PSALM 62 COMME�TARYEDITED BY GLE�� PEASE

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

I�TRODUCTIO�

SPURGEO�, "TITLE. To the Chief Musician, to Jeduthun. This is the second Psalm which is dedicated to Jeduthun, or Ethan, the former one being the thirty-ninth, a Psalm which is almost a twin with this in many respects, containing in the original the word translated only four times as this does six. We shall meet with two other Psalms similarly appointed for Jeduthun: namely, Psalms 77:1-20; Psalms 89:1-52. The sons of Jeduthun were porters or doorkeepers, according to 1 Chronicles 16:42. Those who serve well make the best of singers, and those who occupy the highest posts in the choir must not be ashamed to wait at the posts of the doors of the Lord's house. A PSALM OF DAVID. Even had not the signature of the royal poet been here placed, we should have been sure from internal evidence that he alone penned these stanzas; they are truly Davidic. From the sixfold use of the word ac or only, we have been wont to call it THE O�LY PSALM.DIVISIO�. The Psalmist has marked his own pauses, by inserting SELAH at the end of Psalms 62:4; Psalms 62:8. His true and sole confidence in God laughs to scorn all its enemies. When this Psalm was composed it was not necessary for us to know, since true faith is always in season, and is usually under trial. Moreover, the sentiments here uttered are suitable to occasions which are very frequent in a believer's life, and therefore no one historic incident is needful for their explanation.

ELLICOTT, "The many close resemblances between this psalm and Psalms 39 lead to the inference that it belongs to the same time, and is even from the same pen. The author and his age are, however, alike unknown; and there is no indication to guide to their discovery. The psalm records an experience common in every age, of the vanity of those objects on which man is apt to set his affections; but an experience particularly likely to find expression in days such as so many of the psalms reflect, when there was open conflict between the national sentiment and the ruling classes. The poet’s is a voice raised in behalf of pious Israel suffering under tyranny. A refrain (Psalms 62:1-2; Psalms 62:5-7) marks the rhythmical structure, but the form is irregular.

1 Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.

BAR�ES, "Truly - Indeed; really. The state of mind indicated by this particle is that of one who had been seriously contemplating a subject; who had looked round on his own actual condition; who had taken an estimate of all his resources, and of all his means of reliance, and who had carefully examined his own state of mind to see what was his real trust, and what were his real feelings toward God. Having done all this, he, at last, breaks out with the expression - “My soul does sincerely confide in God; I have no other resource; I have no power to meet my foes, and I am sure - my inmost soul testifies - that my real trust is, where it ought to be, in God; I see nothing in myself on which to rely; I see so much crime, falsehood, treachery in people, that I cannot confide in them; I have had so much painful experience of their insincerity and baseness that I cannot rely on them; but I do see that in God which leads me to trust in him, and I am sure that my heart truly does rely on him.”

My soul waiteth upon God - Margin, is silent. Septuagint, “Is not my soul subject to God?” So the Latin Vulgate. Luther, “My soul is still (calm) in God.” The Hebrew word

- dûmı דומיהyâh - means “silence, quiet, rest”; and then, a silent expectation or hope. The

idea here is, “Truly toward God is the silent waiting of my soul”; that is, “In him alone do I trust; there is calmness of mind; I have no apprehension as to what can happen. My mind is at peace, for I feel that all is in the hands of God, and that lie is worthy of entire trust and confidence.” The feeling is that which exists when we have entrusted all to God; when, having entire confidence in his power, his goodness, his wisdom, his mercy, we commit the whole case to him as if it were no longer our own. Such is the calmness -the peace - the quiet - the silence of the soul - when all is left with God. See the notes at Isa_26:3, and Phi_4:6-7.

From him cometh my salvation - That is, My safety is from him; my security is with him. It is true, also, that all that is ever implied in this word salvation, whether pertaining to this life or the life to come, is derived from God.

CLARKE, "Truly my soul waiteth upon God - I do not think that the original

will warrant this translation, אך�אל�אלהים�דומיה�נפשי ak�el�Elohim�dumiyah�naphshi, “Surely to God only is my soul dumb.” I am subject to God Almighty. He has a right to lay on me

what he pleases; and what he lays on me is much less than I deserve: therefore am I dumb before God. The Vulgate, and almost all the Versions, have understood it in this sense: Nonne Deo subjecta erit anima mea? Shall not my soul be subject to God? In other words, God alone has a right to dispose of my life as he pleases.

GILL, "Truly my soul waiteth upon God,.... 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" (e), 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 show; and with constancy "waiteth", and "only" (f) on him, as the same particle is rendered in Psa_62:2; 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 provide uses: the contrivance of everlasting salvation is from the Father, the impetration of it from the Son, and the application of it from the Spirit.

HE�RY, "I. David's profession of dependence upon God, and upon him only, for all good (Psa_62:1): Truly my soul waiteth upon God. Nevertheless (so some) or “However it be, whatever difficulties or dangers I may meet with, though God frown upon me and I meet with discouragements in my attendance on him, yet still my soul waits upon God” (or is silent to God, as the word is), “Says nothing against what he does, but quietly expects what he will do.” We are in the way both of duty and comfort when our souls wait upon God, when we cheerfully refer ourselves, and the disposal of all our affairs, to his will and wisdom, when we acquiesce in and accommodate ourselves to all the dispensations of his providence, and patiently expect a doubtful event, with an entire satisfaction in his righteousness and goodness, however it be. Is not my soul subject go God? So the Septuagint. So it, certainly so it ought to be; our wills must be melted into his will. My soul has respect to God, for from him cometh my salvation. He doubts not but his salvation will come, though now he was threatened and in danger, and he expects it to come from God, and from him only; for in vain is it hoped for from hills and mountains, Jer_3:23; Psa_121:1, Psa_121:2. “From him I know it will come, and therefore on him will I patiently wait till it does come, for his time is the best time.” We may apply it to our eternal salvation, which is called the salvation of God (Psa_50:23); from him it comes; he prepared it for us, he prepares us for it, and preserves us to it, and therefore let our souls wait on him, to be conducted through this world to that eternal salvation, in such way as he thinks fit.

JAMISO�, "Psa_62:1-12. To Jeduthun - (See on Psa_39:1, title). The general tone of this Psalm is expressive of confidence in God. Occasion is taken to remind the wicked of their sin, their ruin, and their meanness.

waiteth — literally, “is silent,” trusts submissively and confidently as a servant.

CALVI�, "1.�evertheless, my soul is silent towards God. Should the translation I have followed be adopted, the psalm is to be considered as beginning abruptly, in the usual style of compositions of an impassioned kind. (409) Of this we have an instance in Psalms 73:0, where the prophet, who had been agitated with doubts, as we shall see more particularly afterwards, suddenly brings his mind to a fixed decision, and, in the way of cutting off all further subject of debate, exclaims, “Yet God is good to Israel.” And so it is, I conceive, in the psalm before us. We know that the Lord’s people cannot always reach such a measure of composure as to be wholly exempt from distraction. They would wish to receive the word of the Lord with submission, and to be dumb under his correcting hand; but inordinate affections will take possession of their minds, and break in upon that peace which they might otherwise attain to in the exercise of faith and resignation. Hence the impatience we find in many; an impatience which they give vent to in the presence of God, and which is an occasion to themselves of much trouble and disquietude. The Hebrew particle אך , ach, is often used in an exclusive sense, and has been rendered by some, only; it is also employed in an affirmative sense, and has been rendered truly, or certainly. But in order to arrive at its full meaning, we must suppose that David felt an inward struggle and opposition, which he found it necessary to check. Satan had raised a tumult in his affections, and wrought a degree of impatience in his mind, which he now curbs; and he expresses his resolution to be silent. (410) The word implies a meek and submissive endurance of the cross. It expresses the opposite of that heat of spirit which would put us into a posture of resistance to God. The silence intended is, in short, that composed submission of the believer, in the exercise of which he acquiesces in the promises of God, gives place to his word, bows to his sovereignty, and suppresses every inward murmur of dissatisfaction. The Hebrew word דומיה , dumiyah, which I have rendered is silent, some consider to be the noun; and it is of little consequence which tran

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 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 Anglicized 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. �o 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 the flesh with him is audacious unbelief.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSPsalms 62:1-12; Psalms 63:1-11 compared. O�LY A�D EARLY. There is a sweet and profitable lesson taught us in Psalms 62:1-12; Psalms 63:1-11. The heart is ever prone to divide its confidence between God and the creature. This will never do. We must "wait only upon God." "He only"must be our "rock, "our "salvation, "and our "defence." Then we are frequently tempted to look to an arm of flesh first, and when that fails us, we look to God. This will never do either. He must be our first as well as our only resource. "O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee." This is the way in which the heart should ever treat the blessed God. This is the lesson of Psalms 63:1-11. When we have learnt the blessedness of seeking God "only, "we shall be sure to seek him "early." Charles Mackintosh, in "Things �ew and Old, "1858.Whole Psalm. There is in it throughout not one single word (and this is a rare occurrence), in which the prophet expresses fear or dejection; and there is also no prayer in it, although, on other occasions, when in danger, he never omits to pray... The prophet found himself remarkably well furnished in reference to that part of piety which consists in pleroforia, the full assurance and perfection of faith; and therefore he designed to rear a monument of this his state of mind, for the purpose of stimulating the reader to the same attainment. Moses Amyraut, 1596-1664.Whole Psalm. Athanasius says of this Psalm: "Against all attempts upon thy body, thy state, thy soul, thy fame, temptations, tribulations, machinations, defamations", say this Psalm. John Donne.Ver. 1. Only. The particle may be rendered only, as restrictive; or, surely, as affirmative. Our translators have rendered it differently in different verses of this Psalm; Psalms 62:1, truly; in Psalms 62:2; Psalms 62:4-6, only; in Psalms 62:9, surely. If we render only, the meaning will be here that God exclusively is the object of trust; if surely, that this truth, that God is his salvation, has come home to him with a more lively conviction, with a more blessed certainty than ever. The first line of the verse rendered literally is, "Only unto God my soul is silence." J. J. Stewart Perowne.Ver. 1. Truly my soul waiteth upon God, etc. 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 show. John Gill.Ver. 1. Truly my soul waiteth upon God; or, as the Hebrew, My soul is silent. Indeed, waiting on God for deliverance, in an afflicted state, consists much in a holy silence. It is a great mercy, in an affliction, to have our bodily senses, so as not to lie raving, but still and quiet, much more to have the heart silent and patient; and we find the heart is as soon heated into a distemper as the head. �ow what the sponge is to the cannon, when hot with often shooting, hope is to the soul in multiplied afflictions; it cools the spirit and makes it meeker it, so that it doth not break out into distempered thoughts or words against God. (See also Psalms 62:5.) William Gurnall.Ver. 1. Waiteth. Waiting is nothing else but hope and trust lengthened. John Trapp.Ver. 1. My soul is silent before God. As if he had said: to me as a man God has put in subjection all his creatures; to me as a king he has subjected the whole of Judaea, the Philistines, the Moabites, Syrians, Idumeans, Ammonites, and other tribes; having taken me from the sheep cotes he has adorned me with a crown and sceptre now these thirty years, and extended my kingdom to the sea, and to the great river Euphrates; it is not without reason, then, that I subject myself to God alone in this affliction, wherein Absalom thirsts to crush me, especially since he reveals the deliverance prepared for me, and from him alone can I expect it. Thomas Le Blanc--1669, in Psalmorum Davidicorum Analysis.Ver. 1. Is silent. The Hebrew word used is hymwd dumijah, that is, silent, resting, expecting, reflecting, solicitous, and observing. For, first, we ought to be subject to God as silent disciples before a master...Whatever God has allowed to happen to me, yet I will be silent before him, and from my heart admire, both enduring his strokes and receiving his teaching... Secondly, we ought to be subject to God as creatures keeping quiet before their Creator... "Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker." Isaiah 45:9. Thirdly, we ought to be subject to God as clay in the hands of the potter, ready for the form into which he wishes to fashion us... "As clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel." Jeremiah 18:6. Fourthly, we ought to be subject to God, as a maid servant to her master, observing his wish, even in the most menial affairs... Fifthly, we ought to be subject to God, as a wife to her husband (sponsa sponso), who in her love is solicitous and careful to do whatever may be pleasing to him. "My beloved is mine, and I am his." Song of Solomon 2:16. And, "I am my beloved's." Song of Solomon 6:3. Thomas Le Blanc.Ver. 1. After almost every quiet prayer and holy meditation in the divine presence, we have the consciousness that there was an ear which heard us, and a heart that received our sighs. The effect of a silent colloquy with God is so soothing! There was a time when I used greatly to wonder at these words of Luther: --"Bear and forbear, and silent be,Tell no man thy misery;Yield not in trouble to dismay,God can deliver any day."I wondered because we feel the outpouring of grief into the heart of a friend to be so sweet. At the same time, he who talks much of his troubles to men is apt to fall into a way of saying too little of them to God; while, on the other hand, he who has often

experienced the blessed alleviation which flows from silent converse with the Eternal, loses much of his desire for the sympathy of his fellows. It appears to me now as if spreading out our distress too largely before men served only to make it broader, and to take away its zest; and hence the proverb, "Talking of trouble makes it double." On the contrary, if when in distress we can contrive to maintain calm composure of mind, and to bear it always as in the sight of God, submissively waiting for succour from him, according to the words of the psalmist, Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation; in that case, the distress neither extends in breadth nor sinks in depth. It lies upon the surface of the heart like the morning mist, which the sun as it ascends dissipates into light clouds. Agustus F. Tholuck, in "Hours of Christian Devotion, "1870.Ver. 1. The natural mind is ever prone to reason, when we ought to believe; to be at work, when we ought to be quiet; to go our own way, when we ought steadily to walk on in God's ways, however trying to nature... And how does it work, when we thus anticipate God, by going our own way? We bring, in many instances, guilt on our conscience; but if not, we certainly weaken faith, instead of increasing it; and each time we work thus a deliverance of our own, we find it more and more difficult to trust in God, till at last we give way entirely to our natural fallen reason, and unbelief prevails. How different if one is enabled to wait God's own time, and to look alone to him for help and deliverance! When at last help comes, after many seasons of prayer it may be, and after much exercise of faith and patience it may be, how sweet it is, and what a present recompense does the soul at once receive for trusting in God, and waiting patiently for his deliverance! Dear Christian reader, if you have never walked in this path of obedience before, do so now, and you will then know experimentally the sweetness of the joy which results from it. George Müller, in "A �arrative of some of the Lord's Dealings, " 1856.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 62:1. Truly my soul waiteth upon God — Or, �evertheless, as some render the Hebrew particle Wא, ach, or, however it be, whatever difficulties or dangers I may meet with; though God frown upon me, and I meet with discouragements in my attendance on him, yet still my soul waiteth upon God, דומיה, dumijah, is silent toward him, does not object to what he doth, and expects what he will do, silently, quietly, and patiently looking up to him for deliverance, and that in his own time and way, without murmuring or despair, or using indirect or sinful practices. Observe, reader, we are in the way both of duty and comfort, when our souls are waiting upon God; that is, when we cheerfully refer ourselves, and the disposal of all our affairs, to his wisdom; when we acquiesce in, and accommodate ourselves to, all the dispensations of his providence, and patiently expect a doubtful event, with an entire satisfaction in his righteousness and goodness, however it be.

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respondent,�and�with�so�good�a�courage�set�forth�in�suitable�expressions,�that�he�who�respondent,�and�with�so�good�a�courage�set�forth�in�suitable�expressions,�that�he�who�respondent,�and�with�so�good�a�courage�set�forth�in�suitable�expressions,�that�he�who�respondent,�and�with�so�good�a�courage�set�forth�in�suitable�expressions,�that�he�who�

hath�this�psalm�by�heart,�and�hath�laid�it�to�his�heart,�cannot�but�be�transformed�into�hath�this�psalm�by�heart,�and�hath�laid�it�to�his�heart,�cannot�but�be�transformed�into�hath�this�psalm�by�heart,�and�hath�laid�it�to�his�heart,�cannot�but�be�transformed�into�hath�this�psalm�by�heart,�and�hath�laid�it�to�his�heart,�cannot�but�be�transformed�into�

the�same�image�from�glory�to�glory,�even�as�by�the�Spirit�of�the�Lord,�the�same�image�from�glory�to�glory,�even�as�by�the�Spirit�of�the�Lord,�the�same�image�from�glory�to�glory,�even�as�by�the�Spirit�of�the�Lord,�the�same�image�from�glory�to�glory,�even�as�by�the�Spirit�of�the�Lord,�2�2�2�2�Corinthians�Corinthians�Corinthians�Corinthians�

3333::::18181818....

From�him�cometh�my�salvation]�Take�it�in�the�full�extent,�not�only�as�it�signifieth�the�From�him�cometh�my�salvation]�Take�it�in�the�full�extent,�not�only�as�it�signifieth�the�From�him�cometh�my�salvation]�Take�it�in�the�full�extent,�not�only�as�it�signifieth�the�From�him�cometh�my�salvation]�Take�it�in�the�full�extent,�not�only�as�it�signifieth�the�

privative�part�of�man’s�happiness,�but�the�positive�part�also,�and�preservation�therein.privative�part�of�man’s�happiness,�but�the�positive�part�also,�and�preservation�therein.privative�part�of�man’s�happiness,�but�the�positive�part�also,�and�preservation�therein.privative�part�of�man’s�happiness,�but�the�positive�part�also,�and�preservation�therein.

PETT,�"‘For�the�Chief�Musician;�after�the�manner�of�Jeduthun.�A�Psalm�of�David.’PETT,�"‘For�the�Chief�Musician;�after�the�manner�of�Jeduthun.�A�Psalm�of�David.’PETT,�"‘For�the�Chief�Musician;�after�the�manner�of�Jeduthun.�A�Psalm�of�David.’PETT,�"‘For�the�Chief�Musician;�after�the�manner�of�Jeduthun.�A�Psalm�of�David.’

This�Psalm�is�again�a�Psalm�of�David,�dedicated�for�the�purpose�of�Tabernacle�worship�This�Psalm�is�again�a�Psalm�of�David,�dedicated�for�the�purpose�of�Tabernacle�worship�This�Psalm�is�again�a�Psalm�of�David,�dedicated�for�the�purpose�of�Tabernacle�worship�This�Psalm�is�again�a�Psalm�of�David,�dedicated�for�the�purpose�of�Tabernacle�worship�

to�the�Chief�Musician.�Jeduthun,�also�named�Ethan�(unless�Ethan�suddenly�died�and�to�the�Chief�Musician.�Jeduthun,�also�named�Ethan�(unless�Ethan�suddenly�died�and�to�the�Chief�Musician.�Jeduthun,�also�named�Ethan�(unless�Ethan�suddenly�died�and�to�the�Chief�Musician.�Jeduthun,�also�named�Ethan�(unless�Ethan�suddenly�died�and�

was�replaced�by�Jeduthun�was�replaced�by�Jeduthun�was�replaced�by�Jeduthun�was�replaced�by�Jeduthun�---- 1�1�1�1�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�15151515::::17�17�17�17�ff;�ff;�ff;�ff;�1�1�1�1�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�16161616::::41414141----42424242),�along�with�),�along�with�),�along�with�),�along�with�

Asaph�and�Heman,�was�a�leader�in�Tabernacle�worship�in�the�time�of�David,�directly�Asaph�and�Heman,�was�a�leader�in�Tabernacle�worship�in�the�time�of�David,�directly�Asaph�and�Heman,�was�a�leader�in�Tabernacle�worship�in�the�time�of�David,�directly�Asaph�and�Heman,�was�a�leader�in�Tabernacle�worship�in�the�time�of�David,�directly�

under�the�order�of�the�king�(under�the�order�of�the�king�(under�the�order�of�the�king�(under�the�order�of�the�king�(1�1�1�1�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�25252525::::6666),�singing�and�playing�on�the�brazen�),�singing�and�playing�on�the�brazen�),�singing�and�playing�on�the�brazen�),�singing�and�playing�on�the�brazen�

cymbals�(cymbals�(cymbals�(cymbals�(1�1�1�1�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�16161616::::41414141----42424242;�;�;�;�1�1�1�1�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�25252525::::1111;�;�;�;�1�1�1�1�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�25252525::::3333;�;�;�;�1�1�1�1�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�

25252525::::6666).�He�continued�to�hold�this�position�in�the�time�of�Solomon�().�He�continued�to�hold�this�position�in�the�time�of�Solomon�().�He�continued�to�hold�this�position�in�the�time�of�Solomon�().�He�continued�to�hold�this�position�in�the�time�of�Solomon�(2�2�2�2�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�5555::::12121212).�).�).�).�

His�descendant�officiated�in�the�time�of�Josiah,�and�was�the�king’s�seer�(His�descendant�officiated�in�the�time�of�Josiah,�and�was�the�king’s�seer�(His�descendant�officiated�in�the�time�of�Josiah,�and�was�the�king’s�seer�(His�descendant�officiated�in�the�time�of�Josiah,�and�was�the�king’s�seer�(2�2�2�2�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�Chronicles�

35353535::::15151515).�‘After�the�manner�of’�may�indicate�that�he�was�responsible�for�the�setting�or�).�‘After�the�manner�of’�may�indicate�that�he�was�responsible�for�the�setting�or�).�‘After�the�manner�of’�may�indicate�that�he�was�responsible�for�the�setting�or�).�‘After�the�manner�of’�may�indicate�that�he�was�responsible�for�the�setting�or�

musical�composition.musical�composition.musical�composition.musical�composition.

The�Psalm�was�written�at�a�time�when�David�was�in�fear�of�his�life�(Psalms�The�Psalm�was�written�at�a�time�when�David�was�in�fear�of�his�life�(Psalms�The�Psalm�was�written�at�a�time�when�David�was�in�fear�of�his�life�(Psalms�The�Psalm�was�written�at�a�time�when�David�was�in�fear�of�his�life�(Psalms�62626262::::3333----4444),�),�),�),�

possibly�during�the�Absalom�rebellion�(they�were�trying�to�thrust�him�down�from�his�possibly�during�the�Absalom�rebellion�(they�were�trying�to�thrust�him�down�from�his�possibly�during�the�Absalom�rebellion�(they�were�trying�to�thrust�him�down�from�his�possibly�during�the�Absalom�rebellion�(they�were�trying�to�thrust�him�down�from�his�

dignity�dignity�dignity�dignity�----�Psalms��Psalms��Psalms��Psalms�62626262::::4444),�or�even�when�he�was�fleeing�from�Saul�(he�had�held�a�dignified�),�or�even�when�he�was�fleeing�from�Saul�(he�had�held�a�dignified�),�or�even�when�he�was�fleeing�from�Saul�(he�had�held�a�dignified�),�or�even�when�he�was�fleeing�from�Saul�(he�had�held�a�dignified�

position�under�Saul).�Either�way�he�is�looking�to�God�to�be�his�refuge,�and�his�whole�position�under�Saul).�Either�way�he�is�looking�to�God�to�be�his�refuge,�and�his�whole�position�under�Saul).�Either�way�he�is�looking�to�God�to�be�his�refuge,�and�his�whole�position�under�Saul).�Either�way�he�is�looking�to�God�to�be�his�refuge,�and�his�whole�

dependence�is�on�God.dependence�is�on�God.dependence�is�on�God.dependence�is�on�God.

The�Psalm�divides�into�three�sections:The�Psalm�divides�into�three�sections:The�Psalm�divides�into�three�sections:The�Psalm�divides�into�three�sections:

1111)))) The�Psalmist�declares�his�trust�in�God�as�his�security,�and�challenges�those�who�The�Psalmist�declares�his�trust�in�God�as�his�security,�and�challenges�those�who�The�Psalmist�declares�his�trust�in�God�as�his�security,�and�challenges�those�who�The�Psalmist�declares�his�trust�in�God�as�his�security,�and�challenges�those�who�

act�deceitfully�and�seek�his�life�(act�deceitfully�and�seek�his�life�(act�deceitfully�and�seek�his�life�(act�deceitfully�and�seek�his�life�(1111----4444).).).).

