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PSALM LXII

David, in imminent danger, flees to God for help and safety, 1, 2; points out the designs of his adversaries, 3, 4; encourages his soul to wait on God, 5-8; shows the vanity of trusting in man, and of trusting in riches, 9, 10; and concludes with asserting that power and mercy belong to God, and that he will give to every man according to his works, 11, 12.

NOTES ON PSALM LXII

The title, "To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun," may mean that the Psalm was sent to him who was the chief or leader of the band of the family of Jeduthun. It appears that Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman, were chief singers in the time of David; that they, with their families, presided over different departments of the vocal and instrumental worship in the tabernacle, 1 Chron. xxv. 1, &c.; that they were holy men, full of the Divine Spirit, (a thing very rare among singers and performers in these latter days,) and that they prophesied with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals; that Jeduthun had six sons thus employed; that himself prophesied with a harp to give thanks and praise to God, ver. 3; and that the sons of Jeduthun were appointed by lot to the different courses. The eighth course fell to his son Jeshaiah, ver. 15; the twelfth, to Hashabiah, ver. 19; and the fourteenth, to Mattithiah, ver. 21.

Will our modern performers on instruments of music in churches and chapels, pretend to the prophetic influence? If they do not, and cannot, how dare they quote such passages in vindication of their practice, which can be no better than a dulcet noise without its original meaning, and alien from its primary use? Do they indeed prophesy with harps, and psalteries, and cymbals? or with their play-house aggregate of fiddles and flutes, bass-viols and bassoons, clarionets and kettle-drums? Away with with such trumpery and pollution from the worship and Church of Christ! Though it is not very clear from the Psalm itself on what occasion it was composed, yet it is most likely it was during the rebellion of Absalom; and perhaps at the particular time when David was obliged to flee from Jerusalem.

Verse 1. "Truly my soul waiteth upon God " - I do not think that the original will warrant this translation, ypn hymwd µyhla la ūa 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.

Verse 2. "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.

Verse 3. "How long will ye imagine mischief " - The original word, wttwht tehothethu, has been translated variously; rush upon, rage against, stir yourselves up, thrust against: the root is tth hathath or hth 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."

Verse 4. "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, &c.; but he could not trust them, and therefore retired from Jerusalem.

Verse 5. "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 ver. 1.

Verse 7. "In God is my salvation " - µyhla y[ al Elohim, "Upon God is my salvation;" he has taken it upon himself. And my glory-the preservation of my state, and the safety of my kingdom.

Verse 8. "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.

Verse 9. "Men of low degree are vanity " - µda ynb beney Adam, which we here translate men of low degree, literally, sons of Adam, are put in opposition to ya ynb 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. wna 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 " - twl[l µynzamb bemozenayim laaloth, In the balances they ascend: exactly answerable to our phrase, they kick the beam.

"They are altogether lighter than vanity. " - Literally, Both of them united are vanity, djy lbhm hmh 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.

Verse 10. "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.

Verse 11. "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: yt[m wz µyt µyhla rbd tja 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. µyhlal zw yk ki oz lelohim, "That strength is the Lord's;" that is, He is the Origin of pourer.

2. dsj ynda ūlw ulecha Adonai, chased; "and to thee, Lord, is mercy;" that is, He is the 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.

ANALYSIS OF THE SIXTY SECOND PSALM

The intent of this Psalms is to teach men to trust in God; and not to trust in wealth, or strength, nor in the power or promise of men.

"It may be divided into the five following parts: " - I. David's confidence in God, ver. 1, 2.

II. The mischievous but vain attempts of his enemies, ver. 3, 4.

III. He encourages himself and others in the same confidence, ver. 5-9.

IV. That no trust is to be put in men, nor riches, ver. 9, 10.

V. The grounds of our confidence in God, ver. 11, 12.

I. In the first verses David expresses, or rather labours to express, as appears by his frequent repetition of the same thing in divers words, his trust, hope, and confidence in God: - 1. "Truly, my soul waiteth upon God." I acquiesce in his will.

2. "From him comes my salvation." If I be safe in my greatest troubles, it is from him.

3. "He only is my rock, and my salvation; he is my defense so that I shall not greatly be moved." He is to me what a rock or tower or defense is to such as flee to them.

II. And upon this he infers that the mischievous attempts of his bitterest adversaries are but vain; with them he expostulates; them he checks, and over them he insults.

1. "How long will ye imagine mischief against a man?" i.e., me. He chides their obstinacy.

2. "Ye shall be slain all of you;" and their ruin he declares by a double similitude; "Ye shall be as a bowing wall;" whence when some stones begin to start out or fall, the rest follow: or as a tottering fence, that is easily thrown down.

Next, by the description of their manners, he intimates the cause of their ruin.

1. "They only consult to cast him down from his excellency;" their counsel is to destroy David.

2. "They delight in lies;" invent lies and tales to destroy him.

3. Flatterers and dissemblers are they: "They bless with their mouth but they curse inwardly;" no wonder then, if destined to the slaughter, "if they be as a broken wall," &c.

III. And lest his heart faint and fail through the multitude of temptations, he first encourages himself to be confident still. Secondly, persuades others to do so.

1. He encourages himself, making use of the words of the first and second verses for reasons: "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him: he only is my rock, and my salvation; he is my defense, I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation, and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God." 2. He exhorts others to do the like: "Trust in him, ye people," which he amplifies: - 1. By assignation of the time: "Trust in him at all times:" in prosperity, that he be not secure; in adversity, that he be not heartless.

2. And in our saddest occasions he shows what is to be done, that we bring our grievances and complaints before God, and with an honest heart open them: "Pour out your heart (that is, the griefs of your hearts) before him." 3. Adding this reason: "God is a refuge for us." IV. So are not other things; whether, 1. Men. 2. Wealth, especially unjustly got.

1. Not men; there is no credit or trust to be put in them of any degree.

1. "Surely men of low degree are vanity," 2. "And men of high degree are a lie." The low are not able; the high deceive our hopes.

"Put them into the balance; they are altogether lighter than vanity." Make trial of them, as of things in a scale, and you shall find them so vain and light that they carry no proportion to what is weighty, but ascend as an empty scale.

2. Nor wealth, nor riches; especially if unjustly heaped together: "Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them." V. In the close, he sets down the grounds of his confidence, taken upon God's word: "God hath spoken; twice have I heard the same;" or, "I have heard these two things: - " 1. "That power belongs to God;" and there fore he is to be trusted.

2. "That mercy belongs to God;" and therefore, also, you may have the utmost confidence in him.

The consequence of both is, "Thou renderest to every one according to his works," bonis vera, malis mala: rely upon him. Bad work cannot have good wages; good work cannot have bad wages. "What a man soweth, that shall he also reap."The righteous shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the promotion of fools." A man may deserve hell by a wicked life; but he cannot merit heaven by a good life because he cannot do good but through the grace of God, and the merit of the work belongs to the grace by which it was wrought. Reader, hear God's sentence on this subject: "The wages of sin is death." This is desert. "But the gift of God is eternal life." Here is no desert, for it is "by Jesus Christ our Lord." To him be glory for ever.