Trust God at All Times
Background
V 1–8: WAITING Faced with intense opposition, David claims that God is his rock, salvation and defence. He instructs his soul to wait for God. He encourages others to trust in Him and pour out their hearts before God who is their refuge. V 9: WEIGHING God knows the true weight of ungodly men. They are lighter than vapour and have no righteousness that registers on the scales. V 10: WORLDLINESS Not only oppression and robbery must be rejected, but so must worldly and materialistic dependence upon increased riches. They can never meet man’s spiritual needs. V 11–12: WORD Mercy, power, and justice are in David’s mind after God has spoken to him. God’s word is crucially important.
1. Truly—rather, ‘Only.’ my soul waiteth upon God—Hebrew, ‘Only to God is my soul silence’ (dumiyah); i. e., it is only by turning to God that my soul finds repose from the tumultuous agitation which prevails in it, so long as it looks for help to any other quarter. Ps. 42:5 expresses the opposite state, (cf. 22:2, marg.) In v. 5 he confirms his practice in v. 1, by urging his soul to persevere in it. He proceeds to give the ground of his thus resting on the Lord—viz., from Him cometh my salvation. 2. He only is my rock and my salvation … my defence—or ‘high place.’ The accumulated names of God as the “ONLY” Saviour are so many shields to ward off Satan’s fiery darts. The name Elohim is used for God throughout, as the general name forms the most suitable contrast to all that is human and earthly. I shall not be greatly moved—(Ps. 37:24.) I may meet slight stumbles, but I shall not be greatly and finally moved from my solid footing. Temptations and afflictions move somewhat for a time, but the believer at last can say with Paul, “None of these things move me” (Acts 20:24). So in v. 6, where he regards the trifling shakes as exceptions not worth noticing, he says—“I shall not be moved.” 3. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? The LXX. and Vulgate translate, ‘do ye make an attack upon a man?’ [הוֹתֵת, from הָתַת, the Pohel conjunction.] So Gesenius from the Arabic ‘to break,’ ‘to break in upon.’ ye shall be slain all of you—in contrast to “a man.” Almost all conspire against the one David (Ps. 2:2, 3). [The reading of the eastern Jews and Jacob Ben Naphthali is תְּרַצְּחוּ. That of the Western Jews and Aaron Ben Asher (A.D. 1037) is תְּרָצְחוּ. The latter is our text. The former is the usual form; for which Hengstenberg thinks the latter form stands, the rare Pihel, in which the absent dagesh is compensated for by the lengthened vowel.] Hengstenberg translates actively, ‘all of you murder him (a man).’ So the ancient versions. But the English version accords best with our text, which is Pual or passive. as a bowing wall (shall ye be)—an image of the ultimate end of the ungodly (Ezek. 13:13, 14; Isa. 30:13). This confirms the English version, “ye shall be slain,” rather than ‘all of you slay him,’ which would make David to be the bowing wall. (as) a tottering fence—or ‘a fence violently struck’ (Ps. 118:13). 4. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency—whence arises his need to ‘wait only upon God,’ his ‘only rock’ (v. 2). “His excellency” is his high dignity as king (Gen. 49:3). The expression “cast down” or ‘thrust down’ is the very one, by undesigned coincidence, recorded in 1 Sam. 15:14, marg., as used by David. they delight in lies—instead of abhorring them, as all good men do (cf. Ps. 4:2; 63:10). they bless with their mouth—lit., ‘with his mouth’; i. e., each one of them with his mouth. but they curse inwardly. Hypocrisy was a chief instrument with Absalom for attaining his ends (cf. 2 Sam. 15:7–9).
