Peter Barnes: Psalm 62
SERMON NOTES: TRUST IN YOUR ROCK AND SALVATION (Psalm 62)
– written when Saul was chasing him or when his own son, Absalom, led a civil war against him.
- Rest on the Rock.
– 62:1-2. David begins with the solution. David is under threat from his enemies, be they from Saul or from Absalom – 62:3-4.
– David looks to God whom he calls his rock and his salvation and his fortress (65:2, repeated in 62:6), his salvation, glory, mighty rock, and refuge (62:7), and a refuge (62:8). Alec Motyer: ‘My soul is silence itself.’ David declares this to others (62:1) and he tells himself to rest on the Rock (62:5).
– note the personal pronouns: ‘me’ and ‘my’ – 62:1-2, 6-7, like Gal.2:20.
- False hopes.
– 62:9-10. God is the Rock; men, be they kings or commoners, are a puff of wind.
– wealth, whether gained honestly or not, will not save us either. William Wilberforce: ‘I can scarce understand why my life is spared so long, except it be to show that a man can be as happy without a fortune, as with one.’
- God is the all-powerful and loving Judge.
– 62:11-12 (for the pattern see e.g. Proverbs 6:16-19; 30:15-16; Amos 1:3). Joseph Hart: Come, ye sinners, poor and wretched,/ Weak and wounded, sick and sore;/ Jesus ready stands to save you,/ Full of pity joined with power;/ He is able, He is willing; doubt no more! Heb.4:14-16.
– judged by our works, as in Prov.24:12; Rom.2:6; Rev.22:12; Matt.16:27