2222)))) He�calls�on�himself�and�his�people�to�trust�wholly�in�God,�Who�is�their�sure�He�calls�on�himself�and�his�people�to�trust�wholly�in�God,�Who�is�their�sure�He�calls�on�himself�and�his�people�to�trust�wholly�in�God,�Who�is�their�sure�He�calls�on�himself�and�his�people�to�trust�wholly�in�God,�Who�is�their�sure�

defence�and�refuge�(defence�and�refuge�(defence�and�refuge�(defence�and�refuge�(5555----8888).).).).

3333)))) He�warns�against�trusting�in�man�of�any�level,�or�in�brute�force,�or�in�riches,�and�He�warns�against�trusting�in�man�of�any�level,�or�in�brute�force,�or�in�riches,�and�He�warns�against�trusting�in�man�of�any�level,�or�in�brute�force,�or�in�riches,�and�He�warns�against�trusting�in�man�of�any�level,�or�in�brute�force,�or�in�riches,�and�

calls�on�his�hearers�to�recognise�that�power�and�true�love�belong�to�God�Who�deals�calls�on�his�hearers�to�recognise�that�power�and�true�love�belong�to�God�Who�deals�calls�on�his�hearers�to�recognise�that�power�and�true�love�belong�to�God�Who�deals�calls�on�his�hearers�to�recognise�that�power�and�true�love�belong�to�God�Who�deals�

with�men�on�the�basis�of�what�they�reveal�themselves�to�be.�(with�men�on�the�basis�of�what�they�reveal�themselves�to�be.�(with�men�on�the�basis�of�what�they�reveal�themselves�to�be.�(with�men�on�the�basis�of�what�they�reveal�themselves�to�be.�(9999----12121212).).).).

1111).�The�Psalmist�Declares�His�Trust�In�God�As�His�Security,�And�Challenges�Those�).�The�Psalmist�Declares�His�Trust�In�God�As�His�Security,�And�Challenges�Those�).�The�Psalmist�Declares�His�Trust�In�God�As�His�Security,�And�Challenges�Those�).�The�Psalmist�Declares�His�Trust�In�God�As�His�Security,�And�Challenges�Those�

Who�Act�Deceitfully�And�Seek�His�Life�(Who�Act�Deceitfully�And�Seek�His�Life�(Who�Act�Deceitfully�And�Seek�His�Life�(Who�Act�Deceitfully�And�Seek�His�Life�(1111----4444).).).).

The�Psalmist�tells�us�that�he�waits�quietly�on�God�for�God�to�deliver�him,�because�God�The�Psalmist�tells�us�that�he�waits�quietly�on�God�for�God�to�deliver�him,�because�God�The�Psalmist�tells�us�that�he�waits�quietly�on�God�for�God�to�deliver�him,�because�God�The�Psalmist�tells�us�that�he�waits�quietly�on�God�for�God�to�deliver�him,�because�God�

is�his�Rock,�and�his�High�Tower�ensuring�his�complete�safety.�On�this�basis�he�is�his�Rock,�and�his�High�Tower�ensuring�his�complete�safety.�On�this�basis�he�is�his�Rock,�and�his�High�Tower�ensuring�his�complete�safety.�On�this�basis�he�is�his�Rock,�and�his�High�Tower�ensuring�his�complete�safety.�On�this�basis�he�

challenges�his�adversaries,�who�are�seeking�to�kill�him�because�they�only�see�him�as�challenges�his�adversaries,�who�are�seeking�to�kill�him�because�they�only�see�him�as�challenges�his�adversaries,�who�are�seeking�to�kill�him�because�they�only�see�him�as�challenges�his�adversaries,�who�are�seeking�to�kill�him�because�they�only�see�him�as�

leaning�wall�or�a�tottering�fence.�Little�do�they�realise�the�truth�about�him.�They�think�leaning�wall�or�a�tottering�fence.�Little�do�they�realise�the�truth�about�him.�They�think�leaning�wall�or�a�tottering�fence.�Little�do�they�realise�the�truth�about�him.�They�think�leaning�wall�or�a�tottering�fence.�Little�do�they�realise�the�truth�about�him.�They�think�

that�they�can�drag�him�down�from�his�high�position,�using�lies,�deceit�and�hypocrisy.�that�they�can�drag�him�down�from�his�high�position,�using�lies,�deceit�and�hypocrisy.�that�they�can�drag�him�down�from�his�high�position,�using�lies,�deceit�and�hypocrisy.�that�they�can�drag�him�down�from�his�high�position,�using�lies,�deceit�and�hypocrisy.�

They�do�not�realise�that�his�life�is�in�the�hands�of�God.�Feigning�to�be�his�friends�They�do�not�realise�that�his�life�is�in�the�hands�of�God.�Feigning�to�be�his�friends�They�do�not�realise�that�his�life�is�in�the�hands�of�God.�Feigning�to�be�his�friends�They�do�not�realise�that�his�life�is�in�the�hands�of�God.�Feigning�to�be�his�friends�

(blessing�with�their�mouth)�they�are�inwardly�out�to�get�him�(cursing�him�inwardly).(blessing�with�their�mouth)�they�are�inwardly�out�to�get�him�(cursing�him�inwardly).(blessing�with�their�mouth)�they�are�inwardly�out�to�get�him�(cursing�him�inwardly).(blessing�with�their�mouth)�they�are�inwardly�out�to�get�him�(cursing�him�inwardly).

This�could�equally�apply�to�his�situation�when�he�was�a�commander�under�Saul,�or�This�could�equally�apply�to�his�situation�when�he�was�a�commander�under�Saul,�or�This�could�equally�apply�to�his�situation�when�he�was�a�commander�under�Saul,�or�This�could�equally�apply�to�his�situation�when�he�was�a�commander�under�Saul,�or�

when�he�was�hiding�from�Absalom.�The�fact�that�they�feign�friendship�may�point�to�the�when�he�was�hiding�from�Absalom.�The�fact�that�they�feign�friendship�may�point�to�the�when�he�was�hiding�from�Absalom.�The�fact�that�they�feign�friendship�may�point�to�the�when�he�was�hiding�from�Absalom.�The�fact�that�they�feign�friendship�may�point�to�the�

former,�for�in�the�case�of�the�flight�from�Absalom�men�were�either�for�him�or�against�former,�for�in�the�case�of�the�flight�from�Absalom�men�were�either�for�him�or�against�former,�for�in�the�case�of�the�flight�from�Absalom�men�were�either�for�him�or�against�former,�for�in�the�case�of�the�flight�from�Absalom�men�were�either�for�him�or�against�

him.him.him.him.

Psalms�Psalms�Psalms�Psalms�62626262::::1111

‘My�inner�life�waits�in�silence�for�God�only,‘My�inner�life�waits�in�silence�for�God�only,‘My�inner�life�waits�in�silence�for�God�only,‘My�inner�life�waits�in�silence�for�God�only,

From�him�comes�my�deliverance.’From�him�comes�my�deliverance.’From�him�comes�my�deliverance.’From�him�comes�my�deliverance.’

Note�the�emphasis�in�the�Psalm�on�‘only’�(Psalms�Note�the�emphasis�in�the�Psalm�on�‘only’�(Psalms�Note�the�emphasis�in�the�Psalm�on�‘only’�(Psalms�Note�the�emphasis�in�the�Psalm�on�‘only’�(Psalms�62626262::::1111----2222;�Psalms�;�Psalms�;�Psalms�;�Psalms�62626262::::4444----6666).�His�whole�).�His�whole�).�His�whole�).�His�whole�

dependence�and�concentration�is�on�God�alone.�He�knows�that�in�the�final�analysis�He�dependence�and�concentration�is�on�God�alone.�He�knows�that�in�the�final�analysis�He�dependence�and�concentration�is�on�God�alone.�He�knows�that�in�the�final�analysis�He�dependence�and�concentration�is�on�God�alone.�He�knows�that�in�the�final�analysis�He�

alone�is�the�One�in�Whom�he�can�trust.�Thus�he�is�able�to�declare�that�he�waits�in�alone�is�the�One�in�Whom�he�can�trust.�Thus�he�is�able�to�declare�that�he�waits�in�alone�is�the�One�in�Whom�he�can�trust.�Thus�he�is�able�to�declare�that�he�waits�in�alone�is�the�One�in�Whom�he�can�trust.�Thus�he�is�able�to�declare�that�he�waits�in�

silence�on�God�alone,�because�God�only�is�his�Rock�and�deliverance.�When�we�have�silence�on�God�alone,�because�God�only�is�his�Rock�and�deliverance.�When�we�have�silence�on�God�alone,�because�God�only�is�his�Rock�and�deliverance.�When�we�have�silence�on�God�alone,�because�God�only�is�his�Rock�and�deliverance.�When�we�have�

God�with�us�we�need�nothing�else.God�with�us�we�need�nothing�else.God�with�us�we�need�nothing�else.God�with�us�we�need�nothing�else.

To�wait�in�silence�is�to�wait�patiently�and�in�confident�trust.�He�is�aware�that�he�does�To�wait�in�silence�is�to�wait�patiently�and�in�confident�trust.�He�is�aware�that�he�does�To�wait�in�silence�is�to�wait�patiently�and�in�confident�trust.�He�is�aware�that�he�does�To�wait�in�silence�is�to�wait�patiently�and�in�confident�trust.�He�is�aware�that�he�does�

not�need�to�batter�God�with�his�prayers�because�he�knows�that�God�is�with�him�and�is�not�need�to�batter�God�with�his�prayers�because�he�knows�that�God�is�with�him�and�is�not�need�to�batter�God�with�his�prayers�because�he�knows�that�God�is�with�him�and�is�not�need�to�batter�God�with�his�prayers�because�he�knows�that�God�is�with�him�and�is�

watching�over�him.�The�same�is�true�for�all�who�are�truly�His.�That�is�why�Jesus�taught�watching�over�him.�The�same�is�true�for�all�who�are�truly�His.�That�is�why�Jesus�taught�watching�over�him.�The�same�is�true�for�all�who�are�truly�His.�That�is�why�Jesus�taught�watching�over�him.�The�same�is�true�for�all�who�are�truly�His.�That�is�why�Jesus�taught�

us�to�pray�‘our�Father’.�Whatever�the�circumstances,�it�is�to�Him�that�we�can�look�for�us�to�pray�‘our�Father’.�Whatever�the�circumstances,�it�is�to�Him�that�we�can�look�for�us�to�pray�‘our�Father’.�Whatever�the�circumstances,�it�is�to�Him�that�we�can�look�for�us�to�pray�‘our�Father’.�Whatever�the�circumstances,�it�is�to�Him�that�we�can�look�for�

deliverance.�The�thought�here�is�of�salvation�from�those�who�are�against�us.�But�we�can�deliverance.�The�thought�here�is�of�salvation�from�those�who�are�against�us.�But�we�can�deliverance.�The�thought�here�is�of�salvation�from�those�who�are�against�us.�But�we�can�deliverance.�The�thought�here�is�of�salvation�from�those�who�are�against�us.�But�we�can�

only�be�sure�of�it�if�our�hearts�are�set�on�God.only�be�sure�of�it�if�our�hearts�are�set�on�God.only�be�sure�of�it�if�our�hearts�are�set�on�God.only�be�sure�of�it�if�our�hearts�are�set�on�God.

WHEDON,�"WHEDON,�"WHEDON,�"WHEDON,�"1111.�Truly.�Truly.�Truly.�Truly————The�word�occurs�six�times�in�this�psalm,�and�is�translated�truly,�The�word�occurs�six�times�in�this�psalm,�and�is�translated�truly,�The�word�occurs�six�times�in�this�psalm,�and�is�translated�truly,�The�word�occurs�six�times�in�this�psalm,�and�is�translated�truly,�

Psalms�Psalms�Psalms�Psalms�62626262::::1111;�only,�Psalms�;�only,�Psalms�;�only,�Psalms�;�only,�Psalms�62626262::::2222;�Psalms�;�Psalms�;�Psalms�;�Psalms�62626262::::4444----6666;�and�surely,�Psalms�;�and�surely,�Psalms�;�and�surely,�Psalms�;�and�surely,�Psalms�62626262::::9999.�In�every�.�In�every�.�In�every�.�In�every�

instance�truly,�or�verily,�would�give�the�sense,�and�it�is�better�to�adhere�to�a�uniform�instance�truly,�or�verily,�would�give�the�sense,�and�it�is�better�to�adhere�to�a�uniform�instance�truly,�or�verily,�would�give�the�sense,�and�it�is�better�to�adhere�to�a�uniform�instance�truly,�or�verily,�would�give�the�sense,�and�it�is�better�to�adhere�to�a�uniform�

rendering.�In�this�verse,�and�in�Psalms�rendering.�In�this�verse,�and�in�Psalms�rendering.�In�this�verse,�and�in�Psalms�rendering.�In�this�verse,�and�in�Psalms�62626262::::2222;�Psalms�;�Psalms�;�Psalms�;�Psalms�62626262::::5555----6666,�it�has�a�kindred�significance�,�it�has�a�kindred�significance�,�it�has�a�kindred�significance�,�it�has�a�kindred�significance�

to�amen,�verily,�in�the�New�Testament,�and�is�the�language�of�faith�and�solemn�to�amen,�verily,�in�the�New�Testament,�and�is�the�language�of�faith�and�solemn�to�amen,�verily,�in�the�New�Testament,�and�is�the�language�of�faith�and�solemn�to�amen,�verily,�in�the�New�Testament,�and�is�the�language�of�faith�and�solemn�

asseveration.�The�psalm�must�be�supposed�to�have�been�written�immediately�before�the�asseveration.�The�psalm�must�be�supposed�to�have�been�written�immediately�before�the�asseveration.�The�psalm�must�be�supposed�to�have�been�written�immediately�before�the�asseveration.�The�psalm�must�be�supposed�to�have�been�written�immediately�before�the�

battle�described�battle�described�battle�described�battle�described�2�2�2�2�Samuel�Samuel�Samuel�Samuel�18181818,�and�is�a�specimen�throughout�of�sage�counsel�and�calm�,�and�is�a�specimen�throughout�of�sage�counsel�and�calm�,�and�is�a�specimen�throughout�of�sage�counsel�and�calm�,�and�is�a�specimen�throughout�of�sage�counsel�and�calm�

faith.faith.faith.faith.

WaitethWaitethWaitethWaiteth————Is�stillIs�stillIs�stillIs�still————trusts�calmly.�It�is�a�description�of�perfect�submission,�or�soultrusts�calmly.�It�is�a�description�of�perfect�submission,�or�soultrusts�calmly.�It�is�a�description�of�perfect�submission,�or�soultrusts�calmly.�It�is�a�description�of�perfect�submission,�or�soul----rest�in�rest�in�rest�in�rest�in�

God.�So�Psalms�God.�So�Psalms�God.�So�Psalms�God.�So�Psalms�62626262::::5555,�and�Psalms�,�and�Psalms�,�and�Psalms�,�and�Psalms�4444::::4444;�Psalms�;�Psalms�;�Psalms�;�Psalms�37373737::::7777.�In�Psalms�.�In�Psalms�.�In�Psalms�.�In�Psalms�131131131131::::2222,�it�is�rendered�,�it�is�rendered�,�it�is�rendered�,�it�is�rendered�

quieted�myself.quieted�myself.quieted�myself.quieted�myself.

K&D�K&D�K&D�K&D�1111----4444,�",�",�",�"The�poet,�although�apparently�irrecoverably�lost,�does�not�nevertheless despair,�

but�opposes�one�thing�to�the�tumultuous�crowding�in�upon�him�of his�many�foes,�viz.,�quiet�calm�

submission�-�not,�however,�a�fatalistic resignation,�but�that�which�gives�up�everything�to�God,�

whose�hand�(vid., 2Sa_12:7-13)�can�be�distinctly�recognised�and�felt�in�what�is�now happening�to�

him.ך��h (yea, only, nevertheless) is the language of faith, with which, in the face of all assault, established truths are confessed and confirmed; and with which, in the midst of all conflict, resolutions, that are made and are to be firmly kept, are deliberately and

solemnly declared and affirmed. There is no necessity for regarding הjומm (not הjומm), which is always a substantive (not only in Psa_22:3; Psa_39:3, but also in this instance

and in Psa_65:2), and which is related to ומהm, silence, Psa_94:17; Psa_115:17, just as

as an accus. absol.: in silent ,עלילה Jer_32:19, is related to ,עלילjה submission (Hupfeld).

Like הqrs in Psa_109:4, it is a predicate: his soul is silent submission, i.e., altogether

resigned to God without any purpose and action of its own. His salvation comes from God, yea, God Himself is his salvation, so that, while God is his God, he is even alreadyin possession of salvation, and by virtue of it stands imperturbably firm. We see clearly

from Psa_37:24, what the poet means by הtר. He will not greatly, very much, particularly

totter, i.e., not so that it should come to his falling and remaining down. הtר is an adverb

like תtר, Psa_123:4, and הtהר, Ecc_5:19.

There is some difficulty about the xπαξ�λεγοµ. לןדו.sהותתו� (Psa_62:4). Abulwalמd,

whom Parchon, Kimchi, and most others follow, compares the Arabic hatta 'l-rajul, the

man brags; but this Arab. ht (intensive form htht) signifies only in a general way to speak fluently, smoothly and rapidly one word after another, which would give too poor an

idea here. There is another Arab. htt (cogn. htk, proscindere) which has a meaning that is

even better suited to this passage, and one which is still retained in the spoken language

of Syria at the present day: hattani is equivalent to “he compromised me” (= hataka es-

sitra ‛annı, he has pulled my veil down), dishonoured me before the world by speaking

evil concerning me; whence in Damascus el-hettât is the appellation for a man who

without any consideration insults a person before others, whether he be present or

absent at the time. But this Arab. htt only occurs in Kal and with an accusative of the

object. The words עד־אנה�תהותתו�על־איש find their most satisfactory explanation in the

Arab. hwwt in common use in Damascus at the present day, which is not used in Kal, but

only in the intensive form. The Piel Arab. hwwt ‛lâ flân signifies to rush upon any one, viz., with a shout and raised fist in order to intimidate him.

(Note: Neshwגn and the KגmGs say: “hawwata and hajjata bi-fulân-in signifies to

call out to any one in order to put him in terror (Arab. �â� bh);” “but in Syria,” as

Wetzstein goes on to say, “the verb does not occur as med. Jod, nor is hawwata there

construed with Arab. b, but only with ‛lâ. A very ready phrase with the street boys in

Damascus is Arab. l-'yy š' thwwt ‛lı, 'why dost thou threaten me?' “)

From this הות, of which even the construction with Arab. ‛lâ, together with the intensive

form is characteristic, we here read the Pil. הותת, which is not badly rendered by the lxx

�πιτίθεσθε, Vulgate irruitis.

In Psa_62:4 it is a question whether the reading ר�חוs of the school of Tiberias or the

Babylonian ר�חוs is to be preferred. Certainly the latter; for the former (to be rendered,

“may you” or “ye shall be broken in pieces, slain”) produces a thought that is here introduced too early, and one that is inappropriate to the figures that follow. Standing as

it still does under the regimen of תרצחו ,עד־�נה is to be read as a Piel; and, as the following

figures show, is to be taken, after Psa_42:11, in its primary signification contundere

(root רץ).

(Note: The reading of Ben-Asher ר�חוs is followed by Aben-Ezra, Kimchi, and

others, taking this form (which could not possibly be anything else) as Pual. The

reading of Ben-Naphtali ר�חוs is already assumed in B. Sanhedrin 119a. Besides these

the reading ר�חוs without Dag.) is also found, which cannot be taken as a resolved

Piel, since the Metheg is wanting, but is to be read terotzchu, and is to be taken (as

also the reading מלשני, Psa_101:5, and חלקםj1 ,וCh_23:6; 1Ch_24:3) as Poal (vid., on

Psa_94:20; Psa_109:10).)

The sadness of the poet is reflected in the compressed, obscure, and peculiar character

of the expression. איש and כםq� (a single one-ye all) stand in contrast. �קיר�וגו, sicut

parietem = similem parieti (cf. Psa_63:6), forms the object to ר�חוs. The transmitted

reading חויהm�דר�ה, although not incorrect in itself so far as the gender (Pro_24:31) and

the article are concerned (Ges. §111, 2, a), must apparently be altered to �דרה�דחויה(Olshausen and others) in accordance with the parallel member of the verse, since both

are words that can be used of every kind of surrounding or enclosure. To �דר and �דרהthem David seems like a bent, overhanging wall, like a wall of masonry that has received the thrust that must ultimately cause its fall; and yet they rush in upon him, and all together they pursue against the one man their work of destruction and ruin. Hence he asks, with an indignation that has a somewhat sarcastic tinge about it, how long this never-satiated self-satisfying of their lust of destruction is meant to last. Their

determination (יעץ as in Isa_14:24) is clear. It aims only or entirely (ך�h, here tantummodo, prorsus) at thrusting down from his high position, that is to say from the

throne, viz., him, the man at whom they are always rushing (יח�mיחו = להmלה). No means

are too base for them in the accomplishment of their object, not even the mask of the hypocrite. The clauses which assume a future form of expression are, logically at least, subordinate clauses (EW. §341, b). The Old Testament language allows itself a change of

number like פיוt instead of פיהםt, even to the very extreme, in the hurry of emotional

utterance. The singular is distributive in this instance: suo quisque ore, like לו in Isa_

,יהללו follows the rule of יקללו Isa_5:23, cf. Isa_30:22, Zec_14:12. The pointing ,מ��ו ,2:20

Psa_22:27, ירננו, Psa_149:5, and the like (to which the only exceptions are רננת ,חקקי ,הנני).

BI 1-12, "Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation.

A testimony and an exhortation

I. A religious testimony.

1. Concerning self (Psa_62:1-2; Psa_62:6-7). His confidence in God was—

(1) Supreme. “He only is my Rock.”

(2) Steadfast. “I shall not be greatly moved.”

(3) Pacific. “Truly,” or, “is silent my soul.”

2. Concerning contemporaries.

(1) Malignant (Psa_62:3).

(2) False (Psa_62:4).

David’s testimony concerning his contemporaries is applicable to the men of our age. Read the malignity of our times in the bloody wars, etc. Read the falsehood of our times in the schemings of politicians, the tricks of tradesmen, and the hollow shams in all departments of life.

3. Concerning God (Psa_62:11-12).

(1) His power. All kinds of power belong to Him—physical power, intellectual power, moral power.

(2) His mercy. God’s kindness is even greater than His power, inasmuch as it inspires, directs, and controls. It is kindness that nerves and moves the Omnipotent Arm.

(3) His justice. This testimony of God is sublime and meets our highest ideal.

II. A religious exhortation.

1. To self (Psa_62:5). Man is a duality; in him there are two personalities in one. These often battle with each other, sometimes blame, and sometimes commend each other. Man is constantly exhorting himself, sometimes to be more industrious in business, more accurate in studies, more temperate in habits. Here is a man exhorting himself to wait only on God. This religious exhortation is—

(1) Most available. Every man has a preacher within.

(2) Most efficient. All outward preachers are only available so far as they can rouse the inner preacher, and make him thunder in the great temple of conscience.

2. To others.

(1) Concerning a right object of trust. “Trust in Him at all times,” etc. Trust Him, not only when the weather of life is calm and sunny, but trust Him amidst the rush of tempest, the roar of thunder, and the convulsions of volcanoes. Trust Him fully; pour out your heart. As all the roots of the tree strike into the soil, so let all the sympathies of your nature strike into God.

(2) Concerning a wrong object of trust. “Trust not in oppression,” etc.

Men do trust in oppression, not only tyrants, warriors, slaveholders, but unjust masters and mistresses that expect more service from employes than is just: hence the exhortation, “Trust not in oppression;” “If riches increase.”