5–8.—From the enemy he turns to God, urging his own soul, as well as others, to wait only upon him. 5, 6. My soul, wait thou only upon God; for &c. … He only is my rock, &c.—almost identical with v. 1, 2, showing that the contemplation of the wickedness of our foes should only bring us back afresh to God. “Wait thou upon God”—lit., ‘be silent to God:’ so Ps. 37:7; Hebrew, ‘be silent to the Lord.’ Only in Him, not in men of the world (vv. 9, 10), can we find rest from our agitations. The exhortation here, after the assertion that his soul was ‘resting silently upon God’ (v. 1), shows how we need to keep ourselves resting on Him by continually stirring ourselves up to prayer. for my expectation is from him—“my expectation” of “salvation” (v. 1). I shall not be moved—however much my enemies ‘consult to cast me down.’ 7. In God (is) my salvation—lit., ‘upon God (depends) my salvation,’ (Ps. 7:10, marg.) 8. Trust in him at all times—not merely in prosperity, or in minor trials, but in all times, even the most trying. ye people, pour out your heart before him—as a vessel completely emptied of its contents (1 Sam. 1:15; Lam. 2:19; Ps. 142:2; 1 Pet. 5:7).
Prominent in the Hebrew text of Psalm 62 is the emphatic assertion ’ak with which six verses begin (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9). The Hebrew word can be translated “surely,” (truly, NEB) but does not show in many of the English translations. In the NRSV it is rendered alone (vv. 1, 2, 5, 6), only (v. 4), and but (v. 9). It is the declaration “Yes, but …” Such assertions are the language of faith, with which, in face of all assaults, established truths are confessed and affirmed. These assertions set the tone for the entire psalm: none but God will prevail!
The psalm begins with an appeal to silent waiting before God, the calm that trusting brings (vv. 1, 5). As in Psalm 61, strong words name and describe God’s protective power and action: my salvation (vv. 1, 2, 6), my rock (vv. 2, 6, 7), my fortress (vv. 2, 6), my hope (v. 5), my deliverance (v. 7), my honor (v. 7), my refuge (vv. 7, 8). The language suggests the temple. My rock, as an appellation for God, is more than metaphorical (Pss 18:2; 28:1; 31:2, 3; 42:9). The temple sanctuary in Jerusalem was built on the “holy rock.” These terms, including “fortress” and “refuge,” bear a special relationship to the role of Jerusalem, where God functioned as the righteous judge (Kraus, 1986:31).
Consequently, the lament describing the psalmist beset by vicious slandering enemies (vv. 3–4) is framed by the refrain asserting the secure and saving power of God (vv. 1–2, 5–7). The foes of the individual are often compared with a hostile army that attacks the helpless and surrounds them with overwhelming forces (3:6; 27:3; 55:18; 56:1–2; 59:1–3). Here the hapless victim is described as a leaning wall or tottering fence (v. 3). The inclusio declaring the protecting power of God (vv. 1–2, 5–6) surrounds the description of the foes (vv. 3–4), nullifying the strength and effectiveness of the enemy (Wilson, 2002:878) [Hebrew Poetry]. The psalmist thus restates his faith: My refuge is in God (v. 7).
CONCERNING Jeduthun, see the note on the title of psalm thirty-ninth. Kimchi thinks this psalm was written concerning the captivity; and Jarchi על הדתות, concerning the decrees and judgments made against Israel by their enemies; and so some of their ancient expositions; but it seems to have been composed by David when in distress, either through Saul and his courtiers, or by reason of the conspiracy of Absalom. Theodoret takes it to be a prophecy of the persecution of Antiochus in the times of the Maccabees.
Ver. 1. Truly my soul waiteth upon God, &c.] In the use of means, for answers of prayer, for performance of promises, and for deliverance from enemies, and out of every trouble: or is silent, as the Targum; not as to prayer, but as to murmuring; patiently and quietly waiting for salvation until the Lord’s time come to give it; being subject to him, as the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions; resigned to his will, and patient under his afflicting hand: it denotes a quiet, patient, waiting on the Lord, and not merely bodily exercise in outward ordinances; but an inward frame of spirit, a soul-waiting on the Lord, and that in truth and reality, in opposition to mere form and shew; and with constancy waiteth, and only on him, as the same particle is rendered in ver. 26 and so Aben Ezra here. From him cometh my salvation; both temporal, spiritual, and eternal, and not from any creature; the consideration of which makes the mind quiet and easy under afflictive providences: the contrivance of everlasting salvation is from the Father, the impetration of it from the Son, and the application of it from the Spirit.
