Psalm 62--My Soul Waits for God Alone

Psalm 62
English Standard Version

My Soul Waits for God Alone
To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
62 For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

3 How long will all of you attack a man
    to batter him,
    like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
    They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
    but inwardly they curse. Selah

5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us. Selah

9 Those of low estate are but a breath;
    those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
    they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no trust in extortion;
    set no vain hopes on robbery;
    if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

11 Once God has spoken;
    twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12     and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
    according to his work.

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You may not be familiar with the version of Psalm 62 that I posted today, but it is one of my favorite pieces by Aaron Keyes (and he's one of my favorite Christian artists who has been setting Scripture to music).  I encourage you to not only read the psalms, but also to sing them and pray them as they were originally the nation of Israel's hymn book and like The Book of Common Prayer where the people of Israel could turn to the prayers of David and others for just about any occasion--celebration of victory, the agony of defeat, the need for confession, and the cry for God to  rain down judgment on the wicked.  All that and more are in the book of psalms for us to see, and God wanted all of it to be there.  Psalm 62 focuses in on how the LORD's salvation is worth waiting for.  Those who trust in the LORD will not be shaken and the LORD will be their salvation and Defender.

The actions of two-faced men are getting to David.  With the same tongues come blessings and curses.  The book of James tells us this should never be, for fresh water and salt water cannot both come from the same spring or source.  So, the words and actions of a man come from his heart.  The fruit a tree produces is a result of the nature of the tree.  It can only have one nature and should produce fruit in accordance with that nature.  David sees these men for who they really are, though they claim to be something else--their words and actions tell the true story.  David asks them how much longer they will attack him, and he implies but sandwiching this part of the psalm between two parts about him waiting on the LORD's salvation that they are on the wrong side, and they need to shape up before the LORD shows up to take care of them.

"God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble."  (Psalm 46:1).  David echos these same thoughts here, only he calls on the whole nation to take refuge in the LORD.  David has extrapolated from his personal issues and him personally needing to wait on the LORD's salvation to telling the nation that they too need to wait on the LORD and His salvation.  This is not just salvation over the political and military enemies or the pagan peoples that surrounded them, but there is an even greater Salvation that the LORD would send in the person of Jesus--His name means "The LORD Saves" or "The LORD is Our Salvation."  He ultimately is the answer to David's prayers here in the book of Psalms.

The world believes that it can separate people into "haves" and "have nots" and that only those who "have" are important--the "have nots" can be abused and taken advantage of for the sake of the "haves."  However, David calls on the people to put away such practices, as the LORD is the defender of the weak, lowly, and innocent.  Justice is coming, and that justice is driven by hesed--the "steadfast love" of the LORD.  He will not let the people suffer forever, nor will He let the wicked go unpunished.  He will be an Ark of Salvation to those who trust and rest in Him.  The righteous (those who have had righteousness imputed to them) will be saved through the coming judgment, but the wicked (those who counted on their own works to save them or have counted on God to be unjust in letting everyone get away with evil) will be caught up in the coming judgment.  I can't say that will be destroyed by it because it will be an everlasting judgment--an "eternal life" sentence for those who have committed high-handed sins of rebellion against the LORD and refused the salvation that He so freely provided, giving His one and only Son to die in our place.  " How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3a)