(1) Here is a circumstance which most desire. Some for wrong reasons, some for right reasons.

(2) Here is a possibility which some may possess. “If riches increase.” In some it is impossible; the poor men often get rich in one or two ways, either with or without their efforts.

(3) Here is a duty which all should discharge. “Set not your heart upon them.” Why? Because to love them is unworthy of your nature. Because to love them is to injure your nature. Because to love them is to exclude God from your nature. Because to love them is to bring ruin on your nature. (Homilist.)

Faith triumphant

The psalm falls naturally into three parts of four verses each; and in the original each of these begins with the same particle, which unfortunately is either not translated in our versions, or rendered by different words. It means Yes, Surely or Verily, and expresses a conviction freshly acquired. This is the character of the entire psalm: it is a series of maxims hewn straight from life.

I. The silence of faith (verse 1-4). “Truly my soul waiteth upon God,” literally, “is silent unto God.” Silence is sometimes very eloquent. When one has suffered a great wrong or is accused of some outrageous baseness, there may be an impressiveness in dignified silence, which the loudest protestations could not equal. In the trial of Jesus there are three or four moments of silence which perhaps bring home to us the height of His moral grandeur as powerfully as anything in His life. So faith has its silence. It is not always silent. On the contrary, it sometimes cries aloud; it groans and complains; it argues and beseeches. Perhaps the faith of the psalmist had passed through these stages before reaching the silent stage, for he tells us (Psa_62:3-4) that he had enemies, who

bad pushed their attacks to the verge of murder. In such circumstances, faith may well have cried or groaned or argued; but these stages are past; and now it is silent before God. It lies before Him in perfect peace, confident that His will must overrule all. For (Psa_62:2) He is a rock and a defence; and therefore, says the child of faith, “I shall not be greatly moved.”

II. Thy instruction of faith (Psa_62:5-8). Having attained to such a height, he is seized with the spirit of a teacher.

1. He begins with instructing himself. “My soul, wait thou upon God.” When we get up to heights of experience, we ought to mark in the rock how high we have climbed, for we know—

“How difficult it is to keep

Heights which the soul is competent to gain.”

When we are high up, there are outlooks which we are unable to see at ordinary times; and it is well to record them as is done here. The truths about God which we thus learn in moments of great experience are the most precious portion of all knowledge: they are better than we can learn from books or doctors or sages. Blessed is he who possesses convictions which he has not been taught by men, however wise, but has wrung out of his own experience.

2. He also instructs others (Psa_62:8). It is the natural way of experience to overflow into testimony; and when the soul has attained rest itself, it naturally seeks to assist the struggling. Thereby it not only proves that it has attained, but extends and strengthens its attainments; because we are never safer or healthier than when we have left off thinking of ourselves and are able to care for others.

III. The alternatives to faith (Psa_62:9-12). In this last section the psalmist contrasts faith in God with the other refuges in which he was tempted to put his trust. These were men (Psa_62:9) and money (Psa_62:10). To one in David’s position, it would naturally seem a great thing to have men’s alliance; but he had tried them and found them wanting. This is a word for all times: by any one who has a great cause—who is fighting for Christ’s cause—democracy and aristocracy are alike to be distrusted; God alone is the watchword. The other substitute for God which David was tempted to trust was money, whether obtained by foul means or fair; and here he touches a still more universal chord. In thinking of the future and of the changes and chances of life, we are all tempted to look in this direction. How many are devoting themselves to the pursuit of money, caring little for scruples, but only feeling that, if they had enough of it, all would be well. Others, seeking wealth by honest means, have the same confidence. But the poorest man who has faith in God is safer. This is the testimony of Scripture, and it is the testimony of experience as well. So we come back to the wisdom of the man of God. Once, he says, he has heard, yea, twice—that is, it has been borne in on him again and again as a Divine truth—that “power belongeth unto God.” This is the end of the whole matter; this is the resource that will avail in every difficulty, which will last through time and through eternity. (J. Stalker, D. D.)

Silence to God

(with Psa_62:5):—“My soul is silence unto God.” That forcible form of expression describes the completeness of the psalmist’s unmurmuring submission and quiet faith. His whole being is one of great stillness, broken by no clamorous passions; by no loud-

voiced desires; by no remonstrating reluctance. That silence is first a silence of the will. Bridle impatience till God speaks. Take care of running before you are sent. Keep your will in equipoise till God’s hand gives the impulse and direction. We must keep our hearts silent too. The sweet voices of pleading affections, the loud cry of desires and instincts that roar for their food like beasts of prey, the querulous complaints of disappointed hopes, the groans and sobs of black-robed sorrows, the loud hubbub and Babel, like the noise of a great city, that every man carries within, must be stifled and coerced into silence. We have to take the animal in us by the throat, and sternly say, Lie down there and be quiet. We have to silence tastes and inclinations. There must be the silence of the mind, as well as of the heart and will. We must not have our thoughts ever occupied with other things, but must cultivate the habit of detaching them from earth, and keeping our minds still before God, that He may pour His light into them. Alas! how far from this is our daily life! Who among us dares to take these words as the expression of our own experience? Is not the troubled sea which cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt, a truer emblem of our restless, labouring souls than the calm lake? Put your own selves by the side of this psalmist, and honestly measure the contrast. It is like the difference between some crowded market-place all full of noisy traffickers, ringing with shouts, blazing in sunshine, and the interior of the quiet cathedral that looks down on it all, where are coolness and subdued light, and silence and solitude. This man’s profession of utter resignation is perhaps too high for us; but we can make his self-exhortation our own. “My soul! wait thou only upon God.” Perfect as he ventures to declare his silence towards God, he yet feels that he has to stir himself up to the effort which is needed to preserve it in its purity. Just because he can say, “My soul waits,” therefore he bids his soul wait. That vigorous effort is expressed here by the very form of the phrase. The same word which began tim first clause begins the second also. As in the former it represented for us, with an emphatic “Truly,” the struggle through which the psalmist had reached the height of his blessed experience, so here it represents in like manner the earnestness of the self-exhortation which he addresses to himself. He calls forth all his powers to the conflict, which is needed even by the man who has attained to that height of communion, if he would remain where he has climbed. And for us who shrink from taking these former words upon our lips, how much greater the need to use our most strenuous efforts to quiet our souls. If the summit reached can only be held by earnest endeavour, how much more is needed to struggle up from the valleys below. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Waiting upon God is the soul casting its anchor

It was the speech of Taulerus, one that Luther prized above all. Says he—Though the mariners may make use of their oars in the time of calm, yet when a storm comes down the mariners leave all and fly to their anchor. So, though at other times we may make use of resolutions and vows, and the like, yet when the storm of temptation comes down, nothing then but fly to the anchor of faith, nothing then like to casting of anchor into the vail. (Bridge.)

PULPIT, "THIS psalm, like so many, is the cry of an afflicted one—a man of high position, whom his enemies seek to destroy, or, if that be not possible, to thrust down from his dignity (Psalms 62:3, Psalms 62:4). He himself is full of trust in God, and calmly confident that his enemies cannot succeed (Psalms 62:1, Psalms 62:2, Psalms 62:5-7). The confidence which he feels he tries to impart to his people (Psalms 62:8). In

conclusion, he warns his enemies that they are likely to provoke God's powerful anger (Psalms 62:9-11), and encourages his friends by the thought of God's mercy, and of his goodness in rewarding those who faithfully serve him.

It is evident that the psalm contains nothing but what is suitable to the character of David, to whom the "title" assigns it; and further, that it accords well with his circumstance, when the revolt of Absalom was imminent. In further proof of the Davidical authorship may be urged "the earnestness of thought, the depth and force of religious feeling," and "the vigour and sublimity of the language" (Canon Cook).

The psalm divides into three stanzas, each of four verses, the break between the first and second and between the third and fourth being notified by the usual pause mark, "Selah."

Psalms 62:1

Truly my soul waiteth upon God; rather, my soul waiteth only upon God (Revised

Version). The initial word, ak ( ך�h�),�which�occurs�six�times�in�this�psalm�(Psalms�62:1,�Psalms�

62:2,�Psalms�62:4,�Psalms�62:5,�Psalms�62:6,�Psalms�62:9),�is�best�translated�"only"�in�every�

instance.�It�always�intensifies�the�word�or�phrase�to�which�it�is�attached—"only�upon�God"—"only�

he"—"only�from�his�excellency"—"only�vanity."�From�him�cometh�my�salvation�(comp.�Psalms�

35:3;�Psalms�37:39;�Psalms�65:5,�etc.).

2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

BAR�ES, "He only is my rock ... - See the notes at Psa_18:2.

I shall not be greatly moved - The word greatly here, or much - “I shall not be much moved,” implies that he did not anticipate perfect security from danger or calamity; he did not suppose that he would escape all disaster or trouble, but he felt that

no great evil would befall him, that his most important interests were safe, and that he would be ultimately secure. He would be restored to his home and his throne, and would be favored with future peace and tranquility. None of us can hope wholly to escape calamity in this life. It is enough if we can be assured that our great interests will be ultimately secured; that we shall be safe at last in the heavenly world. Having that confidence the soul may be, and should be, calm; and we need little apprehend what will occur in this world.

CLARKE, "I shall not be greatly moved - Having God for my rock - strong fortified place, for my salvation - continual safety, and my defense - my elevated tower, which places me out of the reach of my enemies; I shall not be greatly moved - I may be shaken, but cannot be cast down.

GILL, "He only is my Rock and my salvation,.... 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, Psa_95:1;

he is my defence; or refuge; see Psa_9:9;

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 Midrashes

expound דבה of "hell" (g); but much better is the Targum,

"I shall not be moved in a day of great affliction;''

see Act_20:23.

HE�RY, "II. The ground and reason of this dependence (Psa_62:2): He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence. 1. “He has been so many a time; in him I have found shelter, and strength, and succour. He has by his grace supported me and borne me up under my troubles, and by his providence defended me from the insults of my enemies and delivered me out of the troubles into which I was plunged; and therefore I trust he will deliver me,” 2Co_1:10. 2. “He only can be my rock and my salvation. Creatures are insufficient; they are nothing without him, and therefore I will look above them to him.” 3. “He has by covenant undertaken to be so. Even he that is the rock of ages is my rock; he that is the God of salvation is my salvation; he that is the Most High is my high place; and therefore I have all the reason in the world to confide in him.”

III. The improvement he makes of his confidence in God.

1. Trusting in God, his heart is fixed. “If God is my strength and mighty delivered, I shall not be greatly moved (that is, I shall not be undone and ruined); I may be shocked, but I shall not be sunk.” Or, “I shall not be much disturbed and disquieted in my own breast. I may be put into some fright, but I shall not be afraid with any amazement, nor so as to be put out of the possession of my own soul. I may be perplexed, but not in despair,” 2Co_4:8. This hope in God will be an anchor of the soul, sure and stedfast.

JAMISO�, "The titles applied to God often occur (Psa_9:9; Psa_18:2).be greatly moved — (Psa_10:6). No injury shall be permanent, though devised by

enemies.

PULPIT, "He only is my Rock (comp. Psalms 61:2, and the comment ad loc.). And my Salvation (so Psalms 18:2; Psalms 27:1; Psalms 118:14, Psalms 118:21). He is my Defence; or, my High Tower, my Strong Hold. I shall not be greatly moved. Comp. Psalms 62:6, where, with still greater confidence, the waiter declares, "I shall not be moved," i.e. not moved, or shaken in my faith, at all.

CALVI�, "The particle אך, ach, in the second verse, I would render in the same way as in the first. The believer triumphs in one encounter with temptation only to enter upon another; and here David, who appeared to have emerged from his distress, shows that he had still to struggle with remaining difficulties. We meet with the same particle no fewer than six times throughout the psalm. This, too, may explain the many titles which he applies to God, each of which is to be considered as a foil by which he would ward off the attacks of the tempter. The expression in the close of the verse, I shall not be greatly moved, implies his persuasion that he might be overtaken with afflictions, (for he was well aware that he could claim no exemption from the common lot of humanity,) but his conviction, at the same time, that these would not overwhelm him, through the good help of God. We shall find him saying afterwards, in so many words, I shall not fall; perhaps because he felt, as he advanced in prayer, that he had greater boldness in despising affliction. Or the expressions may be taken as synonymous in the two places. The truth itself is unquestionable. The believer may be overthrown for a time; but as he is no sooner cast down than he is raised up again by God, he cannot properly be said to fall. He is supported by the Spirit of God, and is not therefore really prostrated and overcome.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 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 psalmists'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.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 2. I shall not be greatly moved. Grace makes the heart move leisurely to all things except God. A mortified man is as a sea that hath no winds, that ebbs not and flows not. The mortified man sings and is not light, and weeps and is not sad, is zealous but he can quit it for God. Ah! few can act but they over act. Alexander Carmichael, in "The Believer's Mortification of Sin, " 1677.HI�TS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHERVer. 2. God a rock. David speaks of him as high and strong, and as a rock to stand upon, a rock of defence and refuge, a rock of habitation (Psalms 71:3, in Hebrew), and a rock to be praised. Psalms 95:1. See the Concordance for many hints."Christ the Rock:" a Sermon on 1 Corinthians 10:4. By RALPH ROBI�SO�, in "Christ All and in All."Ver. 2. (first clause). See "SPURGEO�'S Sermons", �o. 80, "God alone the Salvation of His People."Ver. 2,6. I shall not be greatly moved. I shall not be moved. Growth in faith. How it is produced, preserved, and evidenced.

ELLICOTT, "(2) Defence.—Properly, high tower, as so often. The metaphor is important here from the contrast with the tottering wall of next verse.

Shall not be greatly moved . . .—i.e. (as in Psalms 37:24), shall not be made to totter or fall.

TRAPP, "Psalms 62:2 He only [is] my rock and my salvation; [he is] my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.

Ver. 2. He only is my rock, &c.] See Psalms 18:2-3.

I shall not be greatly moved] �on labascam multo lapsu (Vatabl.), for the Lord putteth under his hand. I shall not be moved greatly, or into the great abyss, Tehom Rabi bah (as Aben Ezra hath it), into hell (as other Rabbis sense it); I shall not be tempted above that I am able, as 1 Corinthians 10:13; persecuted I may be, but not relinquished; cast down, but not cast off, 2 Corinthians 4:9 : shaken, but for my better settlement at last.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 62:2. He only is my rock — He hath been so often; in him I have found shelter, and strength, and succour; he hath, by his grace, supported me under, and delivered me out of my troubles, and by his providence he has defended me from my enemies, and therefore I trust he will still support, deliver, and defend me. I shall not be greatly moved — Though I may be shaken, I shall not be overthrown.

PETT, "Verse 2‘He only is my rock and my deliverance,He is my high tower, I will not be greatly moved.’And this is why he can wait in silence before God in such confidence. It is because God is his Rock and his High Tower. Compare here Psalms 62:6, and see also Psalms 18:2.

God is his Rock. In other words He is firm and immovable, offering total security and a sure foundation. He is also his Deliverance. He knows that He will act on his behalf in order to deliver him from his enemies. Furthermore He is his High Tower, strong and unscaleable, the One in Whom he can feel absolutely safe. Knowing that his God has such attributes he knows that he will not be greatly moved.

�ote the possibility that he will be moved to some extent. He is after all human. He may trip up but he will not be utterly cast down. We can compare Psalms 37:24, ‘though he fall he will not be utterly cast down, for YHWH upholds him with His hand’. So he is sure that with God on his side, such adverse movement will be unimportant and temporary. In Psalms 62:6, however, his faith has advanced and he is confident that he will not be moved at all.

WHEDO�, "2. My rock—See on Psalms 61:1.

My defence—My high place, an allusion to the high, rocky fortress, as 2 Samuel 5:6-9, the strongest defence known to ancient military life.

Greatly moved—The insurrection will disturb, and for the time disarrange, many surface elements, but will not overthrow or unsettle my kingdom. Thus far he had received answer to prayer.

3 How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence?

BAR�ES, "How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? - The original

word here rendered “imagine mischief,” from התת hâthath, occurs only in this place. It means, according to Gesenius (Lexicon), to break in upon; to set upon; to assail: “How long will ye break in upon a man?” that is, set upon him. So the Septuagint, and the Latin Vulgate. It does not refer to their merely forming purposes of mischief against a man, but to their making assaults upon him; to their endeavoring to take his life or to destroy him. The address here is to the enemies of David, and the language would apply well to the attempts made upon his life by Absalom and his followers. The question here is, “how long” they would continue to do this; how long they would show this determined purpose to take his life; whether they would never cease thus to persecute him. They had already done it long; they had showed great perseverance in this course of wickedness; and he asks whether it would never come to an end? Who these persons were he does not intimate; but there can be no great danger of mistake in referring the description to Absalom and his adherents.

Ye shall be slain all of you - Prof. Alexander renders this entire passage,” Will ye murder (that is, seek to murder him) all of you (combined against a single person, who is consequently) like wall inclined (or bent by violence), fence (or hedge) crushed (broken down).” So, substantially, DeWette renders it. Those who thus interpret the passage give it an active signification, meaning that his enemies pressed upon him, like a wall that was bent by violence, or a fence that was likely to fall on one. The original word rendered

“ye shall be slain,” t×raats×chuw - terâtsechû, is in the active form (Piel), and תרצחו

cannot without violence be rendered in the passive, as it is in our translation. But the active form may still be retained, and a consistent meaning be given to the whole passage without the forced meaning put on it in the rendering by Prof. Alexander. It is not natural to speak of enemies as so coming on a man as to make him like a falling wall, or a tottering fence. The evident idea is, that they themselves would be as a falling wall; that is, that they would be defeated or disappointed in their purpose, as a wall that has no solid foundation tumbles to the ground. The meaning of the original may be thus expressed: “How long will ye assail a man, that ye may put him to death? All of you shall be as a bowing wall,” etc. That is, You will not accomplish your design; you will fail in your enterprise, as a wall without strength falls to the ground.

As a bowing wall - A wall that bows out, or swells out; a wall that may fall at any moment. See the notes at Isa_30:13.

And as a tottering fence - A fence that is ready to fall; that has no firmness. So it would be with them. Their purposes would suddenly give way, as a fence does when the posts are rotted off, and when there is nothing to support it.

CLARKE, "How long will ye imagine mischief - The original word, תהותתו

tehothethu, has been translated variously; rush upon, rage against, stir yourselves up,

thrust against: the root is התת hathath or התה hathah, to rush violently upon, to assault. It points out the disorderly riotous manner in which this rebellion was conducted.

As a bowing wall - a tottering fence - Ye are just ready to fall upon others, and destroy them; and in that fall yourselves shall be destroyed: “Ye shall be slain the whole of you.”

GILL, "How long will ye imagine mischief against a man?.... 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 Psa_62:4; 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.

HE�RY, "2. His enemies are slighted, and all their attempts against him looked upon by him with contempt, Psa_62:3, Psa_62:4. If God be for us, we need not fear what man can do against us, though ever so mighty and malicious. He here, (1.) Gives a character

of his enemies: They imagine mischief, design it with a great deal of the serpent's venom and contrive it with a great deal of the serpent's subtlety, and this against a man, one of their own kind, against one single man, that is not an equal match for them, for they are many; they continued their malicious persecution though Providence had often defeated their mischievous designs. “How long will you do it? Will you never be convinced of your error? Will your malice never have spent itself?” They are unanimous in their consultations to cast an excellent man down from his excellency, to draw an honest man from his integrity, to entangle him in sin, which is the only thing that can effectually cast us down from our excellency, to thrust a man, whom God has exalted, down from his dignity, and so to fight against God. Envy was at the bottom of their malice; they were grieved at David's advancement, and therefore plotted, by diminishing his character and blackening that (which was casting him down from his excellency) to hinder his preferment. In order to this they calumniate him, and love to hear such bad characters given of him and such bad reports raised and spread concerning him as they themselves know to be false: They delight in lies. And as they make no conscience of lying concerning him, to do him a mischief, so they make no conscience of lying to him, to conceal the mischief they design, and accomplish it the more effectually: They bless with their mouth (they compliment David to his face), but they curse inwardly; in their hearts they wish him all mischief, and privately they are plotting against him and in their cabals carrying on some evil design or other, by which they hope to ruin him. It is dangerous putting our trust in men who are thus false; but God is faithful. (2.) He reads their doom, pronounces a sentence of death upon them, not as a king, but as a prophet: You shall be slain all of you, by the righteous judgments of God. Saul and his servants were slain by the Philistines on Mount Gilboa, according to this prediction. Those who seek the ruin of God's chosen are but preparing ruin for themselves. God's church is built upon a rock which will stand, but those that fight against it, and its patrons and protectors, shall be as a bowing wall and a tottering fence, which, having a rotten foundation, sinks with its own weight, falls of a sudden, and buries those in the ruins of it that put themselves under the shadow and shelter of it. David, having put his confidence in God, thus foresees the overthrow of his enemies, and, in effect, sets them at defiance and bids them do their worst.

JAMISO�, "Their destruction will come; as a tottering wall they already are feeble and failing.

bowing wall shall ye be — better supply “are.” Some propose to apply these phrases to describe the condition of “a man” - that is, the pious suffer: thus, “Will ye slay him,” etc.; but the other is a good sense.

PULPIT, "How long will ye imagine mischief agaiust a man? rather, How long will ye assault (or, set upon) a man? Attack him, that is—seek to do him grievous hurt, as ye are attacking me. Ye shall be slain all of you; rather, that ye may crush him, all of you together. The hope of the conspirators under Absalom was in their united strength. As a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence. The words supplied in the Authorized Version should be omitted. It is David who is viewed by his enemies as a bulged wall (see Isaiah 30:15) or a tottering fence, which it requires only a strong push to throw down.