Ver. 2. He only is my Rock and my salvation, &c.] The Rock on which the church is built, and every believer; and which was David’s safety, shelter, and shade, and which made him easy in his present state; and he was the author of his salvation, and the rock and strength of it, Psal. 95:1. He is my defence; or refuge; see Psal. 9:9 and 46:7 and 59:9, 17. I shall not be greatly moved; or with much motion, as Kimchi; or with great motions, as Jarchi: he could not be moved off of the rock on which he was built; nor out of the city of refuge, whither he had betook himself for safety; and though he might be troubled in spirit, and shaken in mind, and staggered in his faith, and fall from some degree of steadfastness of it; yet not fall so as to be utterly cast down, or finally and totally, and so as to perish eternally. Aben Ezra interprets it, shall not be moved into the great deep; into the abyss or bottomless pit; and so some of the ancient Midrasses expound דבה of hell; but much better is the Targum, “I shall not be moved in a day of great affliction;” see Acts 20:23; 1 Thess. 3:3.
Ver. 3. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? &c.] Against a good man, as the Targum; or against any Israelite, as Kimchi; or rather he means himself, a single man, a weak man, and an innocent one; which aggravated their sin, in devising his hurt, and contriving ways to take away his life, as did Saul and his courtiers; and Absalom, and those that were with him. R. Jonah, from the Arabic language, interprets the word here used of putting or drawing out the tongue to a great length; that is, multiplying words, as lies and calumnies, in agreement with the next verse; but Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi, explain it as we do, of devising mischief. The Targum is, “how long do ye rage against a good man?” Ye shall be slain all of you; this is a further aggravation of their folly, since it would issue in their own ruin; the mischief they devised for him would fall upon themselves. Some understand this דרך תפלה, by way of prayer; as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, “may ye be slain all of you:” there is a double reading of these words; Ben Napthali, who is followed by the eastern Jews, reads them actively, ye shall slay; with which agree the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions; and so the Targum, “ye shall become murderers all of you.” Ben Asher, who is followed by the western Jews, reads passively as we do, ye shall be slain; and which is approved by Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and others. As a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence; which are easily and suddenly pushed down; and so these similes denote the easy, sudden, and certain destruction of those men; see Isa. 36:13. though some connect the words with the men against whom mischief was imagined by his enemies, who was like a bowing wall and a tottering fence; and so are expressive of his weakness, and of the easy destruction of him; and read the words, ye shall be slain all of you, in a parenthesis; but the former sense seems best.
Ver. 4. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency, &c.] Either from the excellency of God, from his greatness, and from his height, as Kimchi; or from his grace, as the Arabic version: that is, they consulted to discourage him from looking to God, his rock and fortress, and from trusting in him; or rather, from his own excellency, from that high estate of dignity and honour he was advanced to, or designed for, namely his kingly office. Saul and his courtiers consulted how to prevent his coming to the throne, and Absalom and Ahithophel how to pull him down from it, and seize his crown and kingdom; which latter best agrees with the expression here. They delight in lies; in making and in spreading them, in order to hurt his character, and give his subjects an ill opinion of him; and thereby alienate their affections from him, and weaken their allegiance and obedience to him; see Rev. 22:15. They bless with their mouth; saying, God bless the king, or save the king: but they curse inwardly; they curse the king in their hearts, and when by themselves in private, when they imagine nobody hears them; see Eccl. 10:20. Selah; see the note on Psal. 3:2.
