This Sunday, Psalm 62 is one of the Scriptures on the Lectionary. Oh how I love to see these familiar words. Last night I was talking myself to sleep with this psalm. I got three verses in and was out. The version I know is the old NIV, rather than the new one, but this works too. Let’s take a walk.
Psalm 62
To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God
First of all, don’t you just feel like that title is meant for you? A calm resolve to wait for the Salvation of God. Yes, Yes, Yes, it’s with patient expectation we await Jesus’ return. He is our certain and ultimate Salvation.
I’ll show you what I remember as we walk through this because some of the wording is different.
1
Truly my soul finds rest in God;
my salvation comes from him.
My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. (NIV84 for Psalm 62:1)
John 20:21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
Revelation 22:12-13, 16
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
That’s why we can wait. It’s why we can rest. He’s given us everything we need to wait, to trust, to be at peace, to be certain He will return.
2
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
He alone is my Rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (NIV84:2)
Psalm 59:9
I will wait for You, O You his Strength; For God is my defense.
Psalm 59:16
But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble.
Psalm 59:17
To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; For God is my defense, My God of mercy.
1 Samuel 2:2
“No one is holy like the Lord, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.
Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.
You surely have seen his defense in your life. Just think about it. It might feel like you’re shaking, but that’s not the thing to focus on, what is is what He’s doing as your Rock, your Defender, your Salvation. You belong to Him, so you’re safe now and eternally. Under His shield of power for this age and like Him in the next.
3
How long will you assault me?
Would all of you throw me down—
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4
Surely they intend to topple me
from my lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.
Evil is present, suffering is assured, but He is faithful and will not let you go.
5
Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. (NIV84:5)
Yes, Hope is an expectation. Our Hope will not be disappointed. Let your soul be at rest. You know your Hope.
6
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
Yes, this one is a repeat of verse 2 with only a slight change in the last part. In the NIV84 it reads ‘He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.’ Do you see the difference? Never vs. Not. Basically the same meaning, can you hear him preaching to himself. You can list the things He’s said God is… Salvation, Rock, Defense, Hope. And he’s not yet done.
7
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Add to Salvation, Rock, Defense, Hope… Refuge, Glory, Honor,
8
Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge. Selah
Trust in Him not just right this second, but at ALL Times. I was telling him yesterday that time was moving too fast and then He showed off, got me to the grocery, through pickup and ready to head to the school by 1:21. Far too early. So I parked the car at McDonald’s and read for an hour.
Then this morning, I said something like, “Lord, it feels like time is a tyrant.” And he said ‘watch’. And M’s breakfast was ready and her lunch was packed in under five minutes. I’ve never done it that fast before, that I can remember anyway. He is playing with time with me, it’s more Trust lessons. These when I’m so very tired and all I want is more sleep. And He wakes me up doing things like this. Trust Me, is what it feels like He’s saying. Not just “You can do this.” But “I’m here, I can do it all through you, even when all you want to do is sleep.” ‘Trust Him at all Times, O People. Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.’ (Psalm 62:8 NIV84)
Pour out your hearts. That’s what I am still trying to do. I don’t always have words for all that needs to come out, but that’s one of the benefits of God With Us. His work in me reveals the things as He knows I’m ready to discuss them.
Time is a frequent discussion we have just because to me it so often feels like a tyrant. I love his always with me-ness, his closer than my next breath-ness.
We, God and I, have some sort of thing with verse 8s that is an ongoing thing we do that I can’t write about yet, but what verses do you see over and over that you’re like “Hey, it was such and such in chapter x that spoke and now it’s the same verse in y too”? It’s not happening in every chapter, that’s not what I’m saying, but I had several I was working on memorizing and almost all of them had something about verse 8 that meant more than others to me.
9
Surely the lowborn are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
Kind of like saying “do not think more highly of yourself than you ought to.” Romans 12:3 We in our humanness are nothing more than a vapor or a lie. Lighter than air. It’s only through and with God that we have anything to live and look forward to.
10
Do not trust in extortion
or put vain hope in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.
Evil is not trustworthy. If God blesses you give Him the glory. Every good and perfect gift is from Him (James 1:17) and He showers us in grace upon grace (John 1:16) and we are nothing apart from Him. (Psalm 62:9)
11
One thing God has spoken,
two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,
12
and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;
and, “You reward everyone
according to what they have done.”
‘One thing, God has spoken, two things have I heard:’ (NIV84)
Isn’t that awesome? He can say so much in so little?
‘That you, O God, are strong,
and that You, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.’ (NIV84)
Infinite strength. Infinite power. Unfailing Love. You can not exhaust God’s immeasurable power or his unfailing love.