CALVI�, "3.How long will ye continue mischief? The Hebrew word תהותתו , tehotethu, (412) which I have translated continue, or lengthen out, mischief, is rendered by some, to meditate, or imagine mischief, while others suppose an allusion to the putting forth of the tongue in sign of mockery. It has been rendered also, to rush upon, or assault. The sense of the passage seems to be, How long will ye meditate evil against a man, and persist in mischievous devices for accomplishing his ruin? He has in view the obstinate malice of his enemies, moving every stone for his destruction, and forming new plans daily for effecting it. The instruction to be learned from his experience is, that we should exercise patience, even when our enemies show unwearied cruelty in their attempts to destroy us, and are instigated by the devil to incessant artifices for our persecution. We may just advert to the meaning of the figure which is subjoined. Some think that the wicked are compared to a bowing wall, because it threatens every moment to fall to the ground, and they, upon every sin which they commit, tend more and more downwards, till they are precipitated into destruction. But it would seem as if the allusion were somewhat different. A wall, when ill built, bulges out in the center, presenting the appearance of nearly twice its actual breadth; but, as it is hollow within, it soon falls to ruins. The wicked, in like manner, are dilated with pride, and assume, in their consultations, a most formidable appearance; but David predicts that they would be brought to unexpected and utter destruction, like a wall badly constructed, and hollow in the interior, which falls with a sudden crash, and is broken by its own weight into a thousand pieces. (413) The word גדר,gader, which I have rendered, a fence, means, properly, an enclosure built of slight and insufficient materials; (414) and an epithet is added still more to express the violence and impetuosity of their fall. The Psalmist, then, would teach us that, high as our enemies may appear to stand, and proud and swelling as their denunciations may be, they shall be suddenly and signally overthrown, like a smitten wall.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 3. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? It is always best to begin with God, and then we may 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; whatever 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?" (So Dr. Kay, of Calcutta, translates it.) 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 like 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.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 3: --"How long will ye assault a man?How long will ye crush him,As though he were a leaning wall--A fence nearly thrust down?" French and Skinner.Ver. 3. Against a man. That sure is but a poetical expression for against me, i.e., David, the speaker, against whom the neighbouring nations raised war, and his own subjects rebellions. Thus doth Christ oft speak of himself under the title of the Son of Man, in the third person; and Paul (2 Corinthians 12:2), Oisa anyrwpon, "I knew a man, "i.e., undoubtedly himself. Henry Hammond.Ver. 3. As a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence. Christ gave no blow, but merely asked his murderers whom they sought for; and yet they fell flat and prostrate to the ground (John 18:1-40), so that the wicked persecutors of the godly are aptly and properly likened and compared to a tottering and trembling wall. For as soon as ever the blasts of God's wrath and judgment are moved and kindled against them, they are so quivering and comfortless, that they would take them to be most their friends who would soonest despatch them out of the world; as Christ said aptly of them, they would pray the mountains to fall upon them. Luke 23:1-56. John Hooper.Ver. 3. As a bowing wall shall ye be. In consequence of heavy rains and floods, and unsound foundations, it is very common to see walls much out of perpendicular; and some of them so much so, that it might be thought scarcely possible for them to stand. "Poor old Raman is very ill, I hear." "Yes, the wall is bowing." "Begone, thou low caste! thou art a kuttle chiover, "that is, "a ruined wall." "By the

oppression of the head man, the people of that village are like a ruined wall." J. Robert's "Oriental Illustrations."Ver. 3. A bowing wall. A wall, when ill built, bulges out in the centre, presenting the appearance of nearly twice its actual breadth; but, as it is hollow within, it soon falls to ruins. The wicked, in like manner, are dilated with pride, and assume, in their consultations, a most formidable appearance; but David predicts that they would be brought to unexpected and utter destruction, like a wall badly constructed, and hollow in the interior, which falls with a sudden crash, and is broken by its own weight into a thousand pieces. John Calvin.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 62:3. How long will ye — Mine enemies, (to whom he now turns his speech,) imagine mischief against a man — Against me, a man like yourselves, whom common humanity obliges you to pity; a single man, who is no fit match for you? Ye shall be slain all of you — The mischief which ye design for me shall fall upon your own heads. And accordingly Saul, and the generality of these men, were slain, 1 Samuel 31. As a bowing wall shall ye be — As suddenly and easily overthrown; as a tottering fence — The word fence, or hedge, does not fully express the sense of the original word, גדר, gadeer, “which means such a sort of partition, or wall, as, when it is decayed, is liable to fall and crush a man to death. In this view the similitude is, not that they should be in a ruinous condition, like a decayed wall, but that they should threaten destruction to all who came near them, as a falling wall does to all those who come within the reach of it; and as Isaiah expresses it, Like a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly in an instant, Isaiah 30:13 .” — See Green.

PETT, "Verse 3‘How long will you set upon a man,That you may slay him, all of you,Like a leaning wall,Like a tottering fence?’But while he sees God as his Rock and his strong tower, He is invisible to his adversaries who consequently see him as vulnerable and collapsing. They see him as like a leaning wall which could fall at any moment, and as a tottering fence which is totally insecure. They do not realise that God is with him. That is why they are going about to slay him. They do not realise how foolish their attitude is when they are dealing with one with whom God is pleased.

So David asks them how long they intend their behaviour and attitude to go on? For how long are they futilely going to set on him in order to slay him? He has no fear, for his confidence is in God.

TRAPP, "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.

Ver. 3. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man?] What though I am but a

man, and in your eyes a mean despicable creature; yet know ye, that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself, Psalms 4:3, where David bespeaketh his enemies with like sharpness as here for their malice and madness against him. The Hebrew word rendered imagine is found only here: the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin render it, How long will ye rush against a man? וניפיטוףטו, Irruitis. Austin, Quosque apponitis super hominem? sc. onera et opprobria, How long lay you load of injuries and indignities upon me?

Ye shall be slain all of you] Or, will ye be murdered? Will ye run upon the pikes? Are you ambitious of your own ruin?

As a bowing wall shall ye be] Borne down by the weight of your own wickedness. As a bulging wall standeth not long, and as a rotten hedge, if but trod on, breaketh under a man; so shall ye be suddenly destroyed, and with little ado. Thus he threatened his enemies, the proudest of them, being himself gotten upon the rock that was higher than he, Psalms 61:2.

WHEDO�, "3. How long will ye imagine mischief—He addresses the leaders of the rebellion. The Hebrew word translated “imagine mischief” occurs nowhere else, and its derivation has been variously understood. The sense most in accordance with the imagery of the context, and sustained by modern oriental usage and the ancient Versions, is, to storm against, to break in upon, and hence to persecute, assail. “How long will ye storm against, or break in upon, a man?”

Ye shall be slain—Ye will crush, all of you. The verb is to be taken in Piel, not passive, as describing what they would do, not what should be done to them; and the metaphor requires the radical sense as above, not the secondary sense as in the common Version.

As a bowing wall… and… tottering fence—As a leaning wall, a wall thrust at, or thrust down. The idea of the latter, which is in the form of climax, is that of a wall which, from a violent shock, is thrown out of line and is ready to fall, or is already falling. Such was the contemptuous idea which the conspirators held of David. Perowne translates the passage:—

How long will ye rush against a man.Will ye all of you break [him] down,As [though he were] a bowing wall, a tottering fence?

4 Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place; they take delight in lies.With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse.[b]

BAR�ES, "They only consult to cast him down from his excellency - This is the object of all their counsels and plans. They aim at one high in rank - and their purpose, their sole purpose, is to bring him down. This would apply well to the case of David in the time of the rebellion of Absalom.

They delight in lies - In false pretences; in secret plans of evil; in hypocritical assurances. This was eminently true of Absalom, who made use of these arts to seduce the people from allegiance to his father. 2Sa_15:1-6.

They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly - They profess true attachment and zeal, but they are traitors at heart. See the notes at Psa_28:3. This, too, would apply well to the conduct of Absalom and those associated with him.

CLARKE, "To cast him down from his excellency - They are consulting to dethrone me, and use treachery and falsehood in order to bring it about: “They delight in lies.”

They bless with their mouth - Probably alluding to Absalom’s blandishments of the people. He flattered them in order to get the sovereign rule. Or it may refer to the people of Jerusalem, whose perfidy he saw, while they were full of professions of loyalty, etc.; but he could not trust them, and therefore retired from Jerusalem.

GILL, "They only consult to cast him down from his excellency,.... 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 what 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 Ecc_10:20.

JAMISO�, "his excellency — or, elevation to which God had raised him (Psa_4:2). This they try to do by lies and duplicity (Psa_5:9).

PULPIT, "They only consult to cast him down from his excellency; i.e. they have no other thought but this—to cast me down from my high station, while I have no other thought but to trust in God, and to look to him for support and protection (Psalms 62:1, Psalms 62:2, Psalms 62:6). They delight in lies. Some indication of the "lies" circulated against David at this Time is given in 2 Samuel 15:3-5; 2 Samuel 16:7, 2 Samuel 16:8. They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly; literally, they bless with his mouth, which may be explained as meaning either, "They bless, each of them, with his mouth" (Kay, Cheyne), or "they Bless through the mouth of their leader "—i.e. Ahithophel (Canon Cook).

CALVI�, "4.Yet they consult to cast him down from his elevation I still would interpret the particle אך , ach, in an adversative sense. David, on the one hand, encouraged himself by determining to rest steadfastly upon the promise of divine favor; but, upon the other, he had before him the machinations of his enemies, characterised by cruelty, audacity, pride, and deceit. By all their attempts, as if he had said, they do nothing but precipitate their own fall; still such are the frenzy and the fury by which they are actuated, that they persist in their intrigues against me. He insinuates that their attacks were directed, not so much against himself as against God — agreeably to the picture which is given us of impiety by the poets in their fable of the Giants. (415) �othing will satisfy the enemies of God but setting themselves above the heavens. David is to be understood as primarily speaking here of himself in the third person, but of himself as elevated expressly by the divine hand. Accordingly, though we might consider that God is the party directly intended, the scope of the words rather intimates that they aimed at the overthrow of one whom God had exalted, and desired to establish in honor. In thus attempting to thwart his purpose, they were really fighting against God. The clause which follows, they delight in lies, has reference to the same thing. Refusing to acknowledge his divine vocation, they persevered in following such corrupt designs, as could only recoil upon them to their own confusion, as the Psalmist exclaims,

“O ye sons of men! how long is my glory made matter of your reproach? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.” — (Psalms 4:2)

Or the expression may denote the hidden and deceitful measures which they adopted in their persecution of this saint of God; for it is immediately added, that they blessed with their mouth, but cursed inwardly Whatever may be the meaning, it is evident that David, contemplating all the treachery, intrigues, and wickedness of his enemies, supports himself by the single consideration, that his help was in God, and that every opposing instrumentality was therefore vain.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 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 dispute, 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 our 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 base 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 safe 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.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 4. They only consult, etc. Truly I am he whom if they shall consult to cast down from his excellency, they shall delight in a lie, they shall bless with their mouth and curse inwardly. That is: what I have said of worldly men, boasting themselves upon a man, falling into ruin, I desire that you should know that the same fate shall never befall me who trust in God; for otherwise does the matter stand. Hermann Venema.Ver. 4. Excellency. Rather, elevation; the figure of the preceding verse being followed out. Religious Tract Society's �otes.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 62:4. They only consult to cast him down — �amely, the man mentioned Psalms 62:3. He means himself, of whom he continues to speak in the third person. From his excellency — From the hopes and attainment of that royal dignity to which God hath designed and anointed me. They delight in lies, &c. — In secret slanders and execrations, covered with flatteries and fair speeches, as it here follows.

PETT, "Verse 4They only consult to thrust him down from his dignity,They delight in lies,They bless with their mouth,

But they curse inwardly. [Selah.’He describes the kind of people that they are. Their only aim is to drag him down from his exalted position, to strip him of his authority. And in order to do so they are prepared to use lies, and false accusations. And their hypocrisy is brought out in that publicly they bless him with their mouths, while privately they curse him in their hearts. �ote how their perfidy and untrustworthiness contrasts with the faithfulness and trustworthiness of God as already described. He is firm and sure, they are totally untrustworthy.

‘Selah.’ Let the worshippers think of that.

TRAPP, "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. Selah.

Ver. 4. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency] Or, yet they consult; q.d. �otwithstanding all that I can say or that God will do to them, they will on in their evil devices and endeavours against me; there is no reclaiming of them. Deus quos destruit dementat.

They delight in lies] �ot only he that maketh a lie, but he that loveth and delighteth in it when made by another, shall be shut out of heaven, Revelation 22:15, Romans 1:32.

They bless with their mouths] Heb. with his mouth, that is, every one doth so; neither is there ever a better of these glavering companions, dissembling scrubs.

WHEDO�, "4. They only consult to cast him down—On only, truly, see Psalms 62:1. The object of the conspiracy was to cast David down from the height of his kingly power and honour, to which God had exalted him; and he here submits the issue between them and God.

They delight in lies—As their object is unjust and dishonourable, so they do not scruple to adopt the basest hypocrisy and falsehood in order to accomplish it.

They bless with their mouth—Literally, they bless each one with his mouth. They profess openly to the people that they are doing all for the public good.

5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.

BAR�ES, "My soul, wait thou only upon God - See the notes at Psa_62:1. There is, in the word used here, and rendered wait, the same idea of rest or repose which occurs in Psa_62:1. The meaning is, that he would commit the whole cause to God, and that his soul would thus be calm and without apprehension.

For my expectation is from him - In Psa_62:1, this is salvation. The idea here is, that all that he expected or hoped for must come from God. He did not rely on his fellow men; he did not rely on himself. God alone could deliver him, and he confidently believed that God would do it. Often are we in such circumstances that we feel that our only “expectation” - our only hope - is in God. All our strength fails; all our resources are exhausted; our fellow-men cannot or will not aid us; our own efforts seem to be vain; our plans are frustrated, and we are shut up to the conclusion that God alone can help us. How often is this felt by a Christian parent in regard to the conversion of his children. All his own efforts seem to be vain; all that he says is powerless; his hopes, long-cherished, are disappointed; his very prayers seem not to be heard; and he is made to feel that his only hope is in God - a sovereign God - and that the whole case must be left in His hands. This state of mind, when it is fully reached, is often all that is needful in order that our desires may be granted. It is desirable that this state of mind should be produced; and when it is produced, the prayer is answered.

CLARKE, "Wait thou only upon God - There is none but him in whom thou canst safely trust; and to get his help, resign thyself into his hands; be subject to him, and be silent before him; thou hast what thou hast deserved. See on Psa_62:1 (note).

GILL, "My soul, wait thou only upon God,.... Be silent and subject to him, acquiesce in his providences, rest in him patiently and quietly, wait for his salvation; See Gill on Psa_62:1; 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.

HE�RY 5-7, ". He is himself encouraged to continue waiting upon God (Psa_62:5-7): My soul, wait thou only upon God. Note, The good we do we should stir up ourselves to continue doing, and to do yet more and more, as those that have, through grace, experienced the comfort and benefit of it. We have found it good to wait upon God, and therefore should charge our souls, and even charm them, into such a constant dependence upon him as may make us always easy. He had said (Psa_62:1), From him cometh my salvation; he says (Psa_62:5), My expectation is from him. His salvation was the principal matter of his expectation; let him have that from God, and he expects no more. His salvation being from God, all his other expectations are from him. “If God will save my soul, as to every thing else let him do what he pleases with me, and I will acquiesce in his disposals, knowing they shall all turn to my salvation,” Phi_1:19. He repeats (Psa_62:6) what he had said concerning God (Psa_62:2), as one that was not only assured of it, but greatly pleased with it, and that dwelt much upon it in his thoughts: He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence, I know he is; but there he adds, I shall not be greatly moved, here, I shall not be moved at all. Note, The more faith is acted the more active it is. Crescit eundo - It grows by being exercised. The more we meditate upon God's attributes and promises, and our own experience, the more ground we get of our fears, which, like Haman, when they begin to fall, shall fall before us, and we shall be kept in perfect peace, Isa_26:3. And, as David's faith in God advances to an unshaken stayedness, so his joy in God improves itself into a holy triumph (Psa_62:7): In God is my salvation and my glory. Where our salvation is there our glory is; for what is our salvation but the glory to be revealed, the eternal weight of glory? And there our glorying must be. In God let us boast all the day long. “The rock of my strength (that is, my strong rock, on which I build my hopes and stay myself) and my refuge, to which I flee for shelter when I am pursued, is in God, and in him only. I have no other to flee to, no other to trust to; the more I think of it the better satisfied I am in the choice I have made.” Thus does he delight himself in the Lord, and then ride upon the high places of the earth, Isa_58:14.

PULPIT, "From the thought of his bitter enemies and their wicked machinations against him, the psalmist returns to expressions of his own full confidence in God—first falling back on almost the identical words of his opening stanza (comp. Psalms 62:5, Psalms 62:6 with Psalms 62:1, Psalms 62:2); then slightly varying them (Psalms 62:7); and finally commending trust and confidence to the remnant of the people who continue faithful to God and to his anointed (Psalms 62:8).

Psalms 62:5

My soul, wait thou only upon God. Compare the opening words of the psalm, which are nearly identical. For my expectation is from him. "Expectation" here takes the place of "salvation" in Psalms 62:1. Otherwise there is no difference. The God who has given

salvation in the past is the Being from whom it is expected in the future.

CALVI�, "5.�evertheless, my soul, be thou silent before God. Here there may appear to be a slight inconsistency, inasmuch as he encourages himself to do what he had already declared himself to have done. His soul was silent before God; and where the necessity of this new silence, as if still under agitation of spirit? Here it is to be remembered, that our minds can never be expected to reach such perfect composure as shall preclude every inward feeling of disquietude, but are, at the best, as the sea before a light breeze, fluctuating sensibly, though not swollen into billows. It is not without a struggle that the saint can compose his mind; and we can very well understand how David should enjoin more perfect submission upon a spirit which was already submissive, urging upon himself farther advancement in this grace of silence, till he had mortified every carnal inclination, and thoroughly subjected himself to the will of God. How often, besides, will Satan renew the disquietudes which seemed to be effectually expelled? Creatures of such instability, and liable to be borne away by a thousand different influences, we need to be confirmed again and again. I repeat, that there is no reason to be surprised though David here calls upon himself a second time to preserve that silence before God, which he might already appear to have attained; for, amidst the disturbing motions of the flesh, perfect composure is what we never reach. The danger is, that when new winds of troubles spring up, we lose that inward tranquillity which we enjoyed, and hence the necessity of improving the example of David, by establishing ourselves in it more and more. He adds the ground of his silence. He had no immediate response from God, but he confidently hoped in him. My expectation, he says, is from God. �ever, as if he had said, will he frustrate the patient waiting of his saints; doubtless my silence shall meet with its reward; I shall restrain myself, and not make that false haste which will only retard my deliverance.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 5. 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 you wait 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 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.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 5. My soul, wait thou only upon God. They trust not God at all who trust him not alone. He that stands with one foot on a rock, and another foot upon a quicksand, will sink and perish, as certainly as he that standeth with both feet upon a quicksand. David knew this, and therefore calleth earnestly upon his soul (for his business lay most within doors) to trust only upon God. See Psalms 62:1. John Trapp.Ver. 5. My expectation is from him. As if he had said, never will he frustrate the patient waiting of his saints; doubtless my silence shall meet with its reward; I shall restrain myself, and not make that false haste which will only retard my deliverance. John Calvin.Ver. 5. My expectation is from him. In an account of the voyage of some of the early missionaries who left Hermannsburg for South Africa, is the following incident: --After a long calm, a brother prayed thus to the Lord for favouring wind: "Lord, thou givest them that fear thee the desires of their heart, and dost help them; help us now, that we may no longer be becalmed upon the sea; help us on our journey, you who ride on the wings of the wind." He was so joyful over this word of the Lord, that he rose up and said in his heart: "�ow I have already that for which I prayed." After the prayer, one of the crew stepped over to the helmsman, and said, half mocking, half in earnest, "So we shall have wind: did you hear the prayer? It does not look very like it!" So he said, and half an hour after there came so strong a blast that the waves broke over the ship. William Fleming Stevenson, in "Praying and Working, "1862.Ver. 5. He shifts much needless labour, and provideth great contentment, who closes himself with God alone. To deal with man alone, apart from God, is both an endless and fruitless labour. If we have counsel to ask, help or benefit to obtain, or approbation to seek, there is none end with man: for every man we must have sundry reasons and motives; and what pleaseth one will offend twenty: as many heads, as many wits and fancies. �o man can give contentment to all, or change himself into so many fashions, as he shall encounter humours; and yet it is more easy to take sundry fashions than to be acceptable in them. William Struther.

TRAPP, "Psalms 62:5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation [is] from him.

Ver. 5. My soul, wait thou only upon God] They trust not God at all, that is, not alone. He that stands with one foot on a rock and another foot upon a quicksand, will sink and perish as certainly as he that standeth with both feet on a quicksand. David knew this, and therefore calleth earn and earnestly upon his soul (for his business lay most within doors) to trust only upon God. See Psalms 62:1.

For my expectation is from him] If he will not help me, none else shall; but it is he that saith, Look unto me and be saved, for I am God, and there is none else, Isaiah 45:22.

PETT,"Verses 5-82). He Calls On Himself And His People To Trust Wholly In God, Who Is Their Sure Defence And Refuge (5-8).

He now repeats and expands on what he has said in Psalms 62:1-2, calling on himself again to wait quietly before God alone, because his expectation is from Him. He knows that he can wait quietly because it is God Who is his Rock, his Deliverance, his High Tower, his Glory and his Refuge. But this time his aim is not only to encourage himself, but also his followers who are sharing his predicament (Psalms 62:8). �ow he is unswerving in his certainty that he will not be moved.

Psalms 62:5-6

‘My inner life, wait you in silence for God only,For my expectation is from him,He only is my rock and my deliverance,He is my high tower, I will not be moved.He again calls on his inner life to wait in silence for God only. And this time it is his expectation that is set on God, as he eagerly awaits his deliverance. He has no doubt that when God is ready He will act.

He then outlines why he is so certain that God will act, building on what he has said in Psalms 62:2. It is because it is He Who is his Rock, the Rock on which he can stand firm as he awaits His Deliverance; and is his High Tower in which he has taken refuge so that nothing can touch him. And now he drops the word ‘greatly’. �othing can move him because he is in God’s hands. For his Deliverance and his Glory are in God’s hands.

K&D 5-8, "The beginning of the second group goes back and seizes upon the beginning of the first. ך�h is affirmative both in Psa_62:6 and in Psa_62:7. The poet again

takes up the emotional affirmations of Psa_62:2, Psa_62:3, and, firm and defiant in faith, opposes them to his masked enemies. Here what he says to his soul is very similar to what he said of his soul in Psa_62:2, inasmuch as he makes his own soul objective and exalts himself above her; and it is just in this that the secret of personality consists. He here admonishes her to that silence which in Psa_62:2 he has already acknowledged as her own; because all spiritual existence as being living remains itself unchanged only by means of a perpetual “becoming” (mittelst steten Werdens), of continuous, self-conscious renovation. The “hope” in Psa_62:6 is intended to be understood according to that which forms its substance, which here is nothing more nor less than salvation, Psa_62:2. That for which he who resigns himself to God hopes, comes from God; it cannot therfore fail him, for God the Almighty One and plenteous in mercy is surety for it. David renounces all help in himself, all personal avenging of his own honour - his salvation and

his honour are על־אלהים (vid., on Psa_7:11). The rock of his strength, i.e., his strong

defence, his refuge, is אלהיםt; it is where Elohim is, Elohim is it in person (�t as in Isa_

26:4). By עם, Psa_62:9, the king addresses those who have reamined faithful to him,

whose feeble faith he has had to chide and sustain in other instances also in the Psalms belonging to this period. The address does not suit the whole people, who had become

for the most part drawn into the apostasy. Moreover it would then have been ע�י (my

people). עם frequently signifies the people belonging to the retinue of a prince (Jdg_3:18), or in the service of any person of rank (1Ki_19:21), or belonging to any union of society whatever (2Ki_4:42.). David thus names those who cleave to him; and the fact that he cannot say “my people” just shows that the people as a body had become alienated from him. But those who have remained to him of the people are not therefore to despair; but they are to pour out before God, who will know how to protect both them and their king, whatever may lie heavily upon their heart.

SIMEON, "GOD OUR ONLY AND ALL-SUFFICIENT HELP

Psalms 62:5-8. My soul, wait thou only upon God: for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. 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; ye people, pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.

THERE is scarcely any thing that more offends the ignorant and ungodly, than a profession of maintaining fellowship with Jehovah, and of receiving from him certain communications which are unknown to the world at large. Such pretensions are considered by them as the offspring of spiritual pride and incurable presumption. But it will scarcely be supposed that the Gospel has reduced us to a lower state than was enjoyed under the law, or deprived us of privileges that were possessed under that less perfect dispensation: yet behold, with what intimate access to God the Psalmist was favoured, and what communion with him he teaches every contrite sinner to expect! It is worthy of observation, that in this psalm there is not one single petition, or thanksgiving: the whole of it is occupied in stating what comfort he found in God, and in encouraging others to expect the same. Especially in the words which we have just read, we see,

I. His happy experience—

Great and manifold were David’s trials, from his earliest youth even to his dying hour. But “in all he encouraged himself in the Lord his God:”

He waited upon God as his all-sufficient help—

[The psalm begins with affirming this: and, in our text, he encourages his soul to persevere in this blessed course: “My soul, wait thou only upon God.” As for men, he found that they could not be relied upon: both rich and poor were alike but a broken reed, “a lie and vanity [Note: ver. 9.].” Nor could power or wealth afford any better ground of confidence [Note: ver. 10.]. God alone has the power requisite for supplying the wants of his creatures [Note: ver. 11.]; and therefore “from God alone was all his

expectation [Note: ver. 5.].” To him he looked in all his troubles, whether of a temporal or spiritual nature. “When persecuted by Saul, he fled to his invisible Protector, and took refuge under the shadow of Jehovah’s wings — — — In like manner, when assaulted by Satan, his great spiritual adversary, “he gat him to his Lord right humbly,” and sought in him that salvation which He alone can give — — — Under all circumstances he considered God as able, willing, yea and pledged too, to deliver him: and to him he ran, as to a strong tower, in which he found unfailing security. As to the time and manner of his deliverance, he left that entirely to God.]

