God Alone

God Alone

First in Lent

Collect of the Day

O LORD, who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights; Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 62 (ESV)

1For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

3 How long will all of you attack a man
    to batter him,
    like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
    They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
    but inwardly they curse. Selah

5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us. Selah

9 Those of low estate are but a breath;
    those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
    they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no trust in extortion;
    set no vain hopes on robbery;
    if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

11 Once God has spoken;
      twice have I heard this:
     that power belongs to God,
12  and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
   according to his work.

Homily Text: Psalm 62:1-7

Adversity forces us to face our weakness and ask, “Where do I turn now?” When David wrote Psalm 62 some were conspiring to depose him and take the throne. But Psalm 62 is not just for politically vulnerable kings. David’s Psalm is for all of us who find troubles overwhelming us.

1. David speaks about himself (1, 2).

1.1. The Psalm begins with David expressing his trust in the Lord.

For God alone my soul waits in silence;

from him comes my salvation.

He alone is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

1.1a Some of the Psalms were written when God’s deliverance had already come and the danger had danger had passed. Psalm 116 was written after deliverance from death: “I love the LORD because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.” But in this Psalm the crisis is on ongoing; no deliverance has come. There are those trying to depose David as king. He could lose his throne and his life. It is not uncommon for God’s people to be in trouble, needing help from the Lord, with no deliverance in sight.

1.1b Though he doesn’t see deliverance on the way, David says, “For God alone my soul waits in silence.” Why does he wait in silence? Perhaps because he does not know what to say. There are times when we do not know what to ask of the Lord. When we can’t form clear ideas of what to ask, we struggle with finding any words for our prayers, except perhaps, “Thy will be done.” Or it may be that David waits in silence because he has said all there is to say and now he must wait in silence to see what God will do.

1.1c Though he is silent he waits for God alone, because he knows that no one but God can deliver him. Sometimes we put on people a weight they cannot bear - we want them to do what they cannot do, to be God. We look to them to deliver us from all our troubles, to solve all our problems, to soothe all our wounds and hurts, to fill the emptiness in our lives. We make them our god, and we get mad at them when they cannot do what God alone can do. David knows better. He waits on God alone.

1.1d God is his rock, fortress, and salvation. In David’s time, kings looked for rock formations that could serve as fortresses. They would pull their troops into these fortresses and defend themselves against enemy attacks. But David knows that his safety and salvation are in God alone.

Because God is his rock, fortress, and salvation David will not be greatly moved. He may be moved, but he will not be greatly moved. He will not be overrun by his enemies. When we are facing troubles of every kind, we may feel we are in danger of being overrun by our adversities, but if we anchor our faith in the Lord, we will not be greatly moved. The Lord is our fortress, and in him we will find safety and security.

2.1 David speaks about his enemies (3, 4).

2.1a David pictures his enemies as present so he can ask them a question.

Sometimes the Psalmists say to the Lord, “How long, O Lord?” They ask, “How long till you deliver me? How long till you show me favor?”

But this time David asks his enemies:

How long will all of you attack a man

    to batter him,

    like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?

“You see me as a leaning wall that is about to collapse, a tottering fence that will soon fall. You press your advantage against my vulnerability and weakness. You continue to batter me in anticipation that I will soon be completely defeated.” David’s enemies show him no mercy.

2.1b David knows the character and aims of his enemies.

They only plan to thrust him down from his

    high position.

    They take pleasure in falsehood.

   They bless with their mouths,

   but inwardly they curse.

They are focused on David’s high position, sitting on the throne of Israel, and their one goal is to thrust him down and take his kingship. They are liars, who take pleasure in falsehood. They are hypocrites, who bless with their mouths while inwardly they curse. They are the sort of person who smiles, holds out the right hand in fellowship, and speaks words of goodwill, but inwardly is full of malice and ill will. They may say, “Long live the king!” but in their hearts they are thinking, “May the king be pulled off this throne and killed.”

There are times when we will feel like leaning walls and tottering fences. We may be battered by friends who betray us, and ask, “How long will you kick a man when he’s down?” Or we may be pounded by the blows of one disappointment or trouble after another, so that we ask, “How long can this go on? How much more can I take?”

3.1 David speaks to himself.

3.1a David began by describing himself as waiting on the Lord in silence. But then he turned his attention to his enemies and, as so often happens when we focus on our troubles, it seems his peace was disturbed.

You know how you hate it when someone quotes your own words back to you? You say, “As soon as a get a free Saturday, I’m going to clean out the garage. The next free Saturday you are relaxing watching sports on TV and your wife says, “What was that you said about cleaning out the garage?”

In this case with his peace disturbed David has the good sense to quote his words back to himself and turns them into an exhortation.

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,

    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;

    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

3.1b Sometimes we have to preach to ourselves what we know from God’s Word is true. When doubts and fears threaten us, we confess the truth of our faith.

Missionary and author Elisabeth Elliot lost two husbands. Jim Elliot was martyred in Ecuador by the Auca Indians he was trying to reach so he translated the Scripture into their language. Her second husband Addison Leitch, a seminary professor died of cancer. She wrote about how devastating her loss was, how overwhelming the grief. She wrote poignantly of losing her second husband and of how little things like seeing the foot pattern in a pair of slippers or cooking one egg rather than two, would stir her grief. She also tells us how she worked her way through the loss, loneliness, and grief. She quoted the Apostles’ Creed to herself line by line, and said, “Not one word of this has been changed by the death of my husband.”

Sometimes we have to say to ourselves, “Trust in the Lord and him alone.” You know him.

• You know he has promised never to leave you or forsake you.
• You know that your God is a mighty fortress, a bulwark never failing.
• You know that he has promised to work all things together for your good.
• You know that if did not spare his own Son but delivered him up for us all, he will with Christ freely give you all things necessary for your salvation.
• You know that in heaven Christ is your High Priest who understands your weaknesses and who promises not only to hear sympathetically but to help.
• You know the Holy Spirit lives within you to search your hearts in those times you don’t know how to pray, and to pray for you.
• You know that nothing whatsoever can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord.

There is no one so trustworthy. There is no one else who will never let you down. There is no one so powerful as he. He has all the power needed to keep all his promises to you. There no one so loving as he. He loves you more than you can comprehend and has purposed good things for you his power will fulfill. Trust in him alone. Make him your fortress of security.