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Psalm 62


In God alone is my soul at rest;
my help comes from him.
He alone is my rock, my stronghold,
my fortress: I stand firm.

How long will you all attack one man
to break him down,
as though he were a tottering wall,
or a tumbling fence?

Their plan is only to destroy:
they take pleasure in lies.
With their mouth they utter blessing
but in their heart they curse.

In God alone be at rest, my soul;
for my hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock, my stronghold,
my fortress: I stand firm.

In God is my safety and glory,
the rock of my strength.
Take refuge in God all you people.
Trust him at all times.
Pour out your hearts before him
for God is our refuge.

Common folk are only a breath,
great men an illusion.
Placed in the scales, they rise;
they weigh less than a breath.

Do not put your trust in oppression
nor vain hopes on plunder.
Do not set your heart on riches
even when they increase.

For God has said only one thing:
only two do I know:
that to God alone belongs power
and to you, Lord, love;
and that you repay each man
according to his deeds.

Commentary


David dedicated this psalm to Jeduthun, who was one of the chief musicians appointed by him to lead the public worship (see 1 Chronicles 16:41, 25:1-3). David has worked his way through a deep crisis involving faithless friends, who have now become his persecutors; he has found the eye of the storm in his spiritual life, and shows us how to find it also. His answer came through wrestling with himself and God in prayer, so this psalm has much to teach us about the true spirit of prayer.

It resembles Psalms 42-43 insofar as it shows us David struggling to answer pressing problems through his relationship with God. The difference lies in the fact that here trust in God is the dominant motif, so the difficulties are more easily overcome. He not only attains peace of mind, but also the right level of sound moral judgement on which he can base the rest of his life; out of his own experience he will be able to teach others. His quiet self-mastery comes from his unshakeable trust in God.

In God alone is my soul at rest;
my help comes from him.
He alone is my rock, my stronghold,
my fortress: I stand firm.

How long will you all attack one man
to break him down,
as though he were a tottering wall,
or a tumbling fence?

Their plan is only to destroy:
they take pleasure in lies.
With their mouth they utter blessing
but in their heart they curse.

In God alone be at rest, my soul;
for my hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock, my stronghold,
my fortress: I stand firm.

In God is my safety and glory,
the rock of my strength.
Take refuge in God all you people.
Trust him at all times.
Pour out your hearts before him
for God is our refuge.

Common folk are only a breath,
great men an illusion.
Placed in the scales, they rise;
they weigh less than a breath.

Do not put your trust in oppression
nor vain hopes on plunder.
Do not set your heart on riches
even when they increase.

For God has said only one thing:
only two do I know:
that to God alone belongs power
and to you, Lord, love;
and that you repay each man
according to his deeds.
                            (vv. 1-12).

Like Psalm 23, this lovely prayer carries its entire message in the first verse. David has been wrestling with God in prayer because he has been forsaken, and is now persecuted by his former friends. He had sought human help to no avail, and he has no strength in himself, for he feels like a tottering wall. He has now turned to God, the ultimate source of help and strength. There he has found what everyone seeks – true peace of soul. Here it is called “rest”, in true biblical terms. The external circumstances of his life have not altered, for the persecution still continues, but he has found a safe haven in God. This inner stillness and peace is the source of his strength to cope with his troubles. It was not until he fixed his attention on God alone that the inner turmoil came to rest. The presence of God is his strength now. He stands on the everlasting rock that is God; he remains unmoved by the trouble because he has found a firm footing in God. His former anxiety is resolved and replaced by an unswerving confidence in God (vv. 1-2).

At this point David can afford to let us see the extent of his pain and bitter disappointment over the former friends who are trying to bring him down. He is fully conscious of the calamitous situation that he is in, which is shown by the graphic description of himself as a tottering wall or a tumbling fence, either of which could be destroyed without effort. His own weakness does not disturb him, since he is leaning on God’s strength. He views his adversaries with quiet detachment, seeing through their scheming and hypocritical behaviour, for they still pretend to be his friends. From his new standpoint in God he can see clearly what is happening around him, but he is not afraid (vv. 3-4).

