Two reactions in the psalm [Psalm 55] are worthy of special note. The first is the impulse to flee away from the city, which seems so fearful and painful (vv 7–9). This is the escapist impulse, known to all who read the words of the psalm. The wilderness lures the city dweller. It seems to offer shelter, peace, and contentment denied in urban surroundings. The seeming simplicity of the wilderness offers a refuge from the tangled complexities of urban life. Flight seems to offer so much that at times it becomes almost irresistible (on the psychology of flight, see P. Tournier, The Healing of Persons [New York: Harper & Row, 1965], 95–109). The wilderness, of course, is quite deceptive, as it may be the place of dire human needs and of death. Perhaps it is well to remember that the wilderness is never in itself a goal in biblical traditions but is a transition place for the passage of the people of God to some other place. The Land of Promise lies beyond the wilderness.

The second reaction is found in the message of encouragement in v 23. The suppliant is urged to cast upon Yahweh his or her lot-in-life—that which is given. Yahweh will provide for such a person, though not necessarily deliver, and not necessarily provide a way out or remove all the enemies and change all the bad situations, but he will provide the strength and resources to deal with life as it comes. The promise is that he will sustain. The verb “cast on” (v 23) suggests that God will take us as we are, in the context in which we live, wherever it is and whatever the circumstances. The final words of the psalm (v 24) indicate that the suppliant is willing to accept the word of encouragement.

MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 51-100, VOLUME 20 (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 58-59.