Ver. 5. My soul, wait thou only upon God, &c.] Be silent and subject to him, acquiesce in his providences, rest in him patiently and quietly, wait for his salvation; see the note on ver. 1. perhaps some new temptation might arise, and David’s soul began to be uneasy and impatient; for frames are very changeable things; and therefore he encourages it to be still and quiet, and patiently wait on the Lord, and on him only: for my expectation is from him; or my hope, as the Targum; the grace of hope is from the Lord, and the thing hoped for is from him; he is the author and the object of it; and his word of promise encourages to the exercise of it; or my patience; as the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions. The grace of patience is from the Lord; the means of it is his word; and it is exercised, tried, and increased by afflictions sent and sanctified by him; and expectation is nothing else than these graces in exercise, a waiting patiently for things hoped for. Old-Testament saints expected the first coming of Christ; New-Testament saints expect his second coming; and all expect good things from him in time and eternity; nor shall their expectation fail and perish; and therefore is a reason why their souls should wait only on the Lord.
Ver. 6. He only is my rock and my salvation, &c.] See the note on ver. 2. He is my defence; these epithets of God are repeated, to strengthen his faith and hope in him, and to encourage a patient waiting upon him, I shall not be moved; neither greatly, nor at all; his faith gets fresh strength and vigour, the more he considers God as his rock, salvation, defence, and refuge; see the note on ver. 2.
Ver. 7. In God is my salvation, &c.] Or upon God; he that is God over all has took it upon him to save me; he is the author of salvation to me; and it is in him safe and secure, and I shall be saved in him with an everlasting salvation: and my glory; the author of all his temporal glory, honour, and dignity; and of all his spiritual glory, which lay in the righteousness of Christ put upon him, and in the grace of God wrought in him; and of the eternal glory he was waiting for; and besides, God was the object of his glorying, of whom he boasted, and in whom he gloried; see Psal. 3:3. The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God; not only his strength, as well as his righteousness and refuge; but the firmness and security of his strength were in God, who is the Rock of ages, in whom is everlasting strength.
Ver. 8. Trust in him at all times; ye people, &c.] Of the house of Israel, as the Targum; or of God, as Aben Ezra; all that are Israelites indeed, and are the Lord’s covenant-people; these are exhorted and encouraged to trust in him; not in a creature, nor in any outward thing, in riches, wisdom, strength, birth, privileges, the law, and the works of it; in their own righteousness, in their hearts, in themselves or in others; but in the Lord only, both for temporal and spiritual blessings: the Targum is, in his Word; his essential Word, by whom the world was made, and who, in the fulness of time, was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and who is a proper object of trust; in him should the people of God trust; in his person for acceptance with God, in his righteousness for justification, in his blood for pardon, in his grace for supply, and in his strength for support, deliverance, and salvation, and that at all times: there is no time excepted; there is not a moment in which the Lord is not to be trusted in: he is to be trusted in in adversity as well as in prosperity; in times of affliction, when he is present, and will not forsake; in times of temptation, when his grace is sufficient for them; and in times of darkness, when he will arise and appear unto them. Pour out your heart before him; as Hannah did, 1 Sam. 1:15 and as water is poured out, Lam. 2:19. it means the desires of the heart, the complaints of the soul, the whole of their case which they should spread before the Lord, and make known unto him; see Psal. 102:title and 142:2. the phrase denotes the abundance of the heart, and of its requests, and the freedom with which they should be made to the Lord; for through the blood and sacrifice of Christ a believer may come to the throne of grace with boldness and liberty, and there freely tell the Lord all his mind, and the whole that is in his heart. God is a refuge for us. Selah. To whom the saints may have recourse in all their times of trouble, and where they find safety and plenty, Isa. 33:16.
possessions were described as a delusion (vanity, lie, v. 9).
The psalmist waited on God “in silence” (v. 1, RSV). This is the better rendering of the statement, “Truly my soul waiteth upon God.” He was so assaulted as to be like a leaning wall and a rickety fence (terms applied to the psalmist, not to the assailants). Yet he experienced inward calm and strength even while sorely mistreated.
The style of verses 11–12 (once, twice) is like that of Proverbs 6:16; 30:15; and other such passages. As a teacher of wisdom, the psalmist declared a message of assurance. God’s “power” and steadfast love (mercy) guaranteed justice for all.
