“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22)
I have always read this verse from Psalm 55 (echoed in 1 Peter 5:7) as invitational. A sort of hand held out with a gracious and generous offer from God: “Come on. Just turn that worry/load/problem/fear/anxiety over to me and I’ll take care of it for you.” A welcome relief. A burden lifted. An offer I’d be a fool to turn down.
So, it was something of a lightbulb moment, a revelatory surprise (and excuse me for getting technical for a few sentences) to discover that the Hebrew word we translate as ‘cast’ (Shalak שלך) “is in a Hiphal imperative form.” Bear with me on this…Hiphil stems are common in the Tanakh and denote a strong, dynamic, causative verb. In other words, to “cast your cares on the Lord” is not an invitation but an outright imperative. It is less of a comforting offer and far more of a command. It expects action in response.
To illustrate: if you get into the front passenger seat of a car and the driver says, ‘Put your seatbelt on,’ it’s not meant as a suggestion. Your potential non-compliance will likely mean you won’t be going anywhere soon until you obey and buckle-up. Nothing is going to happen until you do what you have been told. The same sense holds then for Psalm 55:22. I suppose it’s somewhat comforting to picture this verse describing God as a friend reaching out to lift a burden off your shoulder, but actually, it’s more like a highwayman ambushing us with the command “Stand and deliver!” To choose not to comply could be a highly risky strategy.
So – what care, what burden are you standing there weighed down and paralysed by? Give it up. Because you’re not going anywhere until you do!
[And if you really want to find out more about Hiphil stems you can go to www.chaimbentorah.com or biblicalhebrew.org]