"But as for Me, I Will Trust in You!" - David in Psalm 55

Psalm 55
20 My companion attacks his friends;
    he violates his covenant.
21 His talk is smooth as butter,
    yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
    yet they are drawn swords.
22 Cast your cares on the Lord
    and he will sustain you;
he will never let
    the righteous be shaken.
23 But you, God, will bring down the wicked
    into the pit of decay;
the bloodthirsty and deceitful
    will not live out half their days.
But as for me, I trust in you.

In this psalm, David bemoans a friend who betrayed him in a dramatic way.  Many think it was his friend Absalom, or some other close advisor who turned on David. In this psalm goes David goes from fear (verses 1-8), to fury (verses 9-15), and finally to faith (verses 16-23). (Morgan)

Ultimately David relies on God to calm his fears and he relinquishes judgment to Him as well. He uses a phrase that is picked up in the New Testament, "Cast your cares on the Lord". And then he adds a promise, "And he will sustain you."  Notice he does not say that God will completely remove everything David is struggling with, but that God will sustain him.  David realizes that the circumstances may or may not change, but that God is the one he can count on.  Though a close friend let him down, God never will. 

As Guzik says,  "David had hope and confidence because he was persuaded that his fate did not rest in the hands of treacherous men. God was still Lord over all, and God had the final word on whether the righteous would be moved or not."

Finally, notice one thing. David does not mention this person's name. He did not lower himself to his enemies tactics.  How could he do this?  Because he trusted in God to defend him.  Fear and anger are two of the strongest emotions we have as humans.  David experienced both of them viscerally in this psalm.  But in the midst of this one senses David's calm resolve. This is summarized as he ends the psalm with,  "But as for me, I trust in you." David can't control what his enemy does, but "as for him", he is going to trust in the Lord.  After all, that is all that he can control.  

What cares do you have?  Maybe they involve a relational difficulty, or another area of your life where you have reason to fear.  Take some time to cast your cares on the Lord, because He cares for you.  Release them to Him, and He will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. 

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