Opening Prayer
Lord, silence our soul before You. Amen.
Text: Psalm 62:1–8
Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved. How long will you attack a man? You shall be slain, all of you, Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence. They only consult to cast him down from his high position; They delight in lies; They bless with their mouth, But they curse inwardly. Selah1 My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
Devotion
David could testify: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Psa 34:19). Already in his youth his life was so full of trouble, when for such a long time he had to flee from Saul like a hunted deer and had to take his life into his hands! How sad was Absalom’s rebellion and pitiful end! And how many worries his other children gave him! But out of the tribulations he emerged with a refined soul in exchange. In this way he became “the sweet singer of Israel” and the Lord’s servant to comfort and instruct us in our need and pain. Only in this way could he become that singer.
“When one doesn’t have God in view, and doesn’t turn to Him in prayer, then no sea is so rough in the raging storm as man’s heart. For then constantly there comes anguish, fear, terror, care, and impatience, one after the other, until the troubled soul’s dismantled hull sinks into the depths of despair” (Johann Arndt). How much we need such instruction as that which God’s Spirit through David gives in this and other psalms! “My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation.” Here two important things are to be noted: 1) that the soul holds to God as its only Savior and does not think of any help but Him. When our enemies in the wickedness of hell alone ponder on our misfortune and use all their devilish cunning to tempt us to unbelief, then we should hope only in the Lord, wait for help only from Him. In Him all our thoughts and all our soul’s strength should be gathered together. We must have no other god beside the true God. Learn well this word “only” on which the psalmist puts such emphasis. 2) The Lord is certain and sure to rely on, so that it means nothing if the enemies are many and mighty. To the strengthening of his own faith and our encouragement the psalmist often repeats these sure words: “God, God is my salvation, my rock, my glory. Be still, my soul, before God. He is my expectation, He is my rock and my salvation, unshaken I stand on Him. With Him is my salvation and my glory. In God is the rock of my strength and my refuge.”
Whoever can do these two things is helped in all need. But this is not learned perfectly all at once, so God little by little increases the troubles of His children and wisely moves them along in stages. – How many times in their life sorrowing souls have found the Lord to be their cure! And how many trials He must use to free us from our internal ills! Otherwise we would hide the need in our heart, and let our disappointments, our foolish desires, and our sorrows eat away at us, until our souls would be sick unto death. But cross and trial teach us to pour out our heart before the Lord and to be still with hope in Him.
Closing Prayer
Merciful God, we thank You for all that You do with us, and we pray You: chasten us and heal us. Teach us to hope in You alone and to build upon You with sure and strong confidence. Amen.
Hymn
When afflictions sore oppress you,
Low with grief and anguish bowed,
Then to earnest prayer address you;
Prayer will help you, through the cloud
Still to see your Savior near,
Under every cross you bear;
By the light His Word doth lend you,
Prayer will joy and comfort send you.
None shall ever be confounded,
Who in God will freely trust;
Though they be by woes surrounded,
God’s a rock to all the just:
Though you deem He hears you not,
Still your wants are ne’er forgot:
Cry to Him when storms assail you,
Let your courage never fail you.
Olearius: L 427:1-2 ELH 256:1-2 tr. F. E. Cox;
tune: Freu dich sehr