He found in God all that his diversified necessities required—

[He was never disappointed of his hope. The many miraculous escapes which he experienced, testify that God was ever nigh at hand to help him — — — and the peace and stability which he obtained in his soul after his most grievous fall, manifestly prove, how exceedingly the grace of God was magnified towards him — — — We wonder not at his frequent repetition of the same acknowledgments [Note: ver. 1, 2. with the text.], or at the augmented confidence with which he was enabled to look forward to a continuance of the Divine favour even unto death [Note: Compare ver. 2, with ver. 6. “Not greatly moved;” “Not moved at all.”].]

But from this experience he was fully qualified to give—

II. His advice founded upon it—

To wait on God is the duty of every living creature, and especially of those who are instructed in the knowledge of his revealed will. “He is the one source of every good and perfect gift.” On him therefore David advises us to wait,

1. In a way of earnest prayer—

[We should not merely call upon God, but “pour out our hearts before him.” If our troubles be of a more public nature, we should, like Hezekiah, spread our wants before him [Note: 2 Kings 19:14.]: or, if they be known to ourselves alone, we should, like Hannah, carry them to the Lord [Note: 1 Samuel 1:15.]. The direction given us by God himself is, that “in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving we should make our requests known unto God [Note: Philippians 4:6.].” We should not say of one thing, It is too great for me to ask; or of another thing, It is too small: we should remember, that “he will be inquired of by us,” before he will communicate to us his promised blessings [Note: Ezekiel 36:37.]: and, if we ask in faith, he will “do for us exceeding abundantly above all that we either ask or think.”]

2. In a way of confident expectation—

[We should “not stagger at any of God’s promises, but be strong in faith, giving glory to God.” If he see fit to delay his answer, we must not be discouraged, but wait his time; assured, that “the vision shall not tarry” beyond the precise moment that he sees to be best for us [Note: Habakkuk 2:3.]. We must trust him no less when we see no way for

our deliverance [Note: Isaiah 50:10. Isaiah 28:16.], than when the promised relief is visibly at hand. Under all the endearing characters which are assigned to him in our text, we should expect his gracious interposition. If our difficulties and trials be of a temporal nature, we should anticipate with confidence his effectual aid [Note: Isaiah 50:7-9.]; and if of a spiritual nature, we should feel assured, that none shall finally prevail against us [Note: Jeremiah 1:19.]: we should confidently say, “In the Lord have I righteousness and strength.” “In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.”]

Address—

1. To those who are labouring under temporal affliction—

[Those who have no God to go to, often sink under their troubles, and not unfrequently seek refuge from them in suicide. Be ye not like to them. There is a God, whose is the earth, and the fulness thereof, and who feedeth even the ravens that call upon him. Your trials are intended to lead you to him; and if they have this effect, you shall have cause to bless him for them to all eternity. Only remember not to lean to the creature for support. Seek every thing in God; in “God only;” in “God at all times;” and you shall not be disappointed of your hope.]

2. To those who are bowed down with spiritual trouble—

[Hear what instruction the Prophet Jeremiah gives to persons in your state [Note: Lamentations 3:25-26. Add to this, Lamentations 3:27-29.]. David had sunk under his troubles, if he had not cast his care entirely upon the Lord [Note: Psalms 27:13-14.]. Follow then his example in this particular: charge it upon yourself to do so; “My soul, wait thou only upon God.” And if still distressing fears oppress you, chide your unbelieving soul as he did, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my confidence and my God [Note: Psalms 42:11.].”]

6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

BAR�ES, "He only is my rock ... - See the notes at Psa_62:2. The only difference

between this verse and Psa_62:2 is, that in this verse the word “greatly” is omitted. The psalmist declares here in the most absolute manner, that he shall not be “moved” at all. In Psa_62:2, he said that he would not be “greatly moved;” his mind would not be much or materially disturbed. The language here indicates more entire confidence - more certain conviction - showing that the slight apprehension or fear which existed in the beginning of the psalm, had been wholly dissipated, and that his mind had become perfectly calm.

GILL, "He only is my rock and my salvation,.... See Gill on Psa_62:2;

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 rigour, the more he considers God as his rock, salvation, defence, and refuge; See Gill

JAMISO�, "not be moved — not at all; his confidence has increased.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 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. �ot 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 how 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.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 6-7. Twice in this Psalm hath he repeated this, in the second and in the sixth verses, He is my rock and my salvation, and my defence, and (as it is enlarged in the seventh verse) my refuge and my glory. If my defence, what temptation shall wound me? If my rock, what storm shall shake me? If my salvation, what melancholy shall defeat me? If my glory, what calumny shall defame me? John Dunne.Ver. 6-7. How quickly the soul of the faithful returns again to the God of its confidence. He spared a moment to admonish the ungodly, but like the dove of �oah he returns to the ark. Observe how the expressions of this holy confidence are repeated, with every pleasing variety of expression, to denote the comfort of his heart. Reader, ask yourself--are such views of Christ your views of him? Do you know him in those covenant characters? Is Jesus your rock, your salvation, your defence? Robert Hawker, D.D.

TRAPP, "Psalms 62:6 He only [is] my rock and my salvation: [he is] my defence; I shall not be moved.

Ver. 6. He only is, &c.] Versus amoibaeus. See Psalms 62:2.

I shall not be moved] Before it was, I shall not be greatly moved; now upon further exercise of his trust, it is, I shall not be moved. Ita in lucta crescit lux fidei, et tides firmior; faith is made stronger by trials.

7 My salvation and my honor depend on God[c]; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

BAR�ES, "In God is my salvation - See Psa_62:1. That is, his salvation, his safety, his anticipated deliverance, was to come only from God.

And my glory - That in which I glory or boast; the source of all in me that is glorious or honorable. he gloried that there was such a God; he gloried that He was his God.

The rock of my strength - The strong rock; the refuge that cannot be successfully assailed; where I shall feel strong and secure. See the notes at Psa_18:2.

My refuge - That to which I may flee for safety. See the notes at Psa_46:1.

CLARKE, "In God is my salvation - al�Elohim, “Upon God is my עי�אלהים

salvation;” he has taken it upon himself. And my glory - the preservation of my state, and the safety of my kingdom.

GILL, "In God is my salvation,.... Or "upon God" (h); 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 Psa_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.

JAMISO�, "rock of my strength — or strongest support (Psa_7:10; Psa_61:3).

CALVI�, "7.In God is my salvation One expression is here heaped upon another and this apparently because he wished to rein that infirmity of disposition which makes us so prone to slide into wrong exercise. We may throw out a passing and occasional acknowledgement, that our only help is to be found in God, and yet shortly display our distrust in him by busying ourselves in all directions to supplement what we consider defective in his aid. The various terms which he employs to express the sufficiency of God as a deliverer, may thus be considered as so many arguments to constancy, or so many checks which he would apply to the waywardness of the carnal heart, ever disposed to depend for support upon others rather than God. Such is the manner in which he animates his own spirit; and next, we find him addressing himself to others, calling upon them to enter upon the same conflict, and reap the same victory and triumph. By the people, there seems little doubt that he means the Jews. The Gentiles being yet unvisited by the true religion and divine revelation, it was only in Judea that God could be the object of trust and religious invocation; and it would appear, that by distinguishing the chosen people of the Lord from the surrounding heathen, he insinuates how disgraceful it would be in them not to devote themselves entirely to God, being, as they were, the children of Abraham, favored with the discovery of his grace, and specially taken under his divine protection. The expression, at all times, means both in prosperity and adversity, intimating the blameworthiness of those who waver and succumb under every variation in their outward circumstances. God tries his children with afflictions, but here they are taught by David to abide them with constancy and courage. The hypocrites, who are loud in their praises of God so long as prosperity shines upon their head, while their heart fails them upon the first approach of trial, dishonor his name by placing a most injurious limitation to his power. We are bound to put honor upon his name by remembering, in our greatest extremities, that to Him belong the issues of death. And as we are all too apt at such times to shut up our affliction in our own breast — a circumstance which can only aggravate the trouble and imbitter the mind against God, David could not have suggested a better expedient than that of disburdening our cares to him, and thus, as it were, pouring out our hearts before him. It is always found, that when the heart is pressed under a load of distress, there is no freedom in prayer. (419) Under trying circumstances, we must comfort ourselves by reflecting that God will extend relief, provided we just freely roll them over upon his consideration. What the Psalmist advises is all the more necessary, considering the mischievous tendency which we have naturally to keep our troubles pent up in our breasts till they drive us to despair. Usually, indeed, men show much anxiety and ingenuity in seeking to escape from the troubles which may happen to press upon them; but so long as they shun coming into the

presence of God, they only involve themselves in a labyrinth of difficulties. �ot to insist farther upon the words, David is here to be considered as exposing that diseased but deeply-rooted principle in our nature, which leads us to hide our griefs, and ruminate upon them, instead of relieving ourselves at once by pouring out our prayers and complaints before God. The consequence is, that we are distracted more and more with our distresses, and merge into a state of hopeless despondency. In the close of the verse, he says, in reference to the people generally, what he had said of himself individually, that their safety was to be found only under the divine protection.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 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.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 6-7. See Psalms on "Psalms 62:6" for further information.Ver. 6-7. See Psalms on "Psalms 62:6" for further information.Ver. 7. (first clause). On the shields of the Greeks, �eptune was depicted; on the shields of the Trojans, Minerva; because in them they put their confidence, and in their protection deemed themselves secure... �ow, Christ is the insignia of our shields. Often does David say, God is his protector. The Hebrew is magen; that is, shield, buckler, as Psalms 18:2; Psalms 18:30. Thomas Le Blanc.Ver. 7. There are several names of God given in this verse, that so every soul may take with him that name which may minister most comfort to him. Let him that is pursued by any particular temptation, invest God, as God is a refuge, a sanctuary; let him that is buffeted with Satan, battered with his own concupiscence receive God, as God is his defence and target; let him that is shaked with perplexities in his

understanding, or scruples in his conscience, lay hold on God, as God is his rock and his anchor; let him that hath any diffident jealousy and suspicion of the free and full mercy of God, apprehend God, as God is his salvation; and let him that walks in the ingloriousness and contempt of the world, contemplate God, as God is glory. Any of these notions is enough to any man; but God is all these, and all else, that all souls can think, to every man. Abraham Wright.

PETT, "Psalms 62:7-8

With God is my salvation and my glory,The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.Trust in him at all times, you people,Pour out your heart before him, God is a refuge for us. [Selah.’He knows that both his deliverance and his reputation are in God’s hands. �ote his confidence that God will not only deliver him but will also restore his reputation and honour (his Glory). In Psalms 62:4 they sought to thrust him down from his dignified position. �ow he asserts his confidence that he will not only be delivered, but that that dignity will be restored. If this was written when he was being dispossessed as a Commander, he will, as we know, achieve kingship. If as a King, he will be restored to the throne with greater honour. And he knows that this will be so, because in God is the Rock of his strength, and his Refuge. In God he is both made strong and protected.

And all this was not only true for himself, but also for all true believers. He calls on ‘you people’ to trust in Him at all times, and to pour out their hearts before Him, because God is their Refuge too. He is a Refuge for all who trust in Him.

We now learn that the fact that David was able to wait silently on God (Psalms 62:1; Psalms 62:5) arose from the fact that he had poured out his heart before Him. He had put everything in God’s hands and he could therefore now quietly await his deliverance. We too can pour out our hearts before Him. As God’s children we can take our burdens to the Lord and leave them there.

8 Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

BAR�ES, "Trust in him at all times - This exhortation, addressed to all persons, in all circumstances, and at all times, is founded on the personal experience of the psalmist, and on the views which he had of the character of God, as worthy of universal confidence. David had found him worthy of such confidence; he now exhorts all others to make the same trial, and to put their trust in God in like manner. What he had found God to be, all others would find him to be. His own experience of God’s goodness and mercy - of his gracious interposition in the time of trouble - had been such that he could confidently exhort all others, in similar circumstances, to make the same trial of his love.

Ye people, pour out your heart before him - All people. On the meaning of the phrase “pour out your heart,” see the notes at Psa_42:4. The idea is, that the heart becomes tender and soft, so that its feelings and desires flow out as water, and all its emotions, all its wishes, its sorrows, its troubles, are poured out before God. All that is in our hearts may be made known to God. There is not a desire which he cannot gratify; not a trouble in which he cannot relieve us; not a danger in which he cannot defend us. And, in like manner there is not a spiritual want in which he will not feel a deep interest, nor a danger to our souls from which he will not be ready to deliver us. Much more freely than to any earthly parent - to a father, or even to a mother - may we make mention of all our troubles, little or great, before God.

God is a refuge for us - For all. For one as well as another. He is the only refuge; he is all the refuge that we need.

CLARKE, "Trust in him - ye people - All ye who are faithful to your king, continue to trust in God. The usurper will soon be cast down, and your rightful sovereign restored to his government. Fear not the threatenings of my enemies, for God will be a refuge for us.

GILL, "Trust in him at all times, ye people,.... 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, 1Sa_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 Psa_102:1, title, and Psa_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 all that is in his heart;

God is a refuge for us; to whom the saints may have recourse in all their times of trouble, and where they find safety and plenty, Isa_33:16.

HE�RY, "comfort of the ways of God themselves will invite others into those ways; there is enough in God for all the saints to draw from, and we shall have never the less for others sharing with us.

I. He counsels all to wait upon God, as he did, Psa_62:8. Observe,

1. To whom he gives this good counsel: You people (that is, all people); all shall be welcome to trust in God, for he is the confidence of all the ends of the earth, Psa_65:5. You people of the house of Israel (so the Chaldee); they are especially engaged and invited to trust in God, for he is the God of Israel; and should not a people seek unto their God?

2. What the good counsel is which he gives. (1.) To confide in God: “Trust in him; deal with him, and be willing to deal upon trust; depend upon him to perform all things for you, upon his wisdom and goodness, his power and promise, his providence and grace. Do this at all times.” We must have an habitual confidence in God always, must live a life of dependence upon him, must so trust in him at all times as not at any time to put that confidence in ourselves, or in any creature, which is to be put in him only; and we must have an actual confidence in God upon all occasions, trust in him upon every emergency, to guide us when we are in doubt, to protect us when we are in danger, to supply us when we are in want, to strengthen us for every good word and work. (2.) To converse with God: Pour out your heart before him. The expression seems to allude to the pouring out of the drink-offerings before the Lord. When we make a penitent confession of sin our hearts are therein poured out before God, 1Sa_7:6. But here it is meant of prayer, which, if it be as it should be, is the pouring out of the heart before God. We must lay our grievances before him, offer up our desires to him with all humble freedom, and then entirely refer ourselves to his disposal, patiently submitting our wills to his: this is pouring out our hearts.

JAMISO�, "pour out your heart — give full expression to feeling (1Sa_1:15; Job_30:16; Psa_42:4).

ye people — God’s people.

PULPIT, "Trust in him at all times, ye people. It is characteristic of David to join the "people" with himself in all his fears and in all his hopes. Even at the worst times, God had always some faithful ones in Israel—a "remnant" (Isaiah 1:9); and men of this sort clung to David through all his perils, and were sufficiently numerous to constitute a "people" (see 2 Samuel 18:1-6). Pour out your heart before him (comp. Psalms 42:4; Psalms 142:2, etc.): God is a Refuge for us (comp. Psalms

62:7).

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 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.SELAH. Precious pause! Timely silence! Sheep may well lie down when such pasture is before them.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 8. Trust in him, etc. To trust in God is to cast our burden on the Lord, when it is too heavy for our own shoulder (Psalms 55:22); to dwell "in the secret place of the Most High, "when we know not where to lay our heads on earth (Psalms 91:1); to "look to our Maker, "and to "have respect to the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 17:7); to lean on our Beloved (Song of Solomon 8:5, Isaiah 36:6); to stay ourselves, when sinking, on the Lord our God (Isaiah 26:3). In a word trust in God is that high act or exercise of faith whereby the soul, looking upon God and casting itself on his goodness, power, promises, faithfulness, and providence, is lifted up above carnal fears and discouragements; above perplexing doubts and disquietments; either for the obtaining and continuance of that which is good, or for the preventing or removing of that which is evil... Trust in him at all times. This holy duty is indeed never out of season; so much the original word for time, te, imports. True, indeed, our Saviour saith, and saith truly, "My time, "i.e., my time of discovering myself to be a wonder working God, "is not yet come." Yea, but all time in respect of trust in God, as an appointed, yea, and an accepted time. The wise man tell us (Ecclesiastes 3:1), "There is an appointed time for every purpose under heaven:" a time to kill and to heal, to plant and to pluck up, to weep and to laugh, to get and to lose, to be born and to die. In all these trust in God is not, like snow in harvest, uncomely, but

seasonable, yea, necessary. There may be, indeed, a time when God will not be found, but no time wherein he must not be trusted. �ullum tempus occurit regi, saith the law; let me add, nec fiducae, and it is sound divinity. The time of trusting in God cannot be lapsed. But more expressly. There are some special instances and nicks of time for trust.1. The time of prosperity; when we sit under the warm beams of a meridian sun when we wash our steps in butter and feet in oil; when the candle of the Lord shines on our tabernacle; when "our mountain stands strong; "now, now is the time for trust, but not in our mountain (for it is a mountain of ice and may soon dissolve), but in our God. Halycon days to some are temptations to security, but to saints time for trust...2. The time of adversity. This also is a seasonable time for trust; when we have no bread to eat, but that of "carefulness; "nor wine to drink, but that of "affliction" and "astonishment; "no, not water either, but that of our "fears." �ow is a time, not for over grieving, murmuring, sinking, desponding, but for trusting. In a tempest, then, a believer thinks it seasonable to cast anchor upward. Thus did good Jehoshaphat: "O our God; we know not what to do: only our eyes are unto thee." 2 Chronicles 20:12. Thus David: "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." Psalms 56:3. Times of trouble are proper times for trust, be the trouble either spiritual or temporal...At all times.1. Quando: When must we trust? "At what time?" At all times, omni hora, "every hour:" so the Syriac version. As a true friend is to love, so a sound believer is to trust, at all times. Proverbs 17:17.2. Quamdiu: The duration of this trust: "How long?" "All the day long." Psalms 44:8. All our lives long: all the days of their appointed time must God's Jobs not only "wait, "but "trust, "till their change come. Yea, "for ever" (Isaiah 26:4); nay, "for ever and ever." Psalms 52:8.Thomas Lye, M.A. (1621-1684), in "The Morning Exercises at Cripplegate."Ver. 8. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him. According to our love, so is our faith and trust in God; and according to our trust, such is our freedom at the throne of grace. Trust in him, and pour out your hearts before him; pour them out, like water, in joyful tears. For when the stone in the heart is melted by mercy, the eyes will issue like a fountain of tears. Good men have melting spirits. It is a branch of the covenant and a fruit of the effusion of the Spirit of grace. It is asserted by the learned in chemistry that no menstruums are so powerful as sulphureous and oily liquors to melt down the hardest minerals; to be sure there is nothing like the oil of mercy, so potent a solvent for an iron heart. Samuel Lee.Ver. 8. At all times. I might mention many times in which we might trust in the Lord, but they are comprised in this little word all, and a precious word it is: Trust in him at all times. When you are full of fears, then you shall bring the little word all unto him, and say, I have nothing to encourage me to come to thee but that precious little word all. John Berridge.Ver. 8. Pour out your heart. The word pour plainly signifies that the heart is full of grief, and almost afraid to empty itself before the Lord. What does he say to you? "Come and pour out all your trouble before me." He is never weary with hearing

the complaints of his people; therefore you should go and keep nothing back; tell him everything that hurts you, and pour all your complaints into his merciful bosom. That is a precious word: Pour out your heart before him. Make him your counsellor and friend; you cannot please him better than when your hearts rely wholly upon him. You may tell him, if you please, you have been so foolish as to look to this friend and the other for relief, and found none; and you now come to him, who commands you, to pour out your heart before him. John Berridge.Ver. 8. Pour out your heart. Pour it out as water. �ot as milk, whose colour remains. �ot as wine, whose savour remains. �ot as honey, whose taste remains. But as water, of which, when it is poured out, nothing remains. So let sin be poured out of the heart, that no colour of it may remain in external marks, no savour in our words, no taste in our affections. "I will cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord, " Isaiah 19:22. Thus Hugo. But if you fear lest there remain anything in your heart not poured forth, bring the whole heart, and cast it before the eyes of the Lord, and sacrifice it to him, that he may create a new heart in thee. Thomas Le Blanc.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 62:8. Trust in him at all times, ye people — By my example be encouraged, and learn to trust in God. Pour out your heart before him — Make known to him all the desires, cares, and griefs of your hearts freely and frequently, with confident expectation of obtaining what you want or desire from him. God is a refuge for us — �ot only, my refuge, Psalms 62:7, but a refuge for us all, even as many as will flee to him, and take shelter in him.

TRAPP, "Psalms 62:8 Trust in him at all times; [ye] people, pour out your heart before him: God [is] a refuge for us. Selah.

Ver. 8. Trust in him at all times] As well in the fail of outward comforts as in the abundance of them, trust him without a pawn; trust in a killing God, as Job did.

Pour out your hearts before him] sc. In prayer, 1 Samuel 1:11, first, rend your hearts, ut effundafur peccatum, saith Kimchi, and then pour them out as water, Lamentations 2:19, not as oil, which sticks to the side of the vessel that held it, but as water, that will out every drop; make a plain and full confession of all your sins in prayer, lest God say to you of your sins, as Samuel did to Jesse of his sons, Are these all? See the practice hereof in those penitent Israelites, 1 Samuel 7:6, and give not over the practice of mortification, till you feel your hearts fall asunder in your bosoms like drops of water. If iniquity be harboured there, prayer is obstructed; and if it do break out, it will have the scent and savour of that iniquity upon it.

God is a refuge for us] A safe and sure refuge; not as men who are a lie, Psalms 62:9, and were never true to those that trusted them.

WHEDO�, "8. Ye people—The address here is to his loyal subjects, who had been faint hearted. See Psalms 4:6. He exhorts them to trust only and fully in God. As a

military order it was worthy this unequalled theocratic sovereign, and was more effective, morally, at this hour, than the loudest preaching.

Pour out your heart before him—He had already done it on this same occasion, (see Psalms 42:4,) and at an earlier day when in distress, Psalms 142:2. The pouring out of the heart is an expression borrowed from an ancient custom of taking an oath by pouring water on the ground. The water was “poured out before the Lord,” to signify that their words and promises had gone forth and could not be recalled, being “as water spilt upon the ground which cannot be gathered up again.”—Roberts. See 1 Samuel 7:6; 2 Samuel 14:14; Lamentations 2:19

9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie.If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.

BAR�ES, "Surely men of low degree are vanity - literally, “vanity are the sons of Adam,” but the word Adam here is used evidently to represent men, or the race. The same word is also employed particularly to represent common men, or men of the

humbler rank, in contradistinction to the word איש 'ıysh - which is the other word used

here, and rendered “men of high degree.” Compare, for this use of the word, Hos_6:7. The same antithesis between the two words is found in Isa_2:9; Isa_5:15. The idea here is, that in the great matters which pertain to us, we cannot depend on men, and that our hope - our trust - must be in God. Of men of the humbler or lower classes, it is said that they are “vanity;” that is, they are like a vain, empty, unsubstantial thing. They cannot help us. It is useless to rely on them when we most need aid.

Men of high degree are a lie - Men of exalted rank, kings, princes, nobles. This does not refer to their personal character, as if they were always false, deceitful, treacherous; but the idea is, that any prospect of protection or aid from men of rank and station - front any power which they wield - is unworthy to be relied on. It is not that which we need; it is not that on which we can depend.