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah (v. 8). An assurance of salvation for himself impels a call to others to share in the same experience of God. He wants the people as a whole to trust God at all times, for he is their refuge as well as his (cf. ‘my refuge’ in v. 7 with ‘our refuge’ here). The verb ‘pour out’, while a common verb, appears only rarely in this expression, ‘pour out your hearts’ (see Lam. 2:19, ‘pour out your heart like water’). It seems to imply prayer to God, openly acknowledging all the needs of the heart and life.
1. “Truly,” or verily, or only. The last is probably the most prominent sense here. That faith alone is true which rests on God alone, that confidence which relies but partly on the Lord is vain confidence. If we Englished the word by our word “verily,” as some do, we should have here a striking reminder of our blessed Lord’s frequent use of that adverb. “My soul waiteth upon God.” My inmost self draws near in reverent obedience to God. I am no hypocrite or mere posture maker. To wait upon, God, and for God, is the habitual position of faith; to wait on him truly is sincerity; to wait on him only is spiritual chastity. The original is, “only to God is my soul silence.” The presence of God alone could awe his heart into quietude, submission, rest, and acquiescence; but when that was felt, not a rebellious word or thought broke the peaceful silence. The proverb that speech is silver but silence is gold, is more than true in this case. No eloquence in the world is half so full of meaning as the patient silence of a child of God. It is an eminent work of grace to bring down the will and subdue the affections to such a degree, that the whole mind lies before the Lord like the sea beneath the wind, ready to be moved by every breath of his mouth, but free from all inward and self-caused emotion, as also from all power to be moved by anything other than the divine will. We should be wax to the Lord, but adamant to every other force. “From him cometh my salvation.” The good man will, therefore, in patience possess his soul till deliverance comes; faith can hear the footsteps of coming salvation because she has learned to be silent. Our salvation in no measure or degree comes to us from any inferior source; let us, therefore, look alone to the true fountain, and avoid the detestable crime of ascribing to the creature what belongs alone to the Creator. If to wait on God be worship, to wait on the creature is idolatry; if to wait on God alone be true faith, to associate an arm of flesh with him is audacious unbelief.
2. “He only is my rock and my salvation.” Sometimes a metaphor may be more full of meaning and more suggestive than literal speech; hence the use of the figure of a rock, the very mention of which would awaken grateful memories in the Psalmist’s mind. David had often lain concealed in rocky caverns, and here he compares his God to such a secure refuge; and, indeed, declares him to be his only real protection, all-sufficient in himself and never failing. At the same time, as if to show us that what he wrote was not mere poetic sentiment, but blessed reality, the literal word “salvation” follows the figurative expression: that our God is our refuge is no fiction, nothing in the world is more a matter of fact. “He is my defence,” my height, my lofty rampart, my high-fort. Here we have another and bolder image; the tried believer not only abides in God as in a cavernous rock; but dwells in him as a warrior in some bravely defiant tower or lordly castle. “I shall not be greatly moved.” His personal weakness might cause him to be somewhat moved; but his faith would come in to prevent any very great disturbance: not much would he be tossed about. “Moved,” as one says, “but not removed.” Moved like a ship at anchor which swings with the tide, but is not swept away by the tempest. When a man knows assuredly that the Lord is his salvation, he cannot be very much cast down: it would need more than all the devils in hell greatly to alarm a heart which knows God to be its salvation.
