The Book of Psalms

Word Study

"truly," Hebrew akh (אַךְ), surely, only, an emphatic particle that runs through the psalm. One small word holds the whole psalm together. It rings out six times in these twelve verses, sometimes as "surely," sometimes as "only," an anchor-word driving home a single point: God alone. Faith here is not merely trusting God a lot; it is trusting God with no rival rock beside Him.

"waiteth," dumiyyah (דּוּמִיָּה), waits in silence, is still. The psalm opens in restful stillness: "Truly my soul waiteth upon God", literally, waits in silence. It is not the waiting of impatience but of a heart that has stopped arguing.

"rock," tzuri (צוּרִי). "He only is my rock and my salvation." The rock is the immovable thing under a man's feet, and the emphatic "only" allows him no second one.

"salvation," yeshu'ati (יְשׁוּעָתִי). Not merely the giver of salvation but the salvation itself. What David has is not a rescue arranged at a distance but God Himself as his deliverance.

"defence," misgabbi (מִשְׂגַּבִּי), high tower. The third title in the row, and it lifts him out of reach. Rock, salvation, high tower, and every one of them qualified by that same "only."

"greatly moved," rabbah (רַבָּה), much shaken. Resting on God alone, David says, "I shall not be greatly moved" -- and notice the honest qualifier. He allows that he might be shaken a little; he is not pretending to a superhuman calm. But when the refrain returns at verse 6 the qualifier is gone, "I shall not be moved", for the very act of waiting on God has firmed his confidence between the two.

Explanation

One small Hebrew word holds this whole psalm together, and once you notice it you hear it everywhere: akh, translated "truly" and "only." It rings out six times in these twelve verses, sometimes as "surely," sometimes as "only," an anchor-word driving home a single point, God alone. "He only is my rock... wait thou only upon God... they only consult to cast him down." Faith here is not merely trusting God a lot; it is trusting God alone, with no rival rock beside Him. And there is a quiet, honest progression tucked into the two refrains that most readers miss. Here in verse 2 David says, "I shall not be greatly moved", notice the word "greatly." He allows that he might be shaken a little; he is not pretending to a superhuman calm. But when the same refrain returns at verse 6, the qualifier is gone: "I shall not be moved", full stop. Something has firmed up between verse 2 and verse 6. The very act of waiting silently on God, preaching to his own soul, and pouring out his heart has strengthened his confidence, so that the man who began by hoping not to be shaken "greatly" ends up sure he will not be shaken at all. That is how faith often grows: not in one leap, but by waiting on God until "not greatly moved" quietly becomes "not moved." Rest your whole weight on the one Rock, and the trembling steadies.

Gospel Focus

"He only is my rock and my salvation", the exclusive rest of this psalm is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the one Rock and the one Saviour, beside whom there is no other. The "only" of Psalm 62 is the "only" of the gospel: "neither is there salvation in any other" (Acts 4:12), for there is "one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). He is "that Rock" (1 Corinthians 10:4), the "sure foundation" laid in Zion (Isaiah 28:16), on whom the one who builds "shall not be moved." Every other rock we lean on, our own strength, our wealth, the approval of men, will shift and crumble; Christ alone holds. And the settled rest David found is the rest Jesus offers: "Come unto me... and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28), the quiet, silent waiting of a soul that has stopped scrambling for other securities and leaned wholly on Him. Built on this Rock, the believer "shall never be moved," for the house founded on the rock stood when the floods came, "for it was founded upon a rock" (Matthew 7:25). So let your soul wait, in stillness, upon God alone in Christ. He only is your rock, your salvation, and your high tower, and on Him you shall not be moved.

Word Study

"wait thou only," Hebrew akh... dommi (אַךְ... דּוֹמִּי), be silent, still, only, toward God. Notice the shift from verse 1. There David stated a fact about his soul, "my soul waiteth upon God"; here he commands it, "My soul, wait thou only upon God." That is the difference between a faith you happen to feel and a faith you have to tell your own reluctant heart to keep. The godly do not merely listen to their hearts; they preach to them.

"expectation," tiqvati (תִּקְוָתִי), hope. What the silent soul is waiting for is named here, and it is not an outcome but a Person: "my expectation is from him." Hope with any other source would be a rival rock.

"trust," bitchu (בִּטְחוּ). Now the verb turns plural and David widens the call from his own soul to everyone within hearing. What he has been saying to himself he now urges on all: "Trust in him."

"at all times," bekhol-et (בְּכָל־עֵת). Not in the crisis only, and not in the calm only. The trust that is worth anything is the kind that holds in every sort of hour, which is why it must sometimes be commanded rather than felt.

"pour out," shifkhu (שִׁפְכוּ). Set this beside the "silent waiting" of verse 1 and the two might seem opposites. They are not. The silent waiting is the settled confidence underneath; the pouring out is the honest emptying on top, telling God everything and holding nothing back.

"your heart," levavkhem (לְבַבְכֶם). What is poured out is not a tidy prayer but the raw, unedited contents of the inner man. To "pour out your heart" does not mean anxious ranting, but it does mean bringing God the whole of it.

"refuge," machaseh (מַחֲסֶה). And here is why such honesty is safe: "God is a refuge for us." A refuge is a place where you can finally stop pretending; silent waiting and poured-out speech both rest in the same shelter.

