Let Me Not Wander

Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah. (NASB) The author of this Psalm has reminded himself, he has pleaded with himself, and now he is calling out to those around him. He is letting the people know that God is trustworthy. You can pour your heart out to Him, and it will not return void, for He is a God who cares, and is a refuge for us.

On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. (NASB) He is our salvation, but He is also our glory. We have nothing to glory in. If there is anything good, it is because of God's work in us. Our glory rests in Christ. Do you have something about yourself which you are proud of? Don't be. If there is anything in you or about you that is worthy of glory, it is because of Christ.

He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. (NASB) In verse 2 He makes a comment about not being greatly shaken, or exceedingly shaken. Here in verse 6 the Psalmist adds, I shall not be moved at all . It is a slight difference in the original, but it definitely shows a progression. His trust builds as he is putting his hope in the true stronhold.

My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. (NASB) Waiting in silence for God only, (or as it says in the NIV, finding rest in God alone ,) is restated here, this time almost as a command to the soul. It is almost as if the author is reminding himself, "Your only hope is in God! The only place that you can go to find peace is in His strongholds! Why are you seeking other things? Why are you idolizing things that can't satisfy? Seek God and God alone!"

They fully intend to topple him      from his lofty place;      they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless,      but in their hearts they curse. Selah (NIV) As the Psalmist wrote these words, he had in mind those who were out to get him, to bring him down. You may not have any people who are wanting to do that, but many times we have the lusts in our own hearts that are aiming at the same end. The Bible says that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Many times our own hearts are lying to us. The inner self is seeking to meet its own needs. It is telling us the wrong things. Maybe it is telling you that some particular thing isn't actually wrong, when you know it is. Maybe your heart is telling you that you simply can't do something, you are not worthy of service to the Lord, when you know that is a false humility to disguise your fear of man or your laziness. Whatever...

How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence? (NIV) Psalm 62 is one of my favorite Psalms. I have read it many times. When I used to read it, I would skim over this verse and the others like it in this passage. They didn't really seem to apply to me because I didn't really have anyone trying to topple me down. As I have grown older, these verses have taken on meaning for me. I may not be in some position of leadership where there are people trying to destroy me or my reputation, but I have definitely felt like there were things in my life that were assaulting me. And I have most definitely been a leaning wall and a tottering fence. By myself I have not been a strong tower. I also used to think of other leaders as those strong towers, but they are not. If there is anyone in Christian leadership who has maintained his strength, it is because he is resting firmly in the strongholds of Jesus Christ....

He only is my rock and my salvation, My (D)stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken. (NASB) Here again we can see that salvation is found in God alone. I believe that this is one of the points that the psalmist is trying to emphasize in this particular psalm. We cannot seek our salvation in anything else. We also cannot seek our salvation in any combination of God with something else. He is a jealous God, who will not share worship. But He is such a great salvation. He will not share, because He made us and knows that divided worship won't work. He is a rock and a fortress, when it is He alone . We will not be toppled down as long as we are in Him.