Big Idea: When our trusted friends have betrayed us and the moral substructure has eroded, we can cast our cares on the Lord.

Understanding the Text

Psalm 55 is generally considered an individual lament. The suppliant has suffered slander and threats from his enemies and, worst of all, betrayal by his trusted friend. We have observed previously that often the Psalms do not propose ultimate solutions to human problems but prescribe ways of coping with them, and this psalm is an excellent example of that principle: “Cast your cares on the Lord . . .” (55:22). For this speaker, as the king, supposedly has access to resources that the common people do not. But in a crisis situation like that described in Psalm 55, his resources are greatly reduced by the personal threats and the general la…