Psalm 55:20-22 - June 16, 2009

Ps 55:20-22 "My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant. 21 His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords. 22Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." NIV

This passage and the preceding verses awaken us to the reality that we should live with a sober caution, being careful to balance trust towards those we walk with and work alongside of with the conscious knowledge of the human capacity to betray one another. This is not to say that we live in fear of someone’s potential to wound us with actions of betrayal but rather that we live wisely aware that not all men are as they seem publicly. Verses 20-21 sadly identify the human potential to speak with flattery and deceptive speech, affirming us in one breathe and turning against us in the next.
Jesus was very aware of human tendency in regard to his dealings with those around him. It was said of the Lord in John 2:24-25 “Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men… he knew what was in a man.” He knew that Judas was a betrayer before he ever betrayed him and yet he still accepted him with loving kindness. He was willing to entrust himself to the Lord in the midst of the knowledge of what this man do even after having loved him and invested in him as an equal amongst the other disciples. Jesus was not blind to man’s potential. Instead he lived in the knowledge that He lived for a different world. They could take His life, but they couldn’t take His identity or His true source of wealth.
There is a great peace that comes when our hearts are at rest. Jesus could have been drawn into great anxiety because of His knowledge of the human potential but He didn’t live with His eyes on this earth. Jesus lived before His father and so His expectation in life came only from His life there. When His persecutors surrounded Him, He was confident that He could only be harmed if it was the Lord’s will and time. As He stood before Pilot He declared His assurance that Pilot had no power over Him except that which His heavenly father permitted. Jesus was not moved to stress by circumstance, nor the actions of people because He was “not of this world.” He knew that His life was an expression of God’s purpose in the earth and that His times were in God’s hands. This is the power of a surrendered life.
In Psalm 55:22 the psalmist encourages us to cast our cares upon the Lord. This passage of assurance is written within the context of these verses regarding the betrayal of men and the potential for a wounded spirit that comes from these encounters. Knowing the pain of this rejection and the potential for a permanent scar upon the heart of those who have been so betrayed we are called by David to look to the Lord. In the same way as Christ David has learned to entrust his life and destiny to the Lord even in the midst of great betrayal. The key to peace is true surrender! David took a hold of the promises he had received from the Lord and he placed his eyes on the revealed purpose of God for his life! He did not allow himself to be swallowed up by the pain of his betrayal. He did not allow his heart to become embittered towards God or man. Instead, he cast his cares upon the Lord and found strength in the sustaining power of God’s comforting presence. As you live before men do not be ignorant of their potential for wounding you even as you allow yourself to walk with them in purposeful relationships and find your comfort, strength and source of identity in the eternal purpose and love of the great God whom we serve!