Psalm 62:1-2,5-8,11-12a – For God alone my soul quietly waits; from Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. …For God alone, O my soul, quietly wait, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; He is the rock of my strength, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. …Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to You, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
Where do you seek rest for your soul when turmoil assaults it? Comfort food? Alchohol? Diversions? Shopping (online now, of course)? Bowing up to assert dominance over some small matter within reach?
David, the author of Psalm 62, whose life story involved far more unrest in circumstances than any of us will ever likely come near, reminds us that we will find real rest for our souls and secure hope only in the Lord. How so? “Because to God belongs power and steadfast love!”
How sad if we who have been given, through Jesus Christ, the only true refuge and fortress there is, should miss out on the benefit of enjoying that absolute security which is ours! What a tragic picture when we rest secure in the Lord’s love and favor, but forfeit rest in our souls; when we turn from the shalom of the Lord in which we now live, to seek after shalom of soul in things that can can never provide it.
That David was struggling to align His soul with the truth he proclaims is evident in his declaring, “For God alone my soul quietly waits” (v. 1), but then admonishing himself, “For God, alone, O my soul, quietly wait” (v 5).
What is the onramp for directing our souls back to the rightful rest that reflects our true situation, back to “trusting in the Lord at all times?” “Oh people, pour out your hearts to Him!” The first step of trusting in the Lord is always: pouring out our heart to Him. “Trusting in Him at all times” begins with “pouring out our hearts to Him” at all times!
What turmoil of soul do you need to pour out to the Lord today?