Psalm 62:1-8 - "He Only is My Rock..."
MAY 31, 2023
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Spurgeon called Psalm 62 The “Only” Psalm!  This
is another of David’s psalms that could have been written on any number of
occasions. It might have been written when David was fleeing from King Saul in
his early years. Or it could have come out of the time David was in Hebron for
seven years right after he was anointed king over the tribe of Judah and there
was still conflict with the other eleven tribes of Israel from the north (2
Samuel 1-4). Some believe it was written when he was fleeing from his son Absolom
who was seeking to kill him and take over the kingdom.


But whenever it was written, as David prays this prayer and writes this psalm, he shows
us his remarkable faith as he rests in God alone (vv. 1, 2, 5, 6) and trusts
Him to defeat the enemy and restore peace to the land. There are at least three
powerful truths that emerge from his experience with the crisis surrounding
that should encourage us to apply to our lives also.


One, that we can believe that God alone saves us (vv. 1-4). Second, that we can trust
God alone encourages us (vv. 5-8). And third, that we can depend upon God alone
to reward us (vv. 9-12). The word "only" or "alone" is
found in verses 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6. David wants us to know that his faith isn't
in God plus something else, but in God alone. Yes, God uses means to accomplish
His work, and the same God who ordains the end also ordains the means, but our
faith is in Him and not in the means.


David didn't argue with the enemy or try to tell God what to do; he simply prayed,
trusted and waited, knowing that God would give him the kingdom in His good
time. The images of God as "rock" and "fortress" remind us
of Psalm 18:1-2. In verses 3-4, David is a humble man and sees himself as a
bowing stone wall about to collapse and a tottering fence ready to fall down. These
verses fit most clearly if indeed this is the time King Saul is seeking to throw
him down from his high position on the mountain rocks (see 1 Sam. 24:14 and
26:20). But God was his strong tower! The enemy could threaten him, lie about
him, and even assault him, and he would not lose the peace God put in his
heart.


To wait in silence before the Lord is not idleness or inactivity. It is calm
worship and faith, resting in His greatness and submitted to His will. It is
preparation for the time when God gives the orders to act (Psalm 18:30-45). David
has moved from "I shall not be greatly shaken" (v. 2, ESV) to "I
shall not be shaken" (v. 6, ESV). The greater the realization that God
was his fortress, the greater the calmness in his heart. He was not depending
on himself or his own resources but on the Lord God Almighty. His throne, his
reputation, and his very life depended only on the faithfulness of the Lord.


Remember in yesterday’s chat from Psalm 61, David was praying and asking God to “lead
me to the rock that is higher than I”.  The Lord must have answered his prayer because
here in the very next psalm twice David proclaims, “He only is my rock and
my salvation…”, and adds, “The rock of my strength…”. My friend,
this reminds us that Jesus Christ and the Gospel is our hope and the anchor of our
souls. The Apostle Paul told us, “If indeed you continue in the faith,
grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel
which you heard” (Colossians 1:23).


In Hebrews 6:18-20 we are assured: “That by two immutable things, in which it
is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled
for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an
anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence
behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having
become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”


Today, we can safely put our entire trust in the Rock, Jesus Christ alone, as our hope
and anchor of our souls so that we have no need to ever be shaken!


God bless!

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