regarded as an address of the psalmist to himself, or to his own soul—an exhortation to himself to roll all his care upon the Lord, and to be calm. It is expressed, however, in so general language, that it may be applicable to all persons in similar circumstances. Compare Matthew 11:28-29; Philippians 4:6–7; 1 Peter 5:7.

The Margin here is, “gift.” The literal rendering would be, “Cast upon Jehovah what He has given (or laid upon) you; that is, your lot” (Gesenius, Lexicon).

The phrase, He gives you, here means what He appoints for you; what He allots to you as your portion; what, in the great distribution of things in His world, He has assigned to you to be done or to be borne. Cast it all on Him.

Receive the allotment as coming from Him; as what He has, in His infinite wisdom, assigned to you as your portion in this life; as what He has judged it to be best that you should do or bear; as your part of toil, or trouble, or sacrifice, in carrying out His great arrangements in the world. All that is to be borne or to be done in this world He has divided up among people, giving or assigning to each one what He thought best suited to his ability, his circumstances, his position in life—what he (the person) could do or bear best—and what, therefore, would most conduce to the great end in view.

That portion thus assigned to us, we are directed to cast upon the Lord; that is, we are to look to Him to enable us to do or to bear it. As it is His appointment, we should receive it, and submit to it, without complaining; as it is His appointment, we may feel assured that no more has been laid upon us than is commensurate with our ability, our condition, our usefulness, our salvation. We have not to rearrange what has been thus appointed, or to adjust it anew, but to do all, and endure all that He has ordained, leaning on His arm.

And He shall sustain thee—He will make you sufficient for it. The word literally means “to measure;” then to hold or contain, as a vessel or measure; and then, to hold up or sustain by a sufficiency of strength or nourishment, as life is sustained. Genesis 45:11; Genesis 47:12; Genesis 50:21; 1 Kings 4:7; 1 Kings 17:4. Here it means that God would give such a measure of strength and grace as would be adapted to the duty or the trial; or such as would be sufficient to bear us up under it. Compare the notes at 2 Corinthians 12:9.

He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved—Literally, “He will not give moving forever to the righteous.” That is, He will not so appoint, arrange, or permit things to occur, that the righteous shall be ultimately and permanently removed from their steadfastness and their hope; He will not suffer them to fall away and perish. In all their trials and temptations He will sustain them, and will ultimately bring them off in triumph. The meaning here cannot be that the righteous shall never be moved in the sense that their circumstances will not be changed; or that none of their plans will fail; or that they will never be disappointed; or that their minds will never in any sense be discomposed; but that whatever trials may come upon them, they will be ultimately safe. Compare Psalms 37:24.