3. “How long will ye imagine mischief against a man?” It is always best to begin with God, and then may we confront our enemies. Make all sure with heaven, then may you grapple with earth and hell. David expostulates with his insensate foes; he marvels at their dogged perseverance in malice, after so many failures and with certain defeat before them. He tells them that their design was an imaginary one, which they never could accomplish however deeply they might plot. It is a marvel that men will readily enough continue in vain and sinful courses, and yet to persevere in grace is so great a difficulty as to be an impossibility, were it not for divine assistance. The persistency of those who oppose the people of God is so strange that we may well expostulate with them and say, “How long will ye thus display your malice?” A hint is given in the text as to the cowardliness of so many pressing upon one man; but none are less likely to act a fair and manly part than those who are opposed to God’s people for righteousness’ sake. Satan could not enter into combat with Job in fair duel, but must needs call in the Sabeans and Chaldeans, and even then must borrow the lightning and the wind before his first attack was complete. If there were any shame in him, or in his children, they would be ashamed of the dastardly manner in which they have waged war against the seed of the woman. Ten thousand to one has not seemed to them too mean an advantage; there is not a drop of chivalrous blood in all their veins. “Ye shall be slain all of you.” Your edged tools will cut your own fingers. Those who take the sword shall perish with the sword. However many or fierce the bands of the wicked may be, they shall not escape the just retribution of heaven; rigorously shall the great Lawgiver exact blood from men of blood, and award death to those who seek the death of others. “As a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.” Boastful persecutors bulge and swell with pride, but they are only as a bulging wall ready to fall in a heap; they lean forward to seize their prey, but it is only as a tottering fence inclines to the earth upon which it will soon lie at length. They expect men to bow to them, and quake for fear in their presence; but men made bold by faith see nothing in them to honour, and very, very much to despise. It is never well on our part to think highly of ungodly persons; what ever their position, they are near their destruction, they totter to their fall; it will be our wisdom to keep our distance, for no one is advantaged by being near a falling wall; if it does not crush with its weight, it may stifle with its dust.
The passage is thought to be more correctly rendered as follows:—“How long will ye press on one man, that ye may crush him in a body, like a toppling wall, a sinking fence?”* We have, however, kept to our own version as yielding a good and profitable meaning. Both senses may blend in our meditations; for if David’s enemies battered him as though they could throw him down tike a bulging wall, he, on the other hand, foresaw that they themselves would by retributive Justice be overthrown like an old, crumbling, leaning, yielding fence.
4. “They only consult to cast him down from his excellency.” The excellencies of the righteous are obnoxious to the wicked, and the main object of their fury. The elevation which God gives to the godly in Providence, or in repute, is also the envy of the baser sort, and they labour to pull them down to their own level. Observe the concentration of malice upon one point only, as here set in contrast with the sole reliance of the gracious one upon his Lord. If the wicked could but ruin the work of grace in us, they would be content; to crush our character, to overturn our influence, is the object of their consultation. “They delight in lies;” hence they hate the truth and the truthful, and by falsehood endeavour to compass their overthrow. To lie is bad enough, but to delight in it is one of the blackest marks of infamy. “They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly.” Flattery has ever been a favourite weapon with the enemies of good men; they can curse bitterly enough when it serves their turn; meanwhile, since it answers their purpose, they mask their wrath, and with smooth words pretend to bless those whom they would willingly tear in pieces. It was fortunate for David that he was well practised in silence, for to cozening deceivers there is no other sate reply. “Selah.” Here pause, and consider with astonishment the futile rancour of unholy men, and the perfect security of such as rest themselves upon the Lord.
5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
“My soul, wait thou only upon God.” When we have already practised a virtue, it is yet needful that we bind ourselves to a continuance in it. The soul is apt to be dragged away from its anchorage, or is readily tempted to add a second confidence to the one sole and sure ground of reliance; we must, therefore, stir ourselves up to maintain the holy position which we were at first able to assume. Be still silent, O my soul! submit thyself completely, trust immovably, wait patiently. Let none of thy enemies’ imaginings, consultings, flatteries, or maledictions cause thee to break the King’s peace. Be like the sheep before her shearers, and like thy Lord, conquer by the passive resistance of victorious patience: thou canst only achieve this as thou shalt be inwardly persuaded of God’s presence, and as thou waitest solely and alone on him. Unmingled faith is undismayed. Faith with a single eye sees herself secure, but if her eye be darkened by two confidences, she is blind and useless. “For my expectation is from him.” We expect from God because we believe in him. Expectation is the child of prayer and faith, and is owned of the Lord as an acceptable grace. We should desire nothing but what it would be right for God to give, then our expectation would be all from God; and concerning truly good things we should not look to second causes, but to the Lord alone, and so again our expectation would be all from him. The vain expectations of worldly men come not; they promise, but there is no performance; our expectations are on the way, and in due season will arrive to satisfy our hopes. Happy is the man who feels that all he has, all he wants, and all he expects are to be found in his God.
