Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 2 · Psalm 62
PSAL. LXII. foreign.
THE intent of this Pſalm, is to teach men to truſt in God, and not to truſt in wealth, ſtrength, or in the power or promiſes of man.
The Contents of the Pſalm.
1. Davids confidence in God, ver. 1, 2.
2. The miſchievous, but vain attempts of his enemies, ver. 3, 4.
3. He encourageth himſelf and others to the ſame confidence, from ver. 5. to 9.
4. That no truſt is to be put in men or riches, ver. 9, 10.
5. The grounds of our confidence in God, ver. 11, 12.
1. In the two firſt verſes, David expreſſeth, The firſt part. His affiance in God.or rather labours to expreſs (as appears by his often repetition of the ſame thing in divers words) his hope, truſt and confidence in God. Ver. 1
1. Truly my ſoul waiteth upon God, or is ſilent; i.e. I do acquieſce in him.
2. From him comes my ſalvation: If I be ſafe in my greateſt troubles, Ver. 2 'tis from him.
3. He only is my Rock, and my Salvation, he is my Defence, ſo that I ſhall not greatly be moved: He is to me, what a Rock or Tower of defence is to ſuch as flie to them.
2. And upon it he infers, The ſecond part. He upon it inſults over his enemies.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. Ver. 3
2. Ye ſhall be ſlain all of you; And ſhewes their miſchievous attempts.and their ruine he declares by a double ſimilitude; Ye ſhall be as a bowing wall, whence when ſome ſtones begin to ſhut 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 ruine. Ver. 4
1. They only conſult to caſt him down from his excellency: Their counſels to deſtroy David.
2. They delight in lyes; invent tales and lies to deſtroy me.
3. Flatterers and Diſſemblers they are: They bleſs with their mouth, but curſe inwardly; no marvail then if deſtined to the ſlaughter, if they be as a broken wall, &c.
3. And leſt his heart faint and fail through the multitude of tentations, The third part. He encourages 1. Himſelf.he firſt encourageth himſelf to be confident ſtill; ſecondly, then perſwades others to it.
1. He encourageth himſelf, Ver. 5 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 Defence, I ſhall not be moved: In God is my Salvation, and my Glory, the Rock of my ſtrength, and refuge is in God.2Others to truſt in God.
2. He exhorts others to do the like: Truſtin 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 ye be not heartleſs.
2. And in our ſaddeſt occaſions he ſhews and exhorts what is to be done, that we bring our grievances and complaints to God, and with an honeſt heart open them: Poure out your heart; that is, the griefs of your heart before him.
3. The reaſon, he our refuge.Adding this Reaſon, God is our Refuge for us.
4. The fourth part.So are not other things, whether men; ſecondly, wealth eſpecially unjuſtly gotten.
1. So not other things.Not men; there is no credit or truſt to be put in them, of what degree ſoever.
1. 1Not men.Surely men of low degree are vanity: 2. And men of high degree are a lye: The low are notable, the high deceive and fruſtrate our hopes.
2. Put them into the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity; make trial of them, as you would of things in a Scale, and you ſhall find them ſo vain and light, 2Not riches. But God is to be truſted for his power and mercy.that they carry no proportion to what is weighty; they aſcend and flurt up, and away, as an empty Scale.
2. Nor riches and wealth, eſpecially if unjuſtly heaped together, and therefore rely not on them: Truſt not in oppreſſion, and become not vain in robbery; if riches increaſe, ſet not your heart upon them.
5. The fifth pa…t.In the Cloſe, he ſets down the grounds of his confidence, taken upon Gods Word, God hath spoken; 'twice have I heard the ſame: i. e. He hath often spoken it.
1. That power belongs to God, and therefore he is to be truſted.
2. That mercy belongs to God, and therefore alſo he is to be truſted.
The conſequent of both is, Thou rendereſt to every one according to his works; bonis vera, malis malè; rely upon him.
The Prayer collected out of the ſixty ſecond Pſalm.
O God, infinite in eſſence, terrible in judgments, though thou haſt commanded us in our trouble to call upon thee, and to truſt unto thee; yet ſuch is the infirmity of fleſh and blood, that we find in our diſtreſſes too many diſcouragements; tempted we are to doubt whether thou canſt, but more often ſollicited to doubt whether thou wilt come down and deliver us.
But ſuch is thy condeſcenſion to the weakneſs of man, Ver. 11 That thou haſt ſpoken once, Ver. 12 nay twice we might have heard the ſame, once by thy Word, and again privately by thy Spirit, that power belongs to thee, that alſo unto thee belongs mercy; power, and therefore thou canſt; mercy, and therefore thou wilt relieve us.
Be it then, Ver. 1 that our ſoul is like to be drowned with a whole flood of evils, and the ſorrows of death compaſs us round, yet we will ſubmit our ſelves only unto thée, our ſoul ſhall wait upon our God, being fully aſſured that thou art able, and perſwaded that thou art willing; and therefore from thy power and mercy ſhall come our ſalvation, that thou in thy good time will be to us a Rock to ſecure us, a defence to keep us, and therefore we will not be greatly moved.
Our enemies are many and mighty, and they make many aſſaults to our ruine and utter overthrow: But how long, O ye ſons of men, will ye imagine miſchief againſt the innocent? Ver. 3 how long will ye take counſel to caſt him down from his excellency? How long will you invent lyes, and ſpeak unto me ſmooth and fair words with your mouths, when you curſe me in your hearts?
Know you not, That in God is my ſalvation and my glory? that he is the Rock of my ſtrength, and that I hope and expect that he will be my Refuge? And therefore I am fully perſwaded that all your endeavours are in vain, ye ſhall be ſlain all the ſort of you; you ſhall be as a bowing wall, that ſuddenly falls to ruine; and as a tottering hedge, which a ſmall blaſt throws down; for thou, O God, art juſt, and rendereſt to every man according to his works.
O Lord then, ſo ſtrengthen our faith, that we may truſt only in thée; found we have by experience, That the man of low degree is but vanity, and the man of high degree is a lye; when we have had occaſion to make trial of them, and weigh them in the balance, they have béen found too light; nay, lighter than vanity it ſelf. As for riches, they in the day of trouble have taken themſelves wings, and flown away; as they have increaſed, ſo alſo we muſt confeſs, that our love hath béen increaſed to them, and our hearts hath béen too much ſet upon them; but even our experience hath taught us this alſo, that theſe are but miſerable comforters.
Wherefore men and money, and all other worldly helps being ſet by, at all times, in proſperity and adverſity, in life and in death we will truſt to thée; to thée will we make our prayer, before thée will we poure forth our ſorrows, our thoughts, the deſtres of our hearts; for thou only art the defence and refuge of all that hope in thée for ever and ever. Amen.