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Psa_62:1. Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
Waiting upon God, if not true and sincere, is only a mockery; it is also an insult to the Lord; and, so far from bringing us a blessing, it would only bring us a curse. The Hebrew hath it, “Truly my soul is silent before God,” for faith asks no questions, raises no objections, starts no difficulties, but is content to wait quietly God’s time, believing that all will be well. David meant, “My soul in silence waits only upon God: from him cometh my salvation, and from no other quarter; — not from the Assyrians, nor from the Egyptians, nor from my own might or wisdom, but from God alone.” I hope that we have not only come up to this service in our bodies, but that we have brought our souls also to wait upon God. It is unutterably sad when we go to a place of worship, and leave our souls somewhere else. Soul-worship is the very soul of worship, but worship without the whole heart and soul is soulless and dead.
Psa_62:2. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.
He may be moved as an old oak is moved in a storm; its branches are shaken, but its trunk stands fast, and its roots get all the firmer grip upon the soil. He may be moved like a ship which is tossed, but which still doth not drag its anchor, so he can truly say, “I shall not be greatly moved.”
Psa_62:3. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.
David’s enemies were very many, yet see how he speaks of their enmity: “How long will ye imagine mischief?” He speaks as if it were nothing but imagination, that would never come to anything more; and, blessed be God, they who think of destroying God’s people do but imagine what will never come to pass. Their dreams and imaginings shall never become facts.
Saul and his sons, and his servants were slain upon mount Gilboa; and the prince of darkness and all his hosts must fall before the arrows of our conquering King. “As a bowing wall shall ye be.” You have, perhaps, sometimes seen a wall which has a mass of earth pressing upon it on the other side, and therefore it bows out through the excessive weight and through its own weakness.
So have you seen a fence which totters, and is ready to fall. The wood has grown rotten, the nails have dropped out, and the old posts have perished in the ground. These are true pictures of the enemies of God’s people.
They are bowing walls, — a child may push them over; they are tottering fences, — at the blast of God’s breath in his wrath, they shall be blown to the ground at once.
Psa_62:4. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly.
This has been the typical character of the enemies of God’s people in all generations, — oily words on their tongues, but sharp daggers in their hearts. If they would speak as they feel, then they would be easily recognized; but they do not, and therefore are they like wolves in sheep’s clothing. The Lord deliver me from all such enemies! Blessed be his name, if we truly wait upon him, we shall be delivered from them all in due time.
Psa_62:5-6. My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense, I shall not be moved.
Some people only pray if they are in a good frame of mind, but we ought to pray to get ourselves into a good frame. That is what David did. You notice that he improves as he goes on. In the second verse, he says, “I shall not be greatly moved,” but now, in this sixth verse, he says, “I shall not be moved.” His faith grows as he prays, and as he praises; and we also ought not only to pray when we feel most in the spirit of prayer, and to sing when our hearts are merry but, sometimes, like David, we may strengthen our faith while we pray and we may sing our griefs away till the spirit of praise shall fill our souls.
Psa_62:7-8. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; —
Say, with Job, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” “Trust in him at all times,” even when he seemeth to be angry, and hideth his face from you. “Trust in him at all times” even in the stormy and dark day. It is among the many excellences of faith that it can see in the dark, that it can walk abroad in foul weather, that it can ride at anchor in a storm and that, when lions are in the way, it makes nothing of them. Well, then, troubled Christian, trust in him now, at their present time, leave your cares, and sorrows, and afflictions in this house of prayer, and go away with a song in your heart, if not in your mouth. “Trust in him at all times;” —
Psa_62:8. Ye people, pour out your heart before him: —
The prophet Jeremiah bade the people pour out their heart “like water before the face of the Lord;” — not like oil, some of which clings to the glass but like water, which runs away to the last drop. So, sinner, pour out your whole heart before the Lord, for this is the way to be saved. Bring your heart, all full of sin and sorrow, turn it upside down, pour the whole of its contents out at the foot of the throne of grace, and then wait until God fills your heart with peace and joy.
Psa_62:8. God is a refuge for us.
Not for David only, but for all who, by a simple, sincere faith, can find shelter and safety under the shadow of his wings.
Psa_62:9. Surely men of low degree are vanity,
They promise what they cannot perform.
Psa_62:9. And men of high degree are a lie:
They often promise what they will not perform. The many-headed multitude are vanity, put the whole of them into the scales, and how much do they weigh? Just nothing: and as for the aristocrats, those great men that would ride roughshod over the whole world if they could, they are worse than nothing; for, while the “men of low degree are vanity,” the “men of high degree are a lie,” and that is worse than vanity.
Psa_62:9. To be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.
Put in Caesar, and the senators and nobles of Rome, and then put in the populace of Rome: “they are altogether lighter than vanity.” Therefore it is no use to trust to men. If any man builds his comfort upon popularity he builds upon the sand, or if any build their hopes upon some great noble or prince, they build upon a lie, for he will fail them when most they need help. Blessed is the man who trusts in his God, but cursed is he that trusteth in man.
Psa_62:10. Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.
They will be as deceptive to you as the multitude or as the prince.
Psa_62:11. God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.
Hear that, Christian, and from this day forward place no reliance upon thyself, or upon thyself any but thy God.
Psa_62:12. Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.
God gives to each Christian grace proportioned to his work, and then he gives a reward — not of merit, but of mercy, in proportion to the work done. God grant us the grace to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest this most instructive Psalm, until our souls, like David’s, truly wait only upon God!