6. “He only is my rock and my salvation.” Alone, and without other help, God is the foundation and completion of my safety. We cannot too often hear the toll of that great bell only; let it ring the death-knell of all carnal reliances, and lead us to cast ourselves on the bare arm of God. “He is my defence.” Not my defender only, but my actual protection. I am secure, because he is faithful. “I shall not be moved”—not even in the least degree. See now his confidence grows. In the second verse an adverb qualified his quiet; here, however, it is absolute; he altogether defies the rage of his adversaries, he will not stir an inch, nor be made to fear even in the smallest degree. A living faith grows; experience develops the spiritual muscles of the saint, and gives a manly force which our religious childhood has not yet reached.
7. “In God is my salvation and my glory.” Wherein should we glory but in him who saves us? Our honour may well be left with him who secures our souls. To find all in God, and to glory that it is so, is one of the sure marks of an enlightened soul. “The rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God.” He multiplies titles, for he would render much honour to the Lord, whom he had tried, and proved to be a faithful God under so many aspects. Ignorance needs but few words, but when experience brings a wealth of knowledge, we need varied expressions to serve as coffers for our treasure. God who is our rock when we flee for shelter. Is also our strong rock when we stand firm and defy the foe; he is to be praised under both characters. Observe how the Psalmist brands his own initials upon every name which he rejoicingly gives to his God—my expectation, my rock, my salvation, my glory, my strength, my refuge; he is not content to know that the Lord is all these things; he acts faith towards him, and lays claim to him under every character. What are the mines of Peru or Golconda to me if I have no inheritance in them? It is the word my which puts the honey into the comb. If our experience has not yet enabled us to realise the Lord under any of these consoling titles, we must seek grace that we may yet be partakers of their sweetness. The bees in some way or other penetrate the flowers and collect their juices; it must be hard for them to enter the closed cups and mouthless bags of some of the favourites of the garden, yet the honey-gatherers find or make a passage; and in this they are our instructors, for into each delightful name, character, and office of our covenant God our persevering faith must find an entrance, and from each it must draw delight.
8. “Trust in him at all times.” Faith is an abiding duty, a perpetual privilege. We should trust when we can see, as well as when we are utterly in the dark. Adversity is a fit season for faith; but prosperity is not less so. God at all times deserves our confidence. We at all times need to place our confidence in him. A day without trust in God is a day of wrath, even if it be a day of mirth. Lean ever, ye saints, on him, on whom the world leans. “Ye people, pour out your heart before him.” Ye to whom his love is revealed, reveal yourselves to him. His heart is set on you, lay bare your hearts to him. Turn the vessel of your soul upside down in his secret presence, and let your inmost thoughts, desires, sorrows, and sins be poured out like water. Hide nothing from him, for you can hide nothing. To the Lord unburden your soul: let him be your only father-confessor, for he only can absolve you when he has heard your confession. To keep our griefs to ourselves is to hoard up wretchedness. The stream will swell and rage if you dam it up: give it a clear course, and it leaps along and creates no alarm. Sympathy we need, and if we unload our hearts at Jesus’ feet, we shall obtain a sympathy as practical as it is sincere, as consolatory as it is ennobling. The writer in the Westminster Assembly’s Annotations well observes that it is the tendency of our wicked nature to bite on the bridle, and hide our grief in sullenness; but the gracious soul will overcome this propensity, and utter its sorrow before the Lord. “God is a refuge for us.” Whatever he may be to others, his own people have a peculiar heritage in him; “for us” he is undoubtedly a refuge; here then is the best of reasons for resorting to him whenever sorrows weigh upon our bosoms. Prayer is peculiarly the duty of those to whom the Lord has specially revealed himself as their defence.
62:8 Pour out your hearts is an idiom for opening up to God with all one’s requests (42:4; 102:1; 142:2). It is joined with the idea of trust to indicate that through prayer a person can rely on God to meet his needs.