Psalm 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved
I think most men have thought about what they would do if a threat suddenly presented itself in their home, place of work, or wherever they were. Most young men dream of being a hero, protecting the things precious to them. I think about King David. David was a warrior from his youth, and he was a man who knew how to protect the people who were important to him. Today, in an active shooter situation I think the basic rule is run, hide, fight. But what do you do when the threat is inside the house. What do you do if the threat is from a friend? Sometimes your friend is the enemy. What do you do when your friend is the enemy?
Let me explain what I mean by that. In Psalm 55:1 David says “Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.” In the next verse he says, “Attend unto me, and hear me.” He has a complaint, a burden, a problem, and it is because, “the voice of the enemy.” David knew about run, hide, and fight. He had done all those things. He had run from Saul, hidden from Saul, and fought many an enemy, but he does something different here. He doesn’t run, hide, or fight, and there is a reason for that.
In verse 8 David says, “I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.” In verse 6 David says that if he had wings like a dove, he would run and hide from his problems, but David found himself in a situation where he could not run. He said in verse 12 that if his problem was an enemy, “then I would have hid myself.” But it is not something from which he could run or hide. Verse 13 says, “But it was thou a man mine equal, and my guide, and mine acquaintance.”
He goes on in verse 14, “We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.” David’s “friend” was someone who had been a friend or thought of as a friend, but he turned out to be an enemy. Sometimes you cannot hide or run. The good news is God will not hide. In verse 1 David is praying to God, “Hide not thyself from my supplication.” He is saying, “I cannot hide from my problems, so, God, please do not hide from me.” His enemy was the friend. No one can hurt you like those you love or trust.
If this were a classic enemy, David would have known what to do, but there are many stories in which that was not the case. This enemy was a friend, and this friend was smug. In verse 19 he says, “Because they gave no changes, therefore they fear not God.” Everything had been going along just fine for them. There were no changes in their lives, therefore they did not see their need of God, and therefore they were the enemies of David. Psalm 73 speaks of the wicked. Verse 6 says “Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.” Why the violence and wickedness? It is because they have it so easy. They don’t see their need of God and they have time to make enemies of people who should be friends.
In contrast to those who never have a change, David asks God’s help that he would never be moved. That is instructive to us. In other words, there is a vast difference between my changing fortunes and my immutable, unchanging God.
So, this enemy was a friend, this enemy was smug, this enemy was treacherous. That is the bottom line. Verse 21 says, “The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.” II Samuel 20:10 speaks of Joab who murdered Amasa, and it says that his victim took no heed to the sword that was in his hand. Joab had smooth words, but treachery was in his heart.
Treachery is the context of two or three of these psalms is succession. The context of Psalm 52 is when Doeg told Saul about David’s going into hiding. The context in Psalm 54 is when the Ziphims treacherously turned David over to his enemy. David was well acquainted with treachery, not just some classic enemy, but treachery from within, the kind of treachery that is hurtful because it comes from someone you trust or love. I think of Joab, Absalom, Ahithophel, and Doeg, and the list could go on.
The question becomes, “What do you do when your friend is the enemy?” That may be confusing. We should not look at people as enemies, and just because someone we love has made a mistake or mistreated us, we should not consider them an enemy. I am talking about when someone who has been your friend is literally treating you as an enemy. Let me give you three words that David gives to Godin this situation. I think they are all talking about the same thing, but from different angles.
The first word is call. In verse 16 David says “As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.” What a wonderful thing! In verses 1-2 he says, “God, hear my prayer.” In verse 17 he says, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” He says, “God, please hear me. I am praying morning, noon, and night.” So, David did not run, hide, and fight; David prayed. He called.
The second word is cast. Verse 22 says, “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” I Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” In other words, He carries your weight. Call upon God, cast your burden upon God. Your burdens are too great for you, but they are not too great for God.
The third word is trust. Verse 22 speaks about God fighting for David. David didn’t need to fight; God would fight for him and protect him. God would take down the “bloody and deceitful men.” David would trust in Him. Sometimes you can’t trust a person who had been a friend and now is an enemy, but you can trust God. The difference between David and his enemies was treachery. The difference between God and David’s enemies is might. They may have been too great for David, but God is greater than any enemy you could possibly have.
Today, maybe you are struggling with someone or something you thought you could trust. Don’t take things into your own hands. Call, cast, and trust God because that is what you are to do when a friend acts as an enemy.