To be laid in the balance - literally, “In the scales to go up;” that is, they are seen to go up, or to show how light they are. They have no real weight; no real value. On the

scales or balance, see the notes at Dan_5:27.

They are altogether lighter than vanity - They are all vain; single or combined, they have no power to save us. The meaning is not that if these two ranks of persons were weighed against each other they would both be found to be vanity; but that it is true of each and every rank of men - high and low - whether single or combined - that, as weighed against our interests and needs, they are nothing. All the kings of the earth with all their hosts of war, all princes and nobles with all that they can summon from the lower ranks of their people, cannot save one soul from death - cannot deliver us from the consequences of our transgressions. God, and God alone, can do this.

CLARKE, "Men of low degree are vanity - beney�Adam, which we here בני�אדם

translate men of low degree, literally, sons of Adam, are put in opposition to בני�איש

beney�ish, men of high degree, literally, the sons of substance, or children of substantial

men. Adam was the name of the first man when formed out of the earth; Ish was his name when united to his wife, and they became one flesh. Before, he was the incomplete man; after, he was the complete man; for it seems, in the sight of God, it requires the

male and female to make one complete human being. אנוש enosh is another name given

to man, but this concerns him in his low, fallen, wretched estate: it properly signifies weak, poor, addicted, wretched man.

Common men can give no help. They are vanity, and it is folly to trust in them; for although they may be willing, yet they have no ability to help you: “Rich men are a lie.” They promise much, but perform nothing; they cause you to hope, but mock your expectation.

To be laid to the balance - bemozenayim�laaloth, In the balances they במאזנים�לעלותascend: exactly answerable to our phrase, they kick the beam.

They are altogether lighter than vanity - Literally, Both of them united are

vanity, המה�מהבל�יחד hemmah�mehebel�yachad. Put both together in one scale, and truth in the opposite, and both will kick the beam. They weigh nothing, they avail nothing.

GILL, "Surely men of low degree are vanity,.... Or "sons of Adam" (i); of the earthly man; of fallen Adam; one of his immediate sons was called Hebel, "vanity"; and it is true of all his sons; but here it designs only one sort of them; such as are poor and low in the world; mean men, as the phrase is rendered in Isa_2:9; See Gill on Psa_49:2; these are subject to sinful vanity; their thoughts are vain, their affections vain, their minds vain, their conversation vain, sinful, foolish, fallacious, and inconstant. The wicked poor are, generally speaking, of all persons, the most wicked; and therefore, though they are the multitude, they are not to be trusted in. The Arabic version is, they are as a "shadow", fleeting and unstable, no solidity in them; the Syriac version, "as a vapour", that soon passeth away, like the breath of the mouth, and so not to be accounted of;

and men of high degree are a lie; or "sons of men"; of איש, "the great man" (k), as it

is rendered in Isa_2:9, noblemen, men of high birth, fortune, rank, and quality; these are a "lie", fallacious and deceitful: they talk of their blood, as if it was different from the rest of mankind; but, trace them up to their original, Adam, and it is a lie. All men are made of one blood, Act_17:26; their riches promise them peace and pleasure, and long life, but do not give those things, Luk_12:16; their honour is fickle and inconstant; they are act in high places, and those are slippery ones; they are brought to desolation in a moment; and if they continue in them till death, their glory does not descend after them, Psa_49:17; they make promises of great things to those who apply to them, but rarely perform, and are by no means to be confided in. This distinction of high and low degree is observed in Jam_1:9;

to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity; take a pair of balances, and put men both of high and low degree together in one scale, and vanity in the other, vanity will weigh heaviest; the scale in which men are will go up, as the word (l) here used signifies: they are "in the balances to ascend"; or being put in the balances, they will ascend, and the scale in which vanity is will go down; for, take them altogether, they are "lighter" than that: the word "lighter" is not in the text, but is rightly supplied, as it is by Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech. This last clause, according to the accents, may be best rendered thus; being put "in the balance, they must ascend; they are lighter than vanity together". The Targum is,

"if they should take the sons of men in a balance, and weigh their fates, they themselves would be "lighter" than nothing, as one;''

or than vanity together.

HE�RY 9-10, "What encouragement he gives us to take this good counsel: God is a refuge for us, not only my refuge (Psa_62:7), but a refuge for us all, even as many as will flee to him and take shelter in him.

II. He cautions us to take heed of misplacing our confidence, in which, as much as in any thing, the heart is deceitful, Jer_17:5-9. Those that trust in God truly (Psa_62:1) will trust in him only, Psa_62:5. 1. Let us not trust in the men of this world, for they are broken reeds (Psa_62:9): Surely men of low degree are vanity, utterly unable to help us, and men of high degree are a lie, that will deceive us if we trust to them. Men of low degree, one would think, might be relied on for their multitude and number, their bodily strength and service, and men of high degree for their wisdom, power, and influence; but neither the one nor the other are to be depended on. Of the two, men of high degree are mentioned as the more deceiving; for they are a lie, which denotes not only vanity, but iniquity. We are not so apt to depend upon men of low degree as upon the king and the captain of the host, who, by the figure they make, tempt us to trust in them, and so, when they fail us, prove a lie. But lay them in the balance, the balance of the scripture, or rather make trial of them, see how they will prove, whether they will answer your

expectations from them or no, and you will write Tekel upon them; they are alike lighter

than vanity; there is no depending upon their wisdom to advise us, their power to act for us, their good-will to us, no, nor upon their promises, in comparison with God, nor otherwise than in subordination to him. 2. Let us not trust in the wealth of this world, let not that be made our strong city (Psa_62:10): Trust not in oppression; that is, in riches got by fraud and violence, because where there is a great deal it is commonly got by

indirect scraping or saving (our Saviour calls it the mammon of unrighteousness, Luk_16:9), or in the arts of getting riches. “Think not, either because you have got abundance or are in the way of getting, that therefore you are safe enough; for this is becoming vain in robbery, that is, cheating yourselves while you think to cheat others.” He that trusted in the abundance of his riches strengthened himself in his wickedness (Psa_52:7); but at his end he will be a fool, Jer_17:11. Let none be so stupid as to think of supporting themselves in their sin, much less of supporting themselves in this sin. Nay, because it is hard to have riches and not to trust in them, if they increase, though by lawful and honest means, we must take heed lest we let out our affections inordinately towards them: “Set not your heart upon them; be not eager for them, do not take a complacency in them as the rest of your souls, nor put a confidence in them as your portion; be not over-solicitous about them; do not value yourselves and others by them; make not the wealth of the world your chief good and highest end: in short, do not make an idol of it.” This we are most in danger of doing when riches increase. When the grounds of the rich man brought forth plentifully, then he said to his soul, Take thy ease in these things, Luk_12:19. It is a smiling world that is most likely to draw the heart away from God, on whom only it should be set.

JAMISO�, "No kind of men are reliable, compared with God (Isa_2:22; Jer_17:5).

altogether — alike, one as the other (Psa_34:3).

PULPIT, ""Here the psalmist becomes didactic" (Professor Cheyne). He encourages the faithful, and warns the wicked, by the declaration that men of every sort "are but vanity"—have no strength, no permanence—while power belongs only to God. Those who "oppress" and "rob" are, consequently, not to be feared—there is no strength in riches—God alone determines the issues of things. Unto him belongs mercy, or loving kindness—a quality which leads him not only to forgive men their transgressions, but to "reward" them, when, by his assisting grace, they have done good works.

CALVI�, "9.�evertheless, the sons of Adam are vanity. If we take the particle אך, ach, affirmatively, as meaning surely or certainly, then this verse contains a confirmation of the truth expressed in the preceding verse; and David argues by contrast, (420) that as men are lighter than vanity, we are shut up to the necessity of placing all our expectation upon God. It would agree well, however, with the contrast to suppose, that, under an impression of the little effect which the truth he had announced was calculated to have upon the people, (ever disposed to build upon fallacious hopes,) he exclaims, with a degree of holy fervor, �evertheless, etc. According to this view, he is here administering a reproof to the blind infidelity so prevalent amongst men, and which leads them to deceive themselves with lying vanities rather than trust in the infallible promises of Jehovah. Having had occasion to discover such a large amount of vanity in the chosen seed of Abraham, he does not scruple to speak of the whole human family in general as being abandoned to lying delusions. The adverb יחד , yachad, together, intimates that all, without exception, are ready to find an occasion of turning aside. Such is the sweeping condemnation passed, not upon a few individuals, but upon human nature, declaring men to be lighter than vanity; and may we not ask what in this case

becomes of boasted reason, wisdom, and free-will? It is of no avail to object, that believers are delivered from the deceit which is here condemned. If they owe their exemption from lying and vanity to the regeneration of the Spirit, this is to grant that they were subject to these in their natural state. The first man was created by God upright, but drew us by his fall into such a depth of corruption, that any light which was originally bestowed has been totally obscured. Is it alleged that there still remain in man such gifts of God as are not to be despised, and as distinguish him from all the other creatures, this is easily answered, by remembering, that however great these may be, he is tainted by sin, and therefore nothing to be accounted of. It is only when allied with the knowledge of God that any of the endowments conferred upon us from above can be said to have a real excellency; — apart from this, they are vitiated by that contagion of sin which has not left a vestige in man of his original integrity. With too much justice, then, might David say that all men are vanity and nothingness.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 9. Surely men of low degree are vanity. Here the word is only again; men of low degree are only vanity, nothing more. They are many and enthusiastic, but they are not to be depended on; they are mobile as the waves of the sea, ready to be driven to and fro by any and every wind; they cry "Hosanna" today, and "Crucify him" tomorrow. The instability of popular applause is a proverb; as well build a house with smoke as find comfort in the adulation of the multitude. As the first son of Adam was called Abel or vanity, so here we are taught that all the sons of Adam are Abels: it were well if they were all so in character as well as in name; but alas! in this respect, too many of them are Cains.And men of high degree are a lie. That is worse. We gain little by putting our trust in the aristocracy, they are not one whit better than the democracy: nay, they are even worse, for we expect something from them, but get nothing. May we not trust the elite? Surely reliance may be placed in the educated, the chivalrous, the intelligent? For this reason are they a lie; because they promise so much, and in the end, when relied upon, yield nothing but disappointment. How wretched is that poor man who puts his trust in princes. The more we rely upon God, the more shall we perceive the utter hollowness of every other confidence.To be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity. Take a true estimate of them; judge them neither by quantity nor by appearance, but by weight, and they will no longer deceive you. Calmly deliberate, quietly ponder, and your verdict will be that which inspiration here records. Vainer than vanity itself are all human confidences: the great and the mean, alike, are unworthy of our trust. A feather has some weight in the scale, vanity has none, and creature confidence has less than that: yet such is the universal infatuation, that mankind prefer an arm of flesh to the power of the invisible but almighty Creator; and even God's own children are too apt to be bitten with this madness.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 9. Other doctrines, moral or civil instructions, may be delivered to us possibly, and probably, and likely, and credibly, and under the like terms and modifications, but this in our text, is assuredly, undoubtedly, undeniably, irrefragably, Surely men of low degree, etc. For howsoever when they two are compared together with one another, it may admit discourse and disputation, whether men of high degree, or of

low degree, do most violate the laws of God; that is, whether prosperity or adversity make men most obnoxious to sin; yet, when they come to be compared, not with one another, but both with God, this asseveration, this surely reaches to both: "Surely men of low degree are vanity, and, as surely, men of high degree are a lie." And though this may seem to leave room for men of middle ranks, and fortunes, and places, that there is a mediocrity that might give an assurance, and an establishment, yet there is no such thing in this case; (as surely still) to be laid in the balance, they are all (not of low, and all of high degree, all rich, and all poor), but all, of all conditions, altogether lighter than vanity. �ow, all this doth destroy, not extinguish, not annihilate, that affection in man, of hope and trust, and confidence in anything; but it rectifies that hope, and trust, and confidence, and directs it upon the right object. Trust not in flesh, but in spiritual things, that we neither bend our hope downward, to infernal spirits, to seek help in witches; nor miscarry it upward, to seek it in saints or angels, but fix it in him who is nearer to us than our own souls--our blessed, and gracious, and powerful God, who in this one Psalm is presented unto us by so many names of assurance and confidence: "my expectation, my salvation, my rock, my defence, my glory, my strength, my refuge, "and the rest... Men of high degree are a lie. The Holy Ghost hath been pleased to vary the phrase here, and to call men of high degree not "vanity, " but a lie; because the poor, men of low degree, in their condition promise no assistance, feed not men with hope, and therefore cannot be said to lie; but in the condition of men of high degree, who are of power, there is a tacit promise, a natural and inherent assurance of protection and assistance flowing from them. For the magistrate cannot say that he never promised me justice, never promised me protection; for in his assuming that place, he made me that promise. I cannot say that I never promised my parish my service; for in my induction I made them that promise, and if I perform it not I am a lie: for so this word chasab (which we translate a lie) is frequently used in the Scriptures, for that which is defective in the duty it should perform: "Thou shalt be a spring of water" (says God in Isaiah), cujus aquae non mentiuntur, "whose waters never lie; "that is, never dry, never fail. So, then, when men of high degree do not perform the duties of their places, then they are a lie of their own making; and when I over magnify them in their place, flatter them, humour them, ascribe more to them, expect more from them, rely more upon them than I should, then they are a lie of my making... To be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity. Vanity is nothing, but there is a condition worse than nothing. Confidence in the things or persons of this world, but most of all a confidence in ourselves, will bring us at last to that state wherein we would fain be nothing, and cannot. But yet we have a balance in our text; and all these are but put together in one balance. In the other scale there is something put too, in comparison whereof all this world is so light. God does not leave our great and noble faculty and affection of hope, and trust, and confidence without something to direct itself upon, and rectify itself in. He does not: for, for that he proposes himself. The words immediately before the text are, God is a refuge; and, in comparison of him, To be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity. John Donne.Ver. 9. Surely men of low degree are vanity."Who over the herd would wish to reign,Fantastic, fickle, fierce, and vain!

Vain as the leaf upon the stream,And fickle as a changeful dream;Fantastic as a woman's mood,And fierce as Frenzy's fevered blood,Thou many headed monster thing,O, who would wish to be thy king!" Walter Scott (1771-1832).Ver. 9. Surely men of low degree are vanity, etc. Or, sons of Adam; of the earthly man; of fallen Adam; one of his immediate sons was called Hebel, vanity; and it is true of all his sons, but here it designs only one sort of them; such as are poor and low in the world; mean men, as the phrase is rendered in Isaiah 2:9; these are subject to sinful vanity; their thoughts are vain, their affections vain, their minds vain, their conversation vain, sinful, foolish, fallacious, and inconstant. John Gill.Ver. 9. Men... are a lie. An active lie--they deceive others; and a passive lie--they are deceived by others; and they who are most actively a lie, are most usually and most deservedly a passive lie, or fed with lies. Joseph Caryl.Ver. 9. Lighter than vanity. If there were any one among men immortal, not liable to sin, or change, whom it were impossible for any one to overcome, but who was strong as an angel, such a one might be something; but inasmuch as every one is a man, a sinner, mortal, weak, liable to sickness and death, exposed to pain and terror, like Pharaoh, even from the most insignificant animals, and liable to so many miseries that it is impossible to count them, the conclusion must be a valid one: "Man is nothing." Arndt.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 62:9. Surely men of low degree are vanity — Are most vain, impotent, and helpless creatures in themselves. This he delivers as a reason, or argument, to enforce his foregoing exhortation to trust in God, because there was no other person or thing to which they could safely trust. Men of high degree are a lie — That is, deceitful; because unable to perform what by their power and dignity they seem to promise. They raise men’s expectations, and afterward disappoint them, and so deceive those that trust in them. In which sense lying is ascribed to a fountain, Jeremiah 15:18; to wine, Hosea 9:2; and to the olive, Hebrews 3:17, (see the Hebrew,) when they do not give what they promise. Or, a lie may signify, a mere nothing; for a lie has no reality in it.

TRAPP, "Psalms 62:9 Surely men of low degree [are] vanity, [and] men of high degree [are] a lie: to be laid in the balance, they [are] altogether [lighter] than vanity.

Ver. 9. Surely men of low degree are vanity] Man is a depending creature, and, like the vine, must have somewhat to lean upon; apt he is to leave God, and cleave to the creature, to make either men or means his refuge; David therefore dehorteth from both, in this and the next verse showing that men of what degree soever are in nowise to be confided in. The word rendered vanity denoteth a vain light thing, such as is the breath of one’s mouth or a bubble on the water

Men of high degree are a lie] There is no more truth nor assurance in them than in a false tale; also they frustrate men’s hopes, as a barren fruit tree, Hebrews 3:17.

They are altogether, lighter,. &c.] Put all mankind into one bundle, into one balance, and vanity into the ether, and it will weigh them down, Ut ascendant ipsi prae vanitate simul.

PETT, "Verses 9-123). He Warns Against Trusting In Man Of Any Level, Or In Brute Force, Or In Riches, And Calls On His Hearers To Recognise The Fact That Power And True Love Belong To God Who Deals With Men On The Basis Of What They Reveal Themselves To Be (9-12).

The Psalm is brought to its conclusion by a comparison between failing man and the unfailing God. Men are unreliable. They are full of emptiness and deceit. They are lightweight. Their ways are not to be trusted. Thus we are not to be like them. We must not set our hearts on oppression, dishonesty and greed. Rather we should look to the One Who is reliable, the One Who is always true, the One Who is full weight. For power belongs, not to men, but to God, and He is not only all-powerful, but also all-loving to those who respond to His covenant.

Psalms 62:9

Men of low degree are only vanity,And men of high degree are a lie,In the balances they will go up,They are altogether vanity.’David recognises men for what they on the whole are, vain and empty, deceitful and lightweight. There are few who can be wholly relied on. Whether in low positions, or in high positions, they are out for themselves. Men in low positions are empty, like puffs of wind, here today and gone tomorrow, totally unreliable. They are only out for themselves. Men in high positions are deceitful and unreliable. They are a lie. They are for you one moment, and the next they have turned against you, depending on which way the wind blows. They too are only out for themselves.

Indeed if you put such men on one side of a set of balances, they are so lightweight that their side will shoot upwards. They have no ‘weight’. They are lighter than a puff of wind. They are insubstantial. There is nothing weighty about them. They have no substance. They oppress, they steal, they set their hearts on riches. They are not to be trusted.

WHEDO�, "9. Men of low degree… high degree—Men of all degrees, as Psalms 49:2. The first designation denotes in the Hebrew the masses of our race as descendants of Adam; the second, those classes which have attained distinction on account of rank, wealth, or other circumstances. These all, apart from God, and of

themselves considered as sources of help or objects of trust, are, the first class, vanity, the second, a lie.

To be laid in the balance—Literally, going up, or ascending in the balance, as being the lighter scale.

Altogether lighter than vanity—The meaning is: Put every one of them together in one scale of the balance, and vanity, or a breath, in the other, and they would mount up, as less than a breath. This estimate is not of man as God made him, but of man as sin and selfishness have corrupted him. It is man apart from God, and fighting against God, and fitly applies to Absalom with his accomplices, and the thoughtless multitude that follow them.

K&D 9-12, "Just as all men with everything earthly upon which they rely are perishable, so also the purely earthly form which the new kingship has assumed carries within itself the germ of ruin; and God will decide as Judge, between the dethroned and the usurpers, in accordance with the relationship in which they stand to Him. This is the internal connection of the third group with the two preceding ones. By means of the strophe vv. 10-13, our Psalm is brought into the closest reciprocal relationship with Psa_

39:1-13. Concerning ני־�דםt and ני־אישt vid., on Psa_49:3; Psa_4:3. The accentuation

divides Psa_62:10 quite correctly. The Athnach does not mark מאזנים�לעלותt as an

independent clause: they are upon the balance לעלות, for a going up; they must rise, so

light are they (Hengstenberg). Certainly this expression of the periphrastic future is possible (vid., on Psa_25:14; Psa_1:1-6 :17), still we feel the want here of the subject, which cannot be dispensed within the clause as an independent one. Since, however, the combining of the words with what follows is forbidden by the fact that the infinitive with

in the sense of the ablat. gerund. always comes after the principal clause, not before it ל�

(Ew. §280, d), we interpret: upon the balances ad ascendendum = certo ascensuri, and

in fact so that this is an attributive that is co-ordinate with �זב. Is the clause following

now meant to affirm that men, one and all, belong to nothingness or vanity (מן

partitivum), or that they are less than nothing (מן comparat.)? Umbreit, Stier, and

others explain Isa_40:17 also in the latter way; but parallels like Isa_41:24 do not favour this rendering, and such as Isa_44:11 are opposed to it. So also here the meaning is not that men stand under the category of that which is worthless or vain, but that they belong to the domain of the worthless or vain.

The warning in Psa_62:11 does not refer to the Absalomites, but, pointing to these as furnishing a salutary example, to those who, at the sight of the prosperous condition and

joyous life on that side, might perhaps be seized with envy and covetousness. Beside טח�t

�t the meaning of �tהבל� is nevertheless not: to set in vain hope upon anything (for the idea of hoping does not exist in this verb in itself, Job_27:12; Jer_2:5, nor in this construction of the verb), but: to be befooled, blinded by something vain (Hitzig). Just as they are not to suffer their heart to be befooled by their own unjust acquisition, so

also are they not, when the property of others increases (נוב, root נב, to raise one's self, to

mount up; cf. Arabic nabata, to sprout up, grow; nabara, to raise; intransitive, to increase,

and many other verbal stems), to turn their heart towards it, as though it were something great and fortunate, that merited special attention and commanded respect. Two great truths are divinely attested to the poet. It is not to be rendered: once hath God spoken, now twice (Job_40:5; 2Ki_6:10) have I heard this; but after Psa_89:36 : One thing hath God spoken, two things (it is) that I have heard; or in accordance with the interpunction, which here, as in Psa_12:8 (cf. on Psa_9:16), is not to be called in question: these two things have I heard. Two divine utterances actually do follow. The two great truths are: (1) that God has the power over everything earthly, that consequently nothing takes place without Him, and that whatever is opposed to Him

must sooner or later succumb; (2) that of this very God, the sovereign Lord (אדני), is mercy also, the energy of which is measured by His omnipotence, and which does not

suffer him to succumb upon whom it is bestowed. With �י the poet establishes these two revealed maxims which God has impressed upon his mind, from His righteous government as displayed in the history of men. He recompenses each one in accordance

with his doing, κατ��τ���ργα�α�το , as Paul confesses (Rom_2:6) no less than David, and

even (vid., lxx) in the words of David. It shall be recompensed unto every man according to his conduct, which is the issue of his relationship to God. He who rises in opposition

to the will and order of God, shall feel God's power (עז) as a power for punishment that

dashes in pieces; and he who, anxious for salvation, resigns his own will to the will of

God, receives from God's mercy or loving-kindness (חסד), as from an overflowing

fulness, the promised reward of faithfulness: his resignation becomes experience, and his hoping attainment.

PULPIT, "Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie; rather, only vanity—or, nought but vanity—are men of low degree; common men, as we call them—mere sons of Adam. This is too evident for dispute; but, in the view of the psalmist, this is not the worst. "Men of high degree" (beney ish) are no better—they are "a lie"—an unreality—a fading, false illusion. To be laid in the balance; rather, in the balance, they go up (Hupfeld, Ewald Hitzig, Revised Version). They are altogether lighter than vanity; or, altogether made out of vanity (Kay); i.e. there is no substance, no solidity, in them.

10 Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods;though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

BAR�ES, "Trust not in oppression - The general meaning here is, that we are not to trust in anything but God. In the previous verse the psalmist had stated reasons why we should not trust in men of any rank. In this verse he enumerates several things on which people are accustomed to rely, or in which they place confidence, and he says that we should put no confidence in them in respect to the help which we need, or the great objects which are to be accomplished by us. The first thing mentioned is oppression; and the idea is, that we must not hope to accomplish our object by oppressing others; extorting their property or their service; making them by force subject to us, and subservient to our wishes. Many do this. Conquerors do it. Tyrants do it. The owners of slaves do it.

