[0:00] Psalm 62. To the Choir Master. According to Jujuthan, a Psalm of David. For God alone my soul waits in silence. From him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. I shall not be greatly shaken.
[0:18] How long will all of you attack a man, to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? 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.
[0:34] For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence. For my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. I shall not be shaken.
[0:46] On God rests my salvation and my glory. My mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us.
[1:01] Those of lower state are but a breath. Those of higher state are a delusion. In the balances they go up. They are together lighter than a breath. Put no trust in extortion. Set no vain hopes on robbery. If riches increase, set not your heart on them.
[1:18] Once God has spoken. Twice have I heard this, that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work.
[1:33] Psalm 62 is a testimony to the congregation. It begins with the experience of the psalmist and speaks of his trust in adversity, addressing the lessons drawn from his experience to the people of the congregation.
[1:46] It is attributed to David. The psalmist, even in a position of trial, is able confidently to look to God for his salvation. God alone is the one who will assure him of deliverance.
[1:57] God is the psalmist's rock, salvation, and fortress. Consequently, nothing can deeply unsettle him. The psalmist in verses 3-4 turns from addressing God to speaking to his threatening adversaries, who are persistent in their assaults.
[2:13] He asks them how long they intend to continue in their schemes, before describing them in the third person in verse 4. The psalmist's enemies are duplicitous. They flatter. They feign to be his friends.
[2:24] Yet within, they are cursing him and seeking his downfall. Verses 5-6 return to the verses with which the psalm began. As we often see in such repetitions in the psalms, what is seemingly a straightforward repetition invites the hearer to observe a significant shift that has occurred.
[2:42] The words may be much the same on the surface, but they can resonate very differently, given their different point in the progression of the psalm and minor alterations. Beth Tanner observes of these particular verses.
[2:55] Verses 5-6 are almost identical to verses 1-2, but with three significant differences. First, the verb form has changed to an imperative, and this change alters the tenor of the verse from testimony to exclamation.
[3:09] Second, the word in the second line changes from salvation to hope. And finally, the word severely, in verse 2, is omitted in verse 6. Beyond Tanner's observations, we could further note that verse 7 serves as a sort of an expansion of the declaration, accentuating its force.
[3:27] The shift from the statement of verse 1, for God alone my soul waits in silence, to the exhortation the psalmist addresses to himself in verse 5, for God alone O my soul wait in silence, has the effect of intensifying the psalmist's commitment to that posture of faithful confidence.
[3:45] The change from the statement that he will not be greatly shaken, to the more categorical statement that he will not be shaken, is an important one too. In verse 8, the psalmist's exhortation to, and confidence statement concerning himself, is addressed as a more general exhortation to the people as a whole.
[4:04] God has been a refuge for the psalmist, so he confidently declares to the assembly that God can be a refuge for the entire people. God has been a refuge to me, so God will be a refuge for us.
[4:16] In verses that thematically parallel verses 3 and 4, the psalmist describes the character of human beings. Some versions present these verses as differentiating between persons of different classes, to show that human status counts for very little according to God's measures.
[4:34] In other versions, there is a more general reference being made to human beings in both cases. When mortals are so light, as light as the near weightless breath that animates them, they are clearly poor sources of strength and security.
[4:48] Beyond trusting in human status and strength, it is folly to trust in extortion and robbery, in those powers that enable people to prey upon others. Nor are riches to be trusted.
[4:59] They can easily fail or be taken. The bold expression of trusting God then is matched with a declaration of the folly of trusting in man. Verses 11-12, with which the psalm concludes, sum up the message.
[5:13] God is the one who has power and steadfast love. This both exposes the emptiness of man's supposed power and underlines the fact that God is the one to whom we must turn for salvation.
[5:25] Not only does he have the power to aid us, he has the steadfast love that expresses his willingness to do so. And it is for this reason that the righteous can turn to God for aid with great confidence.
[5:37] A question to consider. Looking more closely at it, can you see any further patterns or progressions within this psalm?
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