Psalm 62 – For God Alone, I Wait

“For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.” ~Psalm 62:5-6 (NIV).

The psalmist, David, has abided in a solemn oath of responsibility and faithfulness—to nurture a sole focus on the Lord during temptation to wilt, seemingly in the throes of ongoing ambush and the subject of heinous revelry by his enemies.

Likewise, we can relate with David’s struggle. Temptations abound in all our lives, whether by betrayal, unforgiving attitudes, to engage in substances or activities of unhealthy dependence, or by our own inferiorities—and then some.

What we learn here, from David, is the art of refocusing—and implicitly waiting—on the Lord.

The LORD Alone

As we meditate over the twelve verses of this psalm we get the distinct impression of the strength of David’s faith at this particular time. In other psalms we read a more desperate psalmist, one forlorn to hope; other than which is vocalised. We all know the experience of empty prayers; times when strength was faint, and while the words came out for faith, we could hardly mean it from our withering hearts’ perspective.

But that is not the psalmist’s experience here. There is no question that the depths are acute, but equally deep is David’s resolve to abide in the Lord.

Jesus reminds us to abide in him, and he will abide in us, in John 15:1-11.

When we rely on God alone we redeem the strength to get through the troubled moment, and there is perhaps a connection between the strength behind David’s words and his resolute focus.

The Promise of Deliverance for Those Who Wait

The psalmist’s faith—the resilience to wait for however long it takes—is presumably based on past experience of God’s faithfulness to deliver.

For ourselves, personally, if we lack such faith, having no experience of deliverance in these situations to call upon, we can observe such deliverance in others’ lives or we can set forth in faith; this is the faith that pleases God most—to step forth in spite of the little or no rational understanding of the wisdom in such action.

This is pure obedience of the halcyon and cherished childlike faith.

And if we involve ourselves in such faith, we remind ourselves, continually, that the Lord will finish the work he started (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

A sole focus on our Rock-Fortress-Deliverer will redeem the promise of release, relief, and freedom. God is not slow in doing this—not by our memory of it as we look back. Waiting is always worth it from that perspective.

The Lord repays all according to their work (verse 12b).

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.