In this Psalm the royal singer casts himself entirely on God. Here we see the foundation of his expectation laid bare. He has no confidence anywhere but in God. The Psalm begins in the original with the word “Only.” I always call it “The ‘only’ Psalm” because it harps upon that word. David had no mixed reliance; he had not built upon a foundation partly of iron and partly of clay; it was all in harmony throughout; his trust was in the Lord alone.
Psa_62:1. Truly-
Or, as it is in the margin, “Only” —
Psa_62:1. My soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
It is a blessed thing to wait truly and only upon God. You have proved everything else to be a failure, and now you hang upon the bare arm of God alone. There is certainly enough for you to depend upon there. Most people want something to see, something tangible to the senses, to be the object of their confidence; but David says, “Only my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.” It is already on the road; it is coming now; it is a salvation from present trouble and from present temptation. A complete salvation is on the road for all those whose souls are waiting only upon God.
Psa_62:2. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.
“Though I have no other shelter, yet,” says he, “God, but God alone, is my rock fortress. Though I have no other deliverer he is my salvation, and though thousands seek to do me hurt, and none will stand up for me, yet he is my shield and my defense.” Then he adds, “I shall not be greatly moved.’ I shall be like a well-anchored ship; I may suffer some tossing, but I cannot drift far away, my grace holds me fast.”
Psa_62:3. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.
See how he laughs at his enemies. He tells them they are like a wall that came over, bulges out, and shakes and totters, with a push, it will go over. “You think that you will destroy me,” says he, “but you will yourselves be destroyed.”
Psa_62:4. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.
It is a sure proof that they delight in lies because they are guilty of telling them. They can speak soft oily words all the while that they are harboring curses in their hearts. God save us from having a tongue that talks in a different way from that in which our heart feels! But those that delight in lies are never better pleased than when they can find a man of God upon whom they can spit their venom; and of all cruel things slander is the worst, and it deserves the worst punishment. Well did the psalmist ask, “What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.” Such punishment as that a slanderer’s tongue well deserves to feel.
Psa_62:5. My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
First he said that his salvation came from the Lord, and now he says that his exultation comes from him. All that he needs, and all that he wishes for, he gets from his God. “Let my foes slander me,” he seems to say, “but, O my soul, do thou wait upon God! Let their tongues keep on inventing their diabolical falsehoods; but, O my soul, take thou no notice of them! Sit thou down at Jehovah’s feet, and patiently wait then he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.’”
Psa_62:6. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved.
Notice how David’s faith grows. In verse 2, he says, “I shall not be greatly moved;” but now he says, “I shall not be moved at all.” What strength faith gives to a man, and what strength prayer gives to a man! We may begin our supplication tremblingly, but as we draw near to God we become confident in him, and filled with holy boldness.
Psa_62:7-8. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times;-
I cannot tell what “times” you may be passing through just now, yet I can repeat David’s exhortation, “Trust in him at all times.” In your darkest hours, in the most terrible times that you ever have, when all seems lost, when the dearest object of your heart’s love is taken from you, or when you yourself are coming to the swellings of Jordan, still trust in the Lord: “Trust in him at all times;” —
Psa_62:8. Ye people, pour out your heart before him:-
That is the way to get rid of all your troubles; take your heart, and turn it upside down, and pour out all that is in it. Do not save a drop or a drag: try not to hide one secret sorrow from your God, nor one slight grief that nestles in a corner of your spirit. “Pour out your heart before him.” It will not be wise for you to pour it out before your fellows, for they will misunderstand you and misrepresent you; but “pour out your heart before him:” —
Psa_62:8-9. God is a refuge for us. Selah. Surely men of low degree are vanity,
There is nothing in them; they are only the very essence of vanity.
Psa_62:9. And men of high degree-
They must surely be better. No, they are even worse: “Men of high degree” —
Psa_62:9. Are a lie:
Their presence of being better because they are of high degree is mere presence. Well but, if we mix them up, and get some poor men and some rich ones, some peasants and some peers, can we not make something solid out of this mixture? Oh, no!
Psa_62:9. To be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.
The men of low degree alone were vanity, but when the men of high degree were put with them, they became lighter than vanity; so that there seems to be a propensity in the men of high degree to make those that are of low degree even lighter than they are by nature; and whether men are high or low, if we trust in them, we shall be deceived. He who tries to base his happiness upon the good opinion of his neighbours, he whose happiness depends upon human esteem, builds not on sand, but on mere breath, which is no more solid than the bubble that our children blow.
Psa_62:10. Trust not in oppression,-
An ungodly man says, “Well, if I cannot trust in others, I will trust in myself; my own stout arm shall win me the victory, and I will tread others down beneath my feet.” “I will get money,” says another; “somehow or other, I will get money.” To both of these, David says, “Trust not in oppression,” —
Psa_62:10. And become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.
If you do, they will either fly away from your heart, or else they will fly away with your heart, which would be the greater evil of the two, for, when riches carry a man’s heart away from God, his greatest gains are his heaviest losses. He is poor indeed who prizes his gold more than his God.
Psa_62:11. God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.
Where ought we to put our confidence? Why, where true power is. If there were any power elsewhere, we might put a measure of confidence elsewhere; but when twice the heavenly message declares that power belongs to God, our wisdom will be shown in putting our trust in God.
Psa_62:12. Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy:-
Almighty power would be terrible if it were separated from infinite mercy; but it is not so.
Psa_62:12. For thou renderest to every man according to his work.
Thou givest him enough strength with which to do his work. Thou dost not send him to do a work beyond his power, and leave him to fail; but unto all thy children thy mercy brings thy power to help in every time of need. Thy faithful promise is, “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.” Come, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us be of the same mind as David was when he wrote the first verse of this Psalm, and let each one of us say, “Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.”