And become not vain in robbery - That is, Do not resort to theft or robbery, and depend on that for what is needed in life. Many do. The great robbers of the world -conquerors - have done it. Thieves and burglars do it. People who seek to defraud others of their earnings do it. They who withhold wages from laborers, and they who cheat in trade, do it.

If riches increase, set not your heart upon them - If you become rich without oppression, or without robbery. If your riches seem to grow of themselves - for that is the meaning of the original word (compare Mar_4:2) - do not rely on them as being all that you require. People are prone to do this. The rich man confides in his wealth, and supposes that he has all he needs. The psalmist says that none of these things constitute the true reliance of man. None of them can supply his real needs; none can defend him in the great perils of his existence; hone can save his soul. He needs, over and above all these, a God and Saviour; and it is such a God and Saviour only that can meet the real needs of his nature.

CLARKE, "Trust not in oppression - Do not suppose that my unnatural son and his partisans can succeed.

Become not vain in robbery - If ye have laid your hands on the spoils of my house, do not imagine that these ill-gotten riches will prosper. God will soon scatter them to all the winds of heaven. All oppressors come to an untimely end; and all property acquired by injustice has God’s curse on it.

GILL, "Psalms 62:10

Trust not in oppression,.... Either in the power of oppressing others; see Isa_30:12; or in riches gotten by oppression, which being put into a man's hand by his friend, he keeps, and will not return them; so Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret it of mammon unlawfully obtained; mammon of unrighteousness, or unrighteous mammon; see Jer_17:11;

and become not vain in robbery; in riches gotten by open rapine and theft; and men

become vain herein when they boast of such riches, place their confidence in them, and think to make atonement for their sins by burnt sacrifices purchased with them, Isa_61:8;

if riches increase; in a lawful way, in such manner as the fruits of the earth do, as the word (m) used signifies: if they increase in great abundance from a little, as from one grain of corn many proceed; and insensibly, as the seed sown grows up, a man knows not how, through diligence and the blessing of God from heaven;

set not your heart upon them; your affections on them; they are ensnaring, they are apt to take the heart from God, to draw off the affections from Christ and things above, to choke the word, and lead into many temptations and harmful lusts; let not your hearts be elated, or lifted up with them; be not highminded, or filled with pride and vanity on account of them; nor put any trust in them, for they are uncertain things. Jarchi interprets it of the increase of the riches of others; see Psa_49:16.

JAMISO�, "Not only are oppression and robbery, which are wicked means of wealth, no grounds of boasting; but even wealth, increasing lawfully, ought not to engross the heart.

PULPIT, "Trust not in oppression (comp. Psalms 62:3). The class that supported Absalom was the class of oppressors in Israel, whom David kept under and restrained as far as possible. The writer warns them against trusting in their power to oppress, since such strength as they have is not their own, but lent them by God. And become not vain in robbery; or, rely not vainly on robbery (Kay). Do not suppose that God will allow you to continue oppressing and robbing. Such a belief is a vain illusion. If riches increase, set not your heart upon them. Even when wealth accumulates naturally, and not as the result of ill-doing, it is not a thing to be trusted or set store by.

CALVI�, "10Trust not in oppression and robbery We are here taught that there can be no real trusting in God until we put away all those vain confidences which prove so many means of turning us away from him. The Psalmist bids us remove whatsoever would have this tendency, and purge ourselves of every vicious desire that would usurp the place of God in our hearts. One or two kinds of sin only are mentioned, but these are to be understood as representing a part for the whole, all those vain and rival confidences of which we must be divested before we can cleave to God with true purpose and sincerity of heart. By oppression and robbery may be understood the act itself of abstracting by violence, and the thing which has been abstracted. It is obviously the design of the passage to warn us against the presumption and hardihood of sin, which is so apt to blind the hearts of men, and deceive them into the belief that their evil courses are sanctioned by the impunity which is extended to them. Interpreters have differed in their construction of the words of this verse. Some join to each of the nouns its own verb, reading, Trust not in oppression, and be not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. (421) Others connect the words oppression and robbery with the first verb, and make the second to stand apart by itself in an indefinite sense. It is of very little

consequence which of the constructions we adopt, since both express the main sentiment; and it is evident that the Psalmist, in condemning the infatuated confidence of those who boast in robbery, appropriately terms it a mere illusion of the mind, with which they deceive or amuse themselves. Having denounced, in the first place, those desires which are plainly evil and positively wicked, he proceeds immediately afterwards to guard against an inordinate attachment even to such riches as may have been honestly acquired. To set the heart upon riches, means more than simply to covet the possession of them. It implies being carried away by them into a false confidence, or, to use an expression of Paul, “Being high-minded.” The admonition here given is one which daily observation teaches us to be necessary. It is uniformly seen that prosperity and abundance engender a haughty spirit, leading men at once to be presumptuous in their carriage before God, and reckless in inflicting injury upon their fellow-creatures. But, indeed, the worst effect to be feared from a blind and ungoverned spirit of this kind is, that, in the intoxication of outward greatness, we be left to forget how frail we are, and proudly and contumeliously to exalt ourselves against God.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 10. Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery. Wealth ill gotten is the trust only of fools, for the deadly pest lies in it; it is full of canker, it reeks with God's curse. To tread down the poor and silence their cries for justice, is the delight of many a braggart bully, who in his arrogance imagines that he may defy both God and man; but he is warned in these words, and it will be well for him if he takes the warning, for the Judge of all the earth will surely visit upon men the oppression of the innocent, and the robbery of the poor: both of these may be effected legally in the courts of man, but no twistings of the law, no tricks and evasions will avail with the Court of Heaven.If riches increase, set not your heart upon them. If they grow in an honest, providential manner, as the result of industry or commercial success, do not make much account of the circumstance; be not unduly elated, do not fix your love upon your money bags. To bow an immortal spirit to the constant contemplation of fading possessions is extreme folly. Shall those who call the Lord their glory, glory in yellow earth? Shall the image and superscription of Caesar deprive them of communion with him who is the image of the invisible God? As we must not rest in men, so neither must we repose in money. Gain and fame are only so much foam of the sea. All the wealth and honour the whole world can afford would be too slender a thread to bear up the happiness of an immortal soul.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 10. Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery. �ow this robbery and wrong is done two manner of ways--to God and to man. He that putteth his trust for salvation in any other, save in God, loses not only his salvation, but also robs God of his glory, and does God manifest wrong, as much as lieth in him; as the wicked people amongst the Jews did, who said as long as they honoured and trusted unto the queen of heaven, all things prospered with them; but when they hearkened to the true preachers of God's word, all things came into a worse state, and they were overwhelmed with scarcity and trouble. Hosea 2:1-23; Jeremiah 44:1-30. He also that puts his trust and confidence in any learning or doctrine beside God's word, not only falls into error and loses the truth; but also, as much as lies in him,

he robs God's book of his sufficient truth and verity, and ascribes it to the book of men's decrees; which is as much wrong to God and his book as may be thought or done. In which robbery, or rather sacrilege, no man should put his trust, as the prophet saith. John Hooper.Ver. 10. Become not vain in robbery. What? would he have them serious in robbery? �o; the meaning is this: do not trust in a thing of nought; if you rob, oppress, deceive, or wrong others, you trust in a vain thing--in a thing that is not--in a thing that will never do you good: there will be no tack, no hold in anything got in such a manner. When you think to get riches by wrong dealing, or closely circumventing others, you become vain in robbery. Joseph Caryl.Ver. 10. If riches increase, set not your heart upon them. We naturally love riches, and therefore as naturally spend many thoughts, both how to get and how to keep them. If a man have riches, or an increase in riches, it is not unlawful for him to think of them (yet we should be as sparing of our thoughts that way as may be, our thoughts and the bent of our souls should always be upon God), but that which the psalmist forbids is the settling of our hearts; as if he had said, Let not your thoughts stay or dwell here. Riches are themselves transient things, therefore they should have but our transient thoughts. Set not your hearts upon them, for they may quickly be unsettled. Samuel bespoke Saul in the same language about a worldly concernment, when he went out to seek his father's asses: "Set not thy mind on them." 1 Samuel 9:20. It is like Saul was overburdened with this thought, "What's become of, or what shall I do for, my father's asses?" "Be not solicitous about them, "saith Samuel, "greater things are towards thee." Joseph Caryl.Ver. 10. If riches increase, set not your heart upon them. Consider what is here meant by "riches." Indeed, some may imagine that it is hardly possible to mistake the meaning of this common word. Yet, in truth, there are thousands in this mistake; and many of them quite innocently. A person of note hearing a sermon preached upon this subject several years since, between surprise and indignation, broke out aloud, "Why does he talk about riches here? There is no rich man at Whitehaven, but Sir James L-----r." And it is true there was none but he that had forty thousand pounds a year, and some millions in ready money. But a man may be rich that has not a hundred a year--not even one thousand pounds in cash. Whosoever has food to eat, and raiment to put on, with something over, is rich. Whoever has the necessaries and conveniences of life for himself and his family, and a little to spare for them that have not, is properly a rich man, unless he is a miser, a lover of money, one that hoards up what he can and ought to give to the poor. For if so, he is a poor man still, though he has millions in the bank; yea, he is the poorest of men; for"The beggars but a common lot deplore;The rich poor man's emphatically poor."...O! who can convince a rich man that he sets his heart upon riches? For considerably above half a century I have spoken on this head, with all the plainness that was in my power. But with how little effect! I doubt whether I have in all that time convinced fifty misers of covetousness. When the lover of money was described ever so clearly, and painted in the strongest colours, who applied it to himself? To whom did God and all that knew him say, "Thou art the man?" If he speaks to any of you that are present, O do not stop your ears! Rather say, with Zacchaeus,

"Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have done any wrong to any man, I restore him fourfold." He did not mean that he had done this in time past; but that he determined to do so for the time to come. I charge thee before God, thou lover of money, to "go and do likewise.!" I have a message from God unto thee, O rich man! whether thou wilt hear or whether thou wilt forbear. Riches have increased with thee; at the peril of thy soul, "set not thine heart upon them!" Be thankful to him that gave thee such a talent, so much power of doing good. Yet dare not rejoice over them but with fear and trembling. Cave ne inhaereas, says pious Kempis, ne capiaris et pereas; "Beware thou cleave not unto them, lest thou be entangled and perish." Do not make them thy end, thy chief delight, thy happiness, thy god! See that thou expect not happiness in money, nor anything that is purchasable thereby; in gratifying either the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, or the pride of life. John Wesley's Sermon "On the Danger of Increasing Riches."Ver. 10. If riches increase, etc. "The lust of riches, "says Valerian, "stirs with its stimulus the hearts of men, as oxen perpetually plough the soil." Hugo, on Isaiah, says: "The more deeply riches are sown in the heart through love, the more deeply will they pierce through grief." Thomas Le Blanc.Ver. 10. If riches increase bwg --literally, "sprout up" of their own accord, as distinguished from riches acquired by "oppression" and "robbery." A. R. Faussett.Ver. 10. Riches have in them uncertainty and deceitfulness. Riches have never been true to those that trusted in them, but have ever proved "a lie in their right hand." Isaiah 44:20. Hence they are called "lying vanities, "Jonah 2:8; and compared to a flock of birds sitting upon a man's ground, which upon the least fright, take wing and fly away. Riches have "wings, "saith Solomon; and rather than want they will "Make to themselves wings." Proverbs 23:5. Yea, though they have not the wings so much as of a little sparrow, wherewith to fly to you; yet will they make to themselves the large wings of a great eagle, wherewith to fly from you. Oh, how many have riches served as Absalom's mule served her master, whom she lurched, and left, in his greatest need, hanging betwixt heaven and earth, as if rejected of both! A spark of fire may set them on flying, a thief may steal them, a wicked servant may embezzle and purloin them, a pirate or shipwreck at sea, a robber or bad debtor at land; yea, an hundred ways sets them packing. They are as the apples of Sodom, that look fair yet crumble away with the least touch--golden delusions, a mere mathematical scheme or fancy of man's brain, 1 Corinthians 7:31; the semblances and empty show of good without any reality or solid consistency; nec vera, nec vestra: as they are slippery upon the account of verity, so they are no less in respect of prosperity and possession, for they are winged birds, especially in this, that they fly from man to man (as the birds do from tree to tree), and always from the owner of them. This is a sore deceit and cozenage, yet your heart is more deceitful, inasmuch as it will deceive you with these deceitful riches, a quo aliquid tale est, illus est magis tale: they are so, because the heart is so. Christopher Love (1618-1651), in "A Crystal Mirror, or Christian Looking glass, "1679.Ver. 10. Set not your heart upon them. The word tyv properly is to place, to arrange in a fixed firm order, is specially used of the foundation stones of a building being placed fitly and firmly together... Therefore to set the heart upon riches is, to fix the mind closely and firmly upon them, to give it wholly up to them with all its powers;

at the same time to be puffed up with confidence and arrogance, as Cl. Schultens observes. Hermann Venema.Ver. 10-12. Our estimate of man depends upon our estimate of God. David knows that men of low and high degree, if separated from the primal fount of every good, weigh nothing, and are less than nothing. Riches are nothing, especially ill gotten ones. Man is not to get proud when riches increase. But such is the course of things, that in proportion as the gifts of God are rich, men confide more in the gifts than in the rich giver. But holy David is better instructed. Once and again he has heard the divine voice in his soul, "that power belongeth unto God only." Job 33:14. This powerful God is merciful: can then any merit attach to our poor works? and yet the Lord rendereth to every pious man according to his imperfect pious work. Agustus F. Tholuck.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 62:10. Trust not in oppression — That is, in riches gotten by fraud and violence; or in the arts of acquiring them. As you must not trust in any other men, so neither must you trust to yourselves, nor to your own wit, or industry, or courage, by which you may oppress others, and so think to secure and enrich yourselves. And become not vain in robbery — Lifting up and feeding yourselves with vain hopes of safety and felicity from those riches which you take from others by robbery and violence. If riches increase, set not your heart on them — So as to esteem and inordinately love them, to place your hope, and trust, and chief joy in them, or so as to grow proud and insolent because of them.

PETT, "Psalms 62:10

Do not trust in oppression,And do not become vain in robbery,If riches increase,Do not set your heart on them.’Those who trust in God (the ones to whom the Psalm is addressed) are not to be like them. They are not to trust in oppression, heavy handedness and bullying. They are not to reveal their shallowness by engaging in theft and robbery. They are not to let wealth take possession of them. (They are rather to trust in God, walk honestly before Him, and hold on to wealth lightly. Their hearts are to be set on God).

TRAPP, "Psalms 62:10 Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart [upon them].

Ver. 10. Trust not in oppression, &c.] In the fail of persons. Some may think that things may be trusted to, as wealth, wit, power, &c., but especially wealth, 1 Timothy 6:17. Trust not to that, saith the Psalmist, whether it will be ill or well gotten, unless you covet to be deceived; for, first, he who getteth riches and not by right shall leave them in the midst of his days, and in his end be a fool, a poor fool God will make of him, Jeremiah 17:11, Male parta male dilabentur.

If riches increase] Though by means lawful and laudable, though they come in at the street door, and not at a postern, �on minimum felieitatis argumentum Metello fuit bona malta bona mode invenisse (Policrat. lib. 8, c. 4), yet

Set not your heart upon them] Place not your felicity in them, think not yourselves simply the better or the safer for them. Be not puffed up with outward things, as a bubble with a child s blast in a walnut shell, when he hath in it a little scope. Wilt thou cause thine eyes to fly upon that which is not? Proverbs 23:5. An eagle will not catch flies (that is no game for her), much less will she make a flight at nothing, when there is no game sprung at all. He is the true rich man, who loveth his riches poorly, saith one.

WHEDO�, "10. Oppression… robbery—The two words differ more in the manner of acquiring than in the thing acquired. The former denotes that which is acquired by deceit and guile, the latter that which is gotten by force or violence. In either case the psalmist admonishes his enemies not to be elated by sudden success, nor put confidence in wealth or power thus gained, for both they and their works are subject to the judgment of God.

11 One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard:“Power belongs to you, God,

BAR�ES, "God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this - This repetition, or this declaration that he had heard the thing repeated, is designed to give emphasis to what was said, or to call attention to it as particularly worthy of notice. See the notes at Job_33:14. Compare Job_40:5. The sentiment here is particularly important, or is deserving of special attention, because, as the psalmist had shown, all other resources fail, and confidence is to be placed in nothing else for that which man so much needs; neither in people, whether of low degree or high Psa_62:9; not in oppressive acts - acts of mere power; not in plunder; not in wealth, however acquired, Psa_62:10.

That power belongeth unto God - Margin, strength. The idea is, that the strength

which man needs - the ability to defend and to save him - is to be found in God. All else may fail, but the power of God will not fail. The result of all, therefore, should be to lead us to put our trust in God alone.

CLARKE, "God hath spoken once - God has once addressed his people in giving the law on Mount Sinai. The Chaldee translates the whole passage thus: “God hath spoken one law, and twice have we heard this from the mouth of Moses the great scribe, that strength is before God: and it becomes thee, O God, to show mercy to the righteous; for thou renderest to man according to his works.”

Twice have I heard this - Except some of the ancient Versions, almost every version, translation, and commentary has missed the sense and meaning of this verse. I

shall set down the text: אחת�דבר�אלהים�שתים�זו�שמעתי achath�dibber�Elohim; shetayim�zu�

shamati; of which the true version is this: Once hath God spoken; these two things have I heard. Now what are the two things he had heard?

1. ki�oz�lelohim, “That strength is the Lord’s;” that is, He is the Origin of כי�וז�לאלהים

pourer.

2. ulecha�Adonai, chased; “and to thee, Lord, is mercy;” that is, He is the ולך�אדני�חסד

Fountain of mercy.

These, then, are the two grand truths that the law, yea, the whole revelation of God, declares through every page. He is the Almighty; he is the most merciful; and hence the inference: The powerful, just, and holy God, the most merciful and compassionate Lord, will by and by judge the world, and will render to man according to his works. How this beautiful meaning should have been unseen by almost every interpreter, is hard to say: these verses contain one of the most instructive truths in the Bible.

GILL, "God hath spoken once,.... One word of his is more to be confided in, and depended on, than all the men and things in the world. The meaning is not that God hath only spoke once; he has spoke often; he spoke all things out of nothing in creation; he spoke all the words of the law at Mount Sinai; he spoke by the prophets under the Old Testament dispensation, and by his Son in the last days, and still by the ministers of the Gospel: but the sense is, that what God has once spoken stands; it is irreversible and immutable; it is firm, sure, and unalterable; he does not repent, he cannot lie, nor will he alter the thing that is gone out of his lips; and therefore his word is to be trusted to, when men of high degree are a lie;

twice have I heard this; that is, many times, as Kimchi explains it: the Targum refers this, and the preceding clause, to the delivery of the law:

"one law God spake, and twice we heard it from the mouth of Moses the great scribe;''

but the meaning is, that the psalmist had heard of two things, and was well assured of

the truth of them, and which were the foundation of his trust and confidence; one is mentioned in this verse and the other in Psa_62:12; the first is,

that power belongeth unto God; great power, even almighty power, as appears from the creation of all things out of nothing, the preservation of them in their beings, the government of the world, the redemption of his people by Christ, the work of grace upon their hearts by his Spirit, the perseverance of the saints, their deliverance from their enemies, and the destruction of them. The ancient Cabalists (n) among the Jews have endeavoured, from this passage, to establish a Trinity in unity, they speak of

"three superior "Sephirot", or numbers; and of them it is said, "God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this": once and twice, lo, the three superior numbers, of whom it is said, one, one, one, three ones; and this is the meaning of "God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this; this" in it makes them one.''

HE�RY, "He gives a very good reason why we should make God our confidence, because he is a God of infinite power, mercy, and righteousness, Psa_62:11, Psa_62:12. This he himself was well assured of and would have us be assured of it: God has spoken once; twice have I heard this; that is, 1. “God has spoken it, and I have heard it, once, yea, twice. He has spoken it, and I have heard it by the light of reason, which easily infers it from the nature of the infinitely perfect Being and from his works both of creation and providence. He has spoken it, and I have heard once, yea, twice (that is, many a time), by the events that have concerned me in particular. He has spoken it and I have heard it by the light of revelation, by dreams and visions (Job_4:15), by the glorious manifestation of himself upon Mount Sinai” (to which, some think, it does especially refer), “and by the written word.” God has often told us what a great and good God he is, and we ought as often to take notice of what he has told us. Or, 2. “Though God spoke it but once, I heard it twice, heard it diligently, not only with my outward ears, but with my soul and mind.” To some God speaks twice and they will not hear once; but to others he speaks but once, and they hear twice. Compare Job_33:14. Now what is it which is thus spoken and thus heard? (1.) That the God with whom we have to do is infinite in power. Power belongs to God; he is almighty, and can do every thing; with him nothing is impossible. All the powers of all the creatures are derived form him, depend upon him, and are used by him as he pleases. His is the power, and to him we must ascribe it. This is a good reason why we should trust in him at all times and live in a constant dependence upon him; for he is able to do all that for us which we trust in him for. (2.) That he is a God of infinite goodness. Here the psalmist turns his speech to God himself, as being desirous to give him the glory of his goodness, which is his glory: Also unto thee, O Lord! belongeth mercy. God is not only the greatest, but the best, of beings. Mercy is with him, Psa_130:4, Psa_130:7. He is merciful in a way peculiar to himself; he is the Father of mercies, 2Co_1:3. This is a further reason why we should trust in him, and answers the objections of our sinfulness and unworthiness; though we deserve nothing but his wrath, yet we may hope for all good from his mercy, which is over all his works. (3.) That he never did, nor ever will do, any wrong to any of his creatures: For thou renderest to every man according to his work. Though he does not always do this visibly in this world, yet he will do it in the day of recompence. No service done him shall go unrewarded, nor any affront given him unpunished, unless it be repented of. By this it appears that power and mercy belong to him. If he were not a God of power, there are sinners that would be too great to be punished. And if he were not a God of mercy there are services that would be too worthless to be rewarded. This seems especially to

bespeak the justice of God in judging upon appeals made to him by wronged innocency; he will be sure to judge according to truth, in giving redress to the injured and avenging them on those that have been injurious to them, 1Ki_8:32. Let those therefore that are wronged commit their cause to him and trust to him to plead it.

JAMISO�, "once; twice — (as in Job_33:14; Job_40:5), are used to give emphasis to the sentiment. God’s power is tempered by His mercy, which it also sustains.

CALVI�, "11God hath spoken once. The Psalmist considered that the only effectual method of abstracting the minds of men from the vain delusions in which they are disposed to trust, was bringing them to acquiesce implicitly and firmly in the judgment of God. Usually they are swayed in different directions, or inclined at least to waver, just as they observe things changing in the world; (422) but he brings under their notice a surer principle for the regulation of their conduct, when he recommends a deferential regard to God’s Word. God himself “dwells in the light which is inaccessible,” (1 Timothy 6:16;) and as none can come to him except by faith, the Psalmist calls our attention to his word, in which he testifies the truth of his divine and righteous government of the world. It is of great consequence that we be established in the belief of God’s Word, and we are here directed to the unerring certainty which belongs to it. The passage admits of two interpretations; but the scope of it is plainly this, that God acts consistently with himself, and can never swerve from what he has said. Many understand David to say that God had spoken once and a second time; and that by this explicit and repeated assertion of his power and mercy, he had confirmed the truth beyond all possibility of contradiction. There is a passage much to the same effect in the thirty-third chapter of the book of Job, and fourteenth verse, where the same words are used, only the copulative is interposed. If any should prefer it, however, I have no objections to the other meaning — God has spoken once; twice have I heard this. It agrees with the context, and suggests a practical lesson of great importance; for when God has once issued his word he never retracts: on the other hand, it is our duty to ponder on what he has said, long and deliberately; and the meaning of David will then be, that he considered the Word of God in the light of a decree, steadfast and irreversible, but that, as regarded his exercise in reference to it, he meditated upon it again and again, lest the lapse of time might obliterate it from his memory. But the simpler and preferable reading would seem to be, that God had spoken once and again. There is no force in the ingenious conjecture, that allusion may be made to God’s having spoken once in the Law, and a second time in the Prophets. �othing more is meant than that the truth referred to had been amply confirmed, it being usual to reckon anything certain and fixed which has been repeatedly announced. Here, however, it must be remembered, that every word which may have issued forth from God is to be received with implicit authority, and no countenance given to the abominable practice of refusing to receive a doctrine, unless it can be supported by two or three texts of Scripture. This has been defended by an unprincipled heretic among ourselves, who has attempted to subvert the doctrine of a free election, and of a secret providence. It was not the intention of David to say that God was tied down to the necessity of repeating what he might choose to announce, but simply to

assert the certainty of a truth which had been declared in clear and unambiguous terms. In the context which follows, he exemplifies himself that deferential reverence and regard for the word of God which all should, but which so few actually do, extend to it.