Explanation

Notice a subtle but important shift between the opening of the psalm and this section. In verse 1 David stated a fact about his soul: "my soul waiteth upon God." Here in verse 5 he commands his soul: "My soul, wait thou only upon God." That is the difference between a faith you happen to feel and a faith you have to tell your own reluctant heart to keep. Sometimes trust comes as a quiet fact we rest in; other times it must be spoken to ourselves as an order, "Soul, wait, be still, hope in God," because the heart, left to itself, would run off after other rocks. The godly do not merely listen to their hearts; they preach to them. And then comes a pairing that keeps faith from going cold: "Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him." Set that beside the "silent waiting" of verse 1 and you might think them opposites, silence and pouring out. They are not. To "wait silently" on God does not mean bottling up your troubles and pretending calm; and to "pour out your heart" does not mean anxious ranting. They are two sides of one trust. The silent waiting is the settled confidence underneath; the pouring out is the honest emptying on top, telling God everything, holding nothing back, precisely because He is "a refuge." You may bring Him the raw, unedited contents of your heart, for a refuge is a place where you can finally stop pretending. Wait on Him in stillness; pour out to Him in honesty; both rest in the same God.

Gospel Focus

"Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him", this open invitation is thrown wide in Jesus Christ, through whom we may come to God at all times and hold nothing back. The gospel bids us "come boldly unto the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16), for we have a High Priest "touched with the feeling of our infirmities," to whom we may pour out the whole heart. Because of Christ we are told, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6), and to be "casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you" (1 Peter 5:7). And the "at all times" is guaranteed by the unchanging Christ, who is "the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8), so there is never a season when the refuge is closed. God is not a shelter for the sunny day only, but "a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). So do both things this psalm commands: preach to your own soul to wait on God alone, and pour out to Him every fear and grief without pretense. The throne of grace is always open in Jesus, and God is a refuge for us, a place to be still and a place to be honest, at all times.

Word Study

"once... twice," Hebrew achat... shtayim (אַחַת... שְׁתַּיִם), a numerical saying meaning "again and again," emphatically. David sums up what God has impressed on him: "God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this." The doubling is a Hebrew way of saying a thing is settled beyond question, like a witness confirmed by two testimonies.

"power," oz (עֹז), strength, might. The first half of the doubly certain truth: "power belongeth unto God." Believed alone it would be terrifying, for a God of unlimited power who might not be kind is a thing to dread rather than to trust.

"belongeth," le'Elohim (לֵאלֹהִים), belongs to God. The word is one of ownership. Strength is not something God borrows or exercises occasionally; it is His by right, and it is His alone, which is the psalm's "only" sounding once more.

"mercy," chesed (חֶסֶד), steadfast love. The second half: "also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy." Believed alone this would leave us pitied but not rescued. The troubled heart needs both at once, that God is powerful enough to help and merciful enough to want to; power and mercy joined in the same God are the very ground of rest.

"renderest," teshallem (תְּשַׁלֵּם), repay, requite. The psalm closes with God settling accounts, "for thou renderest to every man according to his work." The God who is strong to save and kind to care is also the God who repays, and a soul that grasps all this can be still.

Explanation

The way David frames these closing verses tells you they are the heart of the matter: "God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this." That "once... twice" is a Hebrew way of saying a thing is doubly sure, repeated, settled beyond question, like a witness confirmed by two testimonies. So what is this doubly certain truth that the whole psalm has been driving toward? It is two things that must be held together: "power belongeth unto God," and "also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy." Stop and feel why the soul needs both, and why either one alone would fail us. Suppose you believed only that "power belongeth unto God", that He is mighty, sovereign, able to do anything. That, by itself, is terrifying; a God of unlimited power who might not be kind is a thing to dread, not to trust. Now suppose you believed only that God is merciful, loving, tender-hearted, but you were not sure He was strong enough to actually help. That would leave you pitied but not rescued, comforted but not saved. The troubled heart needs to know both at once: that God is powerful enough to help, and merciful enough to want to. Power without mercy would crush us; mercy without power would disappoint us; but power and mercy joined in the same God are the very ground of rest. That is why David heard it "twice", not two separate truths, but one double truth that only together brings peace. The God on whom he waits in silence is strong to save and kind to care, and a soul that grasps both can be still.

Gospel Focus

"Power belongeth unto God... Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy", nowhere are the power and the mercy of God joined so perfectly as in Jesus Christ, and supremely at the cross. There God's power and God's mercy meet in one act: the mercy that spared us and the power that conquered our enemies, sin, death, and the grave. Christ crucified is "the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24), and He is also the fullest outpouring of mercy, for "God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us... hath quickened us together with Christ" (Ephesians 2:4-5). At Calvary the mighty God showed His strength by bearing our weakness, and the merciful God satisfied His own justice, "that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Romans 3:26). The resurrection then proved the power, "declared to be the Son of God with power... by the resurrection" (Romans 1:4), while the whole work poured out the mercy. So the believer rests, as David rested, on a God who is both: mighty enough to save to the uttermost, and kind enough to receive the worst of sinners. Wait in silence on such a God, revealed in the Lord Jesus, powerful and merciful, and you shall not be moved.