Cast thy burden on the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.

"Cast thy burden on the Lord, and he shall sustain thee."—Ps. 55:22

We do not need to bear our own burdens any more than we need to bear our own sins. God has provided for the bearing of both. He takes them upon Himself. The work of burden bearing is as completely His as is the work of sin-bearing. His love has removed all necessity for our attempting to bear either the one or the other.

Even if we could, then, why should we bear them? It is not wise ; nay, it is foolish beyond measure; and it is as useless as it is foolish.

But more than this, it is sinful. To try to be our own sin-bearers, is to make void the work of Christ as such; so to try to be our own burden-bearers is to make void His work as such. We see the sin of trying to bear our own guilt, let us learn to see as clearly the sin of seeking to bear our own burdens. Let us understand the sin of not casting our burden on the Lord.

What is there about these burdens that we should be so unwilling to part with them? Or what is there about God that should make us unwilling to cast them on Him? His love, and power, and faithfulness, all invite us to do this. Not to do it is to suspect and distrust Him. He delights to bear the whole undivided weight; shall we not, then, give up every burden to Him who wants us to be "without carefulness," because He careth for us! What sweet and holy lightness of spirit would then be ours! The burden is not lessened in itself, but it is borne by the Mighty God!

Satan and Fallen Angels vs. The Christian

The Church at present is in conflict with 'principalities and powers,' with 'the rulers of the darkness of this world,' with 'wicked spirits in high places.  Nothing less truly invulnerable than the whole armor of God can therefore sufficiently protect us against the approaches of such a subtle foe.

Consider, first, that to the devil is ascribed by God Himself the agency of man's apostasy from his Creator. The serpent is said to have 'beguiled" our first mother by his subtlety. Is he less subtle now? And is he likely to be less successful when he has to deal, not with unfallen, but with sinful men? If by his craft he was victorious when he approached the ' image of God'  in the creature, shall he not with even less artifice prevail against those in whom, when he comes, instead of finding 'nothing,'he finds his own likeness?

For what is holiness but likeness to God, and what is sin if not 'of the devil' ? How great the peril, then, of that heart which sleeps in security, and, through ignorance or disbelief in his personal influence, watches not for the footfall of the tempter! Hence that Divine precept to the Church, ' Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.' 

Again, Holy Scripture plainly teaches that Satan comes to harass and perplex where he knows he cannot destroy. Did he expect, for instance, to prevail when he met the sinless Son of Man in the wilderness? Had he forgotten that terrible sentence which at the beginning was spoken to him by Jehovah Himself, who then put it into that very Bible, 'It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel'? No, however, while he knew that he could not bruise the Head in the head, yet he knew it was granted him to attack the Blessed One as being a partaker of 'the flesh and blood ' of the children.'' He could not destroy; he would therefore 'afflict' the Righteous One! So, is it still with 'the brethren.' Satan full well is aware of their security and final triumph in Christ, as the redeemed of His blood and the subjects of the indwelling Holy Spirit; he will therefore inject the  poison of doubt and fear into their souls. 

The Joy of the Lord in trials

The joy of the Lord is our strength for the trials of life. There are two ways of bearing a trial; the one is the spirit of stoical endurance, and the other through the counteracting forces of a holy and victorious joy. It was thus that Christ endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him, and then He could despise the shame and not even allow the smell of fire to remain upon His garments. We read in the first chapter of Colossians the prayer of the apostle for a company of saints who had already reached such a measure of holiness that they were made partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; but there was something higher and better for them, namely, that they should be ''strengthened according to His glorious power unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness." "Patience" to endure the trials that come from the hand of God, and "long suffering" to endure those which come from men, and both to be endured with real joyfulness. In fact, there is nothing to endure when the heart is full of joy. It lifts us wholly above the trial, and we do not realize that we are being afflicted or wronged. The blessedness of true self-sacrifice is in being so filled with God that we will not have any sacrifice. What luxury of grace it is thus to be lifted above all that could even try the heart! The rocks are not taken from the bottom of the stream, but the blessed tides rise so high that the ships sail far above them in the current of God's great joy. And so the apostle explains his self-sacrifices for the Philippians, "Though I be offered on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all."

The joy of the Lord always counts on something better than we lose, and remembers that there is one above who is the great Recompenser and Restorer, and will give a thousand times more by-and-by for one victory of patience and love than all the world is worth to-day.  Yes, the joy of the Lord is our strength for life's trials, And lifts the crushed heart above sorrow and care,

Like the nightingale's song, it can sing in the darkness, And rejoice when the fig tree is withered and bare.