We might just put together, in a connected form, the particular doctrines which he has singled out for special notice. It is essentially necessary, if we would fortify our minds against temptation, to have suitably exalted views of the power and mercy of God, since nothing will more effectually preserve us in a straight and undeviating course, than a firm persuasion that all events are in the hand of God, and that he is as merciful as he is mighty. Accordingly, David follows up what he had said on the subject of the deference to be yielded to the word, by declaring that he had been instructed by it in the power and goodness of God. Some understand him to say, that God is possessed of power to deliver his people, and of clemency imbuing him to exercise it. But he would rather appear to mean, that God is strong to put a restraint upon the wicked, and crush their proud and nefarious designs, but ever mindful of his goodness in protecting and defending his own children. The man who disciplines himself to the contemplation of these two attributes, which ought never to be dissociated in our minds from the idea of God, is certain to stand erect and immovable under the fiercest assaults of temptation; while, on the other hand, by losing sight of the all-sufficiency of God, (which we are too apt to do,) we lay ourselves open to be overwhelmed in the first encounter. The world’s opinion of God is, that he sits in heaven an idle and unconcerned spectator of events which are passing. �eed we wonder, that men tremble under every casualty, when they thus believe themselves to be the sport of blind chance? There can be no security felt unless we satisfy ourselves of the truth of a divine superintendence, and can commit our lives and all that we have to the hands of God. The first thing which we must look to is his power, that we may have a thorough conviction of his being a sure refuge to such as cast themselves upon his care. With this there must be conjoined confidence in his mercy, to prevent those anxious thoughts which might otherwise rise in our minds. These may suggest the doubt — What though God govern the world? does it follow that he will concern himself about such unworthy objects as ourselves?

There is an obvious reason, then, for the Psalmist coupling these two things together, his power and his clemency. They are the two wings wherewith we fly upwards to heaven; the two pillars on which we rest, and may defy the surges of temptation. Does danger, in short, spring up from any quarter, then just let us call to remembrance that divine power which can bid away all harms, and as this sentiment prevails in our minds, our troubles cannot fail to fall prostrate before it. Why should we fear — how can we be afraid, when the God who covers us with the shadow of his wings, is the same who rules the universe with his nod, holds in secret chains the devil and all the wicked, and effectually overrules their designs and intrigues?

The Psalmist adds, Thou wilt certainly render to every man according to his work. And here he brings what he said to bear still more closely upon the point which he

would establish, declaring that the God who governs the world by his providence will judge it in righteousness. The expectation of this, duly cherished, will have a happy effect in composing our minds, allaying impatience, and checking any disposition to resent and retaliate under our injuries. In resting himself and others before the great bar of God, he would both encourage his heart in the hope of that deliverance which was coming, and teach himself to despise the insolent persecution of his enemies, when he considered that every man’s work was to come into judgment before Him, who can no more cease to be Judge than deny himself. We can therefore rest assured, however severe our wrongs may be, though wicked men should account us the filth and the off-scourings of all things, that God is witness to what we suffer, will interpose in due time, and will not disappoint our patient expectation. From this, and passages of a similar kind, the Papists have argued, in defense of their doctrine, that justification and salvation depend upon good works; but I have already exposed the fallacy of their reasoning. �o sooner is mention made of works, than they catch at the expression, as amounting to a statement that God rewards men upon the ground of merit. It is with a very different design than to encourage any such opinion, that the Spirit promises a reward to our works — it is to animate us in the ways of obedience, and not to inflame that impious self-confidence which cuts up salvation by the very roots. According to the judgment which God forms of the works of the believer, their worth and valuation depend, first, upon the free pardon extended to him as a sinner, and by which he becomes reconciled to God; and, next, upon the divine condescension and indulgence which accepts his services, (423) notwithstanding all their imperfections. We know that there is none of our works which, in the sight of God, can be accounted perfect or pure, and without taint of sin. Any recompense they meet with must therefore be traced entirely to his goodness. Since the Scriptures promise a reward to the saints, with the sole intention of stimulating their minds, and encouraging them in the divine warfare, and not with the remotest design of derogating from the mercy of God, it is absurd in the Papists to allege that they, in any sense, merit what is bestowed upon them. As regards the wicked, none will dispute that the punishment awarded to them, as violators of the law, is strictly deserved.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 11. God hath spoken once. So immutable is God that he need not speak twice, as though he had changed; so infallible, that one utterance suffices, for he cannot err; so omnipotent, that his solitary word achieves all his designs. We speak often and say nothing; God speaks once and utters eternal verities. All our speaking may yet end in sound; but he speaks, and it is done; he commands, and it stands fast.Twice have I heard this. Our meditative soul should hear the echo of God's voice again and again. What he speaks once in revelation, we should be always hearing. Creation and providence are evermore echoing the voice of God; "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." We have two ears, that we may hear attentively, and the spiritual have inner ears with which they hear indeed. He hears twice in the best sense who hears with his heart as well as his ears.That power belongeth unto God. He is the source of it, and in him it actually abides. This one voice of God we ought always to hear, so as to be preserved from putting our trust in creatures in whom there can be no power, since all power is in God.

What reason for faith is here! It can never be unwise to rest upon the almighty arm. Out of all troubles he can release us, under all burdens sustain us, while men must fail us at the last, and may deceive us even now. May our souls hear the thunder of Jehovah's voice as he claims all power, and henceforth may we wait only upon God!EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 10-12. See Psalms on "Psalms 62:10" for further information.Ver. 11. God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this. �othing is able to settle our confidence in God, but the powerful impression of his own word. Twice have I heard this; that power, etc. How did he hear this twice? Once from the voice of creation, and again from the voice of government. Mercy was heard in government after man had sinned, not in creation: but we have heard of the power of God twice; once we heard of it in creation, and again more gloriously in the work of redemption, wherein his power and mercy were linked together. Or, Twice have I heard this; that power, etc.; that is, it is a more certain and undoubted truth, that power is essential to the divine nature. The repetition of a thing confirms the certainty of it. Mercy us also essential; but power is more apparently so, because no act of mercy can be exercised without power. Or, though God spake this but once, yet David heard it twice, or often: that is, he thoroughly weighed and considered it as God's once speaking. In this sense a gracious person hears that twice that God speaks but once. Or, twice, that is, frequently; because what God had once spoken, had been often repeated and inculcated, and often cleared and confirmed to him by repeated experimental evidence of the certainty thereof; and he had thereupon received the same more and more heartily, and had taken deeper impressions of it by repeated and inculcated thoughts. William Wisheart (1657-1727), in "Theologia; or Discourses of God."Ver. 11. God hath spoken once, etc. He made it known irrevocably and with great solemnity, so that it was not necessary to repeat it. With the Romans anything is said to be done once, which there is either no need to repeat, or which has no return. With the Hebrews also, and Orientals, txa is at one turn, as in 1 Samuel 26:8 : "�ow therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth AT O�E TUR�, and I will not smite him the second time." See Schultens. So also Psalms 89:35. "O�CE have I sworn in my holiness, I will not lie unto David." But what is the force of to hear twice? It may be taken in various ways. To hear twice can be regarded in the general sense of frequently or often. This will give the meaning: --God has but once spoken, yet I have often observed in my experience that his declaration is true. Hermann Venema.Ver. 11. Once; yea twice. This is answerable to the phrase of the Latins, Semel atque iterum; and it is usual in all writers to use a certain number for an uncertain, and particularly among poets: Felice ter et amplius. Horace. John Tillotson, 1630-1694.Ver. 11. Twice have I heard, etc. There are several renderings and interpretations, of these words; but that which to me seems most intended by our rendering is, I heard what was once spoken of twice at once; that is, I heard it speedily, and I heard it believingly: as soon as ever the word came to me I received it, and I received it not only with my ear, but with my heart. That is a blessed way of hearing; and they who hear so, at first speaking, may well be said to hear that twice which God speaketh once. Joseph Caryl.Ver. 11. Power belongeth unto God. Believe the mighty power of God. Consider

(1). It is difficult to believe his power. But how canthat be? Is not this a piece of natural divinity,that God is almighty? What need is there, then, topress people to believe it? Great need; because thisis the great thing we are apt to question in cases ofdifficulty. Else, why do we pray with cheerfulnesswhen we see great probability of a thing, but faintin prayer when it is otherwise? And why do we cryout in sad times, "Oh, we shall never see good daysagain?"(2). The firm belief of God's power is of great concernand moment in religion. Faith is never quite laid bytill the soul questions the power of God. "Oh, hecannot pardon, he cannot save!" When it cometh tothis, the soul is no longer able to hold out. Sothat the life and vigour of faith is very muchconcerned in the belief of God's power. It is,indeed, one of the first steps to all religion.Therefore it is put in the front of our creed: "Ibelieve in God, the Father ALMIGHTY; "and he thatbelieves that first article will the more easilybelieve all the rest.(3). God is much displeased, even with his own children,when his power is questioned by them. For this Godtakes up Moses short: "Is the Lord's hand waxenshort?" (�umbers 11:23); as if he had said: "What,Moses, dost thou think that my power is exhausted orweakened? What an unworthy conceit is this!" Forthis also Christ rebuked Martha very sharply: "Said Inot unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thoushouldest see the glory of God?" John 11:40.Yea, God is so tender of the glory of his power, thathe hath sharply chastened his dear children whentheir faith staggered at this matter; as we see inZacharias, who, for questioning the power of God, wasimmediately stricken dumb upon the place. Well,then, let it be your great care to have your faithconfirmed in the belief of God's almighty power. Forthis end, ponder the verbal declarations made of itin the Holy Scriptures; consider and improve themanifestations he hath given of it, both in your ownand former times; and pray much that God wouldstrengthen and increase your faith. William Wisheart.Ver. 11-12. Except some of the ancient versions, almost every version, translation, and commentary, says, Dr. A. Clarke, have missed the sense and meaning of this verse. Of the former verse the Doctor offers the following translation: "Once hath God spoken; these two things have I heard." But what are the two things the

Psalmist had heard?1. Myhlal ze yk, That strength is the Lord's; that is, he is the origin of power.2. dox ygdadlw, and to thee, Lord, is mercy; that is, he is the fountain of mercy. These, then, are the two grand truths that the law, yes, the whole revelation of God, declares through every page. He is the Almighty --he is the Most Merciful; and hence the inference, the powerful, just, and holy God, the most merciful and compassionate Lord, will by and by judge the world, and will render to man according to his works. How this beautiful meaning, adds the Doctor, should have been unseen by almost every interpreter is hard to say; but these verses contain one of the most instructive truths in the Bible.William Carpenter in "An Explanation of Scripture Difficulties, " 1828.Ver. 11-12. I confess I wonder to find so constantly in Scripture that the inspired writers put "merciful" and "mighty, ""terrible, "and "great, "all together: you shall find it so. �ehemiah 1:5. "O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy, "etc. You have it also in Daniel 9:4, in his solemn prayer. "O Lord, "says he, "the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy, "etc. Thus mercy, and great and terrible are constantly joined together. Thomas Goodwin.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 62:11. God hath spoken once; twice, &c. — That is, God hath spoken it, and I have heard it once, yea, twice; that is, frequently, as Job 33:14. He hath declared, and I have understood it, by the light of reason, which easily infers it from the nature of the infinitely perfect Jehovah, and from his works of creation and providence: he hath shown, and I have learned it by the events which have taken place concerning myself in particular: and the light of revelation, communicated in dreams and visions, and various other ways, hath manifested it, and especially at Sinai, and by his holy prophets from time to time; that power belongeth unto God — That power is his prerogative; and, consequently, that all creatures, either against him or without him, are poor, impotent things, in which no man can trust without certain disappointment; but that he is almighty, and can do every thing; and that with him nothing is impossible; and therefore that he, and he alone, is fit to be trusted.

ELLICOTT, "(11) Once; twice.—The usual Hebrew mode of emphasising a numerical statement, and one growing naturally out of the structure of the verse, which loves a climax. (Comp. Proverbs 6:16-19.) The union of power and love is proved to the poet by the fairness and justice mentioned in the last clause.

TRAPP, "Psalms 62:11 God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power [belongeth] unto God.

Ver. 11. God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this] The Septuagint have it thus, Once spoke God, these two things have I heard; that is, say some, in the second commandment, where mention is made of God’s jealousy and mercy, Exodus 20:5-6. Others, Once and again spoke God, and I have heard it. Or, God spoke once, I heard him twice, viz. by an after deliberate meditation upon what I had heard; I preached over the sermon as it were again to myself, and so heard it a second time.

That power belongeth unto God] He is well able to punish the wicked, Ezra 8:22. {See Trapp on "Ezra 8:22"}

PETT, "Psalms 62:11-12

‘God has spoken once, twice have I heard this,That power belongs to God.Also unto you, O Lord, belongs covenant love,For you render to every man according to his work.’In contrast to such men is God. Whilst men may appear powerful it is with God that power really lies. Indeed God has twice repeated the fact that power belongs to Him. He is over all. In the end all will be decided according to His plan and will. For He is Lord.

But with God there is no danger of His power being misused. For God acts in covenant love towards those who look to Him. He enters into a covenant of love with all who will respond to him, and behaves accordingly. Towards those who respond to His covenant He is totally reliable. He deals with men openly and honestly. He renders to every man according to his work. As Paul puts it. ‘To those who by patient endurance in well-doing seek for glory and honour and incorruption, he gives eternal life, but to those who are factious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and indignation’ (Romans 2:7-8).

Man is not saved by his works, but his works reveal what kind of a man he is. He either stands up to examination because His trust is in God, or he is weighed in the balances and found wanting because his trust is elsewhere.

WHEDO�, "Verse 11-1211, 12. God hath spoken—Here is a formal affirmation of a direct revelation from God.

Once, twice, have I heard—A Hebraism for many times; as if he would say, It is a familiar doctrine of the old dispensation that I am about to declare. See Job 33:14; Job 40:5. The Septuagint reads it “Once God hath spoken; I have heard these two things.”

Power… mercy—This is the matter of the revelation, that God is a God both of power and love. Wherefore let offenders tremble at the power that will dash in pieces all their schemes of iniquity and punish all their sin, and let humble and contrite hearts take courage and trust in his love.

For thou renderest—So that thou renderest. That is, the consequence of this power and love of God is, that he will render to every man according to his work. His attributes, his mercy, no less than his power and justice, compel to this juridical distinction and judgment. See Romans 2:6; Revelation 2:23.

12 and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;and, “You reward everyone according to what they have done.”

BAR�ES, "Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy - Power, indeed, belongs to God Psa_62:11; but this is an attribute to be feared, and while, in one respect, it will inspire confidence, or while it gives us the assurance that God is able to defend us when all else shall fail, yet, unattended by any other attribute, it might produce only apprehension and alarm. What man, weak and sinful man, needs to know is not merely that God has almighty power, but how that power will be wielded, or with what other attributes it is combined; whether it will be put forth to destroy or to save; to kill or to keep alive; to crush or to uphold. Man, therefore, needs the assurance that God is a benevolent Being, as really as that he is a powerful Being; that he is disposed to show mercy; that his power will be put forth in behalf of those who confide in him, and not employed against them. Hence, the attribute of mercy is so essential to a proper conception of God; and hence, the psalm so appropriately closes by a reference to his mercy and compassion.

For thou renderest to every man according to his work - As this stands in our version, it would seem that the psalmist regarded what is here referred to as a manifestation of mercy. Yet the “rendering to every man according to his work” is an act

of justice rather than of mercy. It is probable, therefore, that the word rendered “for” - כי

kıy - does not refer here to either of the attributes mentioned exclusively - either power

or mercy - but is to be understood with reference to the general course of argument in the psalm, as adapted to lead to confidence in God. The fact that he is a God who will deal impartially with mankind, or who will regard what is right and proper to be done in view of the characters of mankind, is a reason why they should confide in God - since there could be no just ground of confidence in a Being who is not thus impartial and just. All these combined - power, mercy, equity - constitute a reason why people should confide in God. If either of these were missing in the divine character, man could have no confidence in God. If these things do exist in God, unlimited confidence may be placed in him as having all needful power to save; as being so merciful that sinful people may trust in him; and as being so just and equal in his dealings that all may feel that it is right to repose confidence in a Being by whom all the interests of the universe will be secured. Compare 1Jo_1:9.

GILL, "Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy,.... This is the other thing the psalmist had heard, and was assured of, and which encouraged his hope and trust in the Lord; that mercy belonged to him, Psa_130:7; as appears, not only from the common bounties of his providence, daily bestowed upon his creatures; but from the special gift of his Son, and of all spiritual mercies and blessings in him; from the regeneration of the Lord's people, the pardon of their sins, and their eternal salvation;

for thou renderest to every man according to his work; and which is a reason proving that both power and mercy belong to God; power in punishing the wicked according to their deserts, and mercy in rewarding the saints, not in a way of merit, or of debt, but of grace. Some interpret the words, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe, "though thou renderest", &c. that is, God is gracious and merciful, though he is also just and righteous in rendering to every man as his work is, whether it be good or evil

JAMISO�, "for thou renderest — literally, “that Thou renderest,” etc., connected with “I heard this,” as the phrase - “that power,” etc. [Psa_62:11] - teaching that by His power He can show both mercy and justice.

PULPIT, "Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy; or, loving kindness. "Of Divine power all nature speaks; the knowledge of God's mercy rests mainly on revelation" (Kay). For thou renderest to every man according to his work. When God rewards well doing, it is Still of his mercy, since no man can claim that he deserves reward.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 12. Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy. This tender attribute sweetens the grand thought of his power: the divine strength will not crush us, but will be used for our good. God is so full of mercy that it belongs to him, as if all the mercy in the universe came from God, and still was claimed by him as his possession. His mercy, like his power, endureth for ever, and is ever present in him, ready to be revealed,For thou renderest to every man according to his work. This looks rather like justice than mercy; but if we understand it to mean that God graciously rewards the poor, imperfect works of his people, we see in it a clear display of mercy. May it not also mean that according to the work he allots us is the strength which he renders to us? he is not a hard master; he does not bid us make bricks without straw, but he metes out to us strength equal to our day. In either meaning we have power and mercy blended, and have a double reason for waiting only upon God. Man neither helps us nor rewards us; God will do both. In him power and grace are eternally resident; our faith should therefore patiently hope and quietly wait, for we shall surely see the salvation of God. Deo soli gloria. All glory be to God only.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 10-12. See Psalms on "Psalms 62:10" for further information.Ver. 11-12. See Psalms on "Psalms 62:11" for further information.Ver. 11-12. See Psalms on "Psalms 62:11" for further information.Ver. 12. Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy. Something more is necessary to invite us to a dependence on God than his bare power and ability to help us. There must be also a firm persuasion of the promptitude and readiness of his will to do what he is able; and this we have in the other attribute of his mercy.... "Unto thee,

"unto thee alone, and unto none else. The most tender mercy amongst the creatures is none at all, being compared with the divine mercy. It belongeth unto thee, as thy prerogative and peculiar excellency. Mercy is a peculiar jewel of his crown. Or, thine, O Lord, is mercy. �othing amongst the creature deserves the name of mercy but his own. �othing is worthy to be so called, but what is proper and peculiar to God. Or, with thee is mercy, as it is expressed elsewhere. Psalms 130:4; Psalms 130:7. It is with him; that is, it is inseparable from his nature. He is merciful in a way peculiar to himself, "the Father of mercies." 2 Corinthians 1:3. William Wisheart.Ver. 12. For thou rend rest to every man according to his work; namely--judgment to the wicked, and mercy to the righteous; where the Syriac interpreter giveth the good note: Est gratia Dei ut reddat homini secunda opera bona, quia merces bonorum operum est ex gratia: It is mercy in God to set his love on them that keep his commandments. Exodus 20:6. John Trapp.Ver. 12. Thou renderest to every man according to his work. Learn to admire the grace of God in rewarding your works. It is much that he accepts them; and what is it, then, that he rewards them? It is much that he doth not damn you for them, seeing they are all defiled, and have something of sin cleaving to them; and what is it, then, that he crowns them? You would admire the bounty and munificence of a man that should give you a kingdom for taking up a straw at his foot, or give you a hundred thousand pounds for paying him a penny rent you owed him: how, then, should you adore the rich grace and transcendent bounty of God in so largely recompensing such mean services, in setting a crown of glory upon your heads, as the reward of those works which you can scarcely find in your hearts to call good ones! You will even blush one day to see yourselves so much honoured for what you are ashamed of, and are conscious to yourselves that you have deserved nothing by. You will wonder then to see God recompensing you for doing what was your duty to do, and what was his work in you; giving you grace, and crowning that grace; enabling you to do things acceptable to him, and then rewarding you as having done them. Edward Veal(--1708), in "The Morning Exercises."HI�TS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHERVer. 11-12. The constant union of power and mercy in the language of Scripture.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 62:12. Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy — Hebrew, חסד, chesed, benignity, beneficence, compassion. “Significat id boni, quod gratuito fit:” It signifies that good which is done gratuitously. — Buxtorf. He is no less willing than able to defend, preserve, and do good to those that trust in him. For he is as truly the best, as he is the greatest of beings, merciful and gracious, yea, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation and good hope. This is a further reason why we should trust in him, and answers the objections of our sinfulness and unworthiness; though we deserve nothing but his wrath, yet we may hope for all good from his mercy, which is over all his works. For, or therefore, thou renderest, &c. — For the following words seem to be added, either as a proof of, or an inference from, the two foregoing properties of God, power and mercy. God is almighty, therefore he can easily destroy all his enemies: he is merciful, and therefore will pardon good men’s failings, and graciously reward their integrity; according to his work — Which, as he is obliged to do, by his own holy nature, so he

is able to do it, being omnipotent, and willing to do it to the godly, notwithstanding their manifold infirmities and miscarriages, because he is merciful and gracious. Though God doth not always do this visibly in this world, yet he will do it in the day of final recompense. �o service done to him shall go unrewarded; nor any affront given him unpunished, unless repented of. Thus it appears that power and mercy belong to him. If he were not a God of power, there are sinners that would be too high to be punished; and if he were not a God of mercy, there are services too worthless to be rewarded.

TRAPP, "Psalms 62:12 Also unto thee, O Lord, [belongeth] mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.

Ver. 12. Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy] viz. To set thy power a-work for the good of thy people. And as these two, God’s power and God’s mercy, are the two pillars, the Boaz and the Jachin of every believer, (hence Job Job 42:2, having spoken his power, he speaketh of his thoughts of peace towards his people) so they are sufficient proofs of the doctrines before delivered, and do evince the truth of that which followeth.

For thou renderest to every man according to his work] viz. Judgment to the wicked and mercy to the righteous; where the Syriac interpreter giveth this good note, Est gratis Dei ut reddit homini secundum opera bona, quia metres bonorum operum est ex gratis. It is mercy in God to set his love on them that keep his commandmeats, Exodus 20:6.