His thoughts return to God again. He refuses to allow the presence of his enemies to disturb his peace of soul. He returns quietly to the source of his strength, God, and draws from Him the grace he needs to master his inner turmoil (vv. 5-6).

Having found the answer to his own difficulties, David desires to share his joy and peace with others. Turning to all believers he implores them to throw themselves on God’s mercy in prayer, and trust Him to bring the solution to their personal problems. To pour out your heart to God in prayer is to open yourself up completely, allowing God to work in you and in your life, just as David did so effectively (vv. 7-8).

Deep in meditation now, David discovers that our values and standards change radically when seen from God’s point of view. We may have an elevated opinion of ourselves in the world, but the presence of God enables us truly to evaluate our worth. We weigh less than a breath! What marvellous vision! The glory of man and his achievements shrink into their natural nothingness before the majesty, greatness, immensity and glory of God, the creator. Great men are seen in their true worth, and we learn not to trust human nature, which can be so contradictory. The profundity of David’s insight here is due to the fact that, in deep prayer, helped by the Holy Spirit, he can get to the root of things, of human nature and of himself. We see reality as it really is in God’s sight, where all camouflage and deception are removed. To have the courage to stand naked before God’s truth is a great grace. As a result we put our hope in God rather than in man, and in the power of God rather than in money. The corrupting influence of both power and money are seen for what they are, and David warns us not to fall into this worldly mire (vv. 9-10).

In the final verses David offers some guidance for our lives. The person of faith knows in his heart that power and strength belong to God, while weakness and sinfulness are native to us. The good news is that God’s power works best through our human weakness when we surrender to the operations of His grace in us. The power of God working through the surrendered soul is very great, not only for the salvation of that individual, but also for the redemption of the world (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

There are some profound insights into prayer in this psalm, but it is fairly advanced prayer that is under discussion. The soul is undergoing a deep trial, through which the Lord is purifying it. The means of purification come from everyday life, where God uses the ordinary circumstances of our day and the people we live with as His instruments, His “ways and means committee”! To meet with deceitfulness and hypocrisy in those we love or work with is difficult to handle. It may seem at times that everyone is getting at us at once. The secret is to fly to God in prayer, not superficial prayer where we just say words to God, but the profound prayer of the aching heart. We go into “that inner room” Jesus spoke about, where the heart is engaged deeply with God, where we listen to Him, where we can touch the heart of God and draw to ourselves His peace (see Matthew 6:6). Thus strengthened we emerge with our inner turmoil stilled and able to cope with the difficult situation on hand. This prayer is not just talking to God, even though initially it may begin with words. It means relating to God as saviour in the here and now. It is a very practical, demanding, deep faith and trust in God. When we can truthfully say, “in God alone I find rest for my soul”, we are progressing, for then we have learned to lean on God for grace and strength in the nitty-gritty of everyday life. The spiritual life is fought out in our homes and work places, not in church, as many suppose. When we live out our daily lives resting on the unshakeable rock that is Christ we find we can triumph over all our difficulties.

This heart prayer opens our inner eyes, the eyes of the heart, to true discernment. Indeed one of the signs of growth in prayer is growth in discernment. This is the God-given ability to see things and situations as they really are without the camouflage that normally covers them. It is the ability to see things from God’s viewpoint, it enables us to penetrate to the heart of the matter to see the truth, but it does not make one cynical, for God imparts both wisdom and understanding with it.

Instead of becoming cynical we grow in compassion for others, and in a desire to help them reach their centre in God; we teach them how to pray, so that they, too, can find trust, peace and refuge in God alone. We try to share with them the true values we have learned from God in prayer and by which we discern man’s true worth, and see the dreadful emptiness of the worldly way of power, money and the consequent oppression of others. Our glory lies in true surrender to God in faith and love, whereby we enable the power of God to work in us, and through us to spread the kingdom of God on earth. This means, in effect, that we are spreading true joy, peace, fulfilment and happiness and a sense of purpose into many lives. What Good News!

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