Psalm 55 · a question people ask
"He will never allow the righteous to be moved" (55:22). Does that mean the righteous won't suffer?
The psalm doesn't say that, and the one who says it has already said, "My heart is severely pained within me. The terrors of death have fallen on me" (55:4), and "Horror has overwhelmed me" (55:5). He has been insulted by a man he walked with in God's house (55:12-14). And he doesn't say he will stop praying about it: "Evening, morning, and at noon, I will cry out in distress. He will hear my voice" (55:17). In the psalm, the promise of 55:22 comes after these words, not in place of them. It doesn't say what "moved" will look like; it says who will not allow it, and it comes with a command: "Cast your burden on the LORD and he will sustain you" (55:22). Another psalm puts the same words together, never, shaken and the righteous: "For he will never be shaken. The righteous will be remembered forever" (Psalm 112:6) (tap moved). These notes don't go further than the verses.
The verses
“My heart is severely pained within me. The terrors of death have fallen on me. Fearfulness and trembling have come on me. Horror has overwhelmed me.”
“For it was not an enemy who insulted me, then I could have endured it. Neither was it he who hated me who raised himself up against me, then I would have hidden myself from him. But it was you, a man like me, my companion, and my familiar friend. We took sweet fellowship together. We walked in God’s house with company.”
“Evening, morning, and at noon, I will cry out in distress. He will hear my voice.”
“Cast your burden on the LORD and he will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be moved.”