Psalms 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.
Psalms 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.»
Psalms 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.
Psalms 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.
Psalms 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.
Psalms 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;»
Psalms 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.
Psalms 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.
Psalms 62:9. Surely men of low degree are vanity,
They promise what they cannot perform.
Psalms 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.
Psalms 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.
Psalms 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.
Psalms 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.
Psalms 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!