Restoration Quarterly 17.2 (1974) 85-98.
Copyright © 1974 by Restoration
Quarterly, cited with permission.
Exegesis of Psalm 62
DAVE
BLAND
The most basic and fundamental
element of the psalms is their:
expression
of continual total and exclusive trust in God. This element
is
most fully expressed in Psalm 62. This psalm, as well as Psalms 4,
16,
27 and 131, is a psalm of trust. Each expresses the same firm hope
in
God's ability to help his faithful ones become "more than con-
querors."
Several scholars argue that the
psalms of trust originated from the
genre
of the lament.1 One of the reasons for this is that the
structures
are
basically the same though details differ. Drijvers identifies four
common
elements: the call to Yahweh, the lament, the petition, and
the
motivation.2 At the same time the psalms of trust transcend
the
bitterness
of the immediate experience to express complete confidence
in
God. They also speak of the Lord in the third person instead of
to
him in the second person.3
It is difficult to be precise
concerning the original Sitz im Leben
of
Psalm
62. Its original setting appears to come from the private devotion
of
an individual to the Lord (cf. 2-8).4 The individual seems to be a
man
of authority, a king,, because of the way he addresses the enemy
(vs.
5) and exhorts his people (vs. 9). It evidently was composed while
the
pressure was still intense (vs. 4: "How long will ye rush upon a
man,
will ye slay, all of you . . .?") It was set, then, in the devotional
1 See Mitchell Dahood, Psalms. The Anchor Bible (
and
Co., 1966) Vol. 1, p. 68; E. A. Leslie, The
Psalms (
1949),
p. 548; R. E. Murphy, "Psalms," The
Jerome Biblical Commentary (
Cliffs,
N.J.: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1968), p. 572; William Taylor, "Psalms,
Exegesis," The
Interpreter's Bible (New York: Abingdon
Press, 1955), p. 322.
2 Pius Drijvers, The Psalms: Their Meaning and Structure
(
1965),
pp. 118-123.
3
4 All verse numbers in
this paper follow the Hebrew text.
82
Exegesis of Psalm 62 83
life
of a king who in the midst of great adversity put all his trust on
the
Lord.
It probably had no original
connection with the temple worship.
But
it shows some evidence of adaptation to community usage
(vss.
9-13). The occasion is a day of public prayer (vs. 9: "Pour ye out
your
heart before him . . ."), when the king and the people have a
common
need. In its final form, then, this psalm comes out of the
cultic
worship of the community.
Scholars have divided the Psalm in
different ways.5 Basically it
consists
of two pericopes. Verses 2-8 are the psalmist's expression of
trust
in God; verses 9-13 embody his exhortation to the people to put
their
trust in the Lord. The psalm, however, is one unit, tied together
by
the particle 'ak and by the theme of
trust, which is expressed
throughout.
Therefore both pericopes can be understood only when
studied
together.
The meanings of the superscriptions
of many of the psalms are
uncertain
and most are probably later additions. The heading of this
psalm
is one such superscription: "To the choirmaster unto Jeduthan,
a
melody for (to) David." "To the choirmaster" may refer to a
collection
of hymns compiled by a music director for use in temple
worship.
Jeduthan6 may have been one of the persons who was
skilled
in
composing hymns that David had chosen to be responsible for
performing
them in the temple.7 The LXX translates mizemor (melody)
as
Psalmos. The word has usually been
understood to refer to a song
sung
to stringed accompaniment. The prefix le can be translated
either
"to"
or "for" David, but either way its meaning is ambiguous. One
explanation
is that it means "belonging to the collection of David."
With
any of the conclusions one reaches concerning the heading he
5 Leupold divides it by
the "selahs," making it consist of three sections of four vss.
each.
See H. C. Leupold, Expositions of the
Psalms (
Press,
1959), p. 458; cf. A. F. Kirkpartrick,
The Book of Psalms (
University
Press, 1951), p. 348. Drijvers (p. 250) divides it into four sections: vss. 1-2
(English)
expression of trust; 3-4, lament; 5-7, expression of trust; 8-12, exhortation
of
the
bystanders.
6 Mowinckel says this is
not a personal name because it is incompatible with ‘al. He
maintains
that Jeduthan is a cultic term indicating either the action "over"
which the
psalm
is sung or the purpose "to" which it is intended. "The word is
derived from yadhu
and
must mean something like ‘confession’; it is sung at confession ‘for
confession.’ "
See
Sigmund Mowinckel, The Psalms in
Press,
1962), Vol. 2, p. 213.
7 Cf. 1 Chron. 16:41;
25:1. Also Dahood, 1:90; Leupold, p. 458; W. O. E. Oesterley,
The Psalms (London: SPCK, 1955), p.
15.
84 Restoration
Quarterly
still
cannot be certain as to its meaning and must remain open to
insights
that may shed light on it and make the purpose and occasion
of
this psalm clearer.
The first thing that one notices in
reading the psalm is the repeated
use
of 'ak at the beginning of the
verses.8 Hence
the psalmist begins
with
this particle. It is interesting also to note that all the verses of the
first
pericope begin with ‘ak, ‘adh or ‘al, the words being very similar
to
one another in sound. It seems that ‘ak
becomes an essential element
in
discovering the meaning the psalmist is trying to express.
Brown, Driver, and Briggs9 say that ‘ak carries with it a restrictive
force
emphasizing that what follows is in contrast with other ideas in
general.10 Snaith argues that ‘ak always involves a restriction and an
element
of "on the contrary.”11 Psalm 73 is an example. It begins
"Only
God is good to
that
seems obvious to the majority of people, God alone is able to give
but
also for emphasis, as is clear from its position in each of the verses.
It
emphasizes something that is contrary to popular opinion and is
best
translated "only." The psalmist is going against the general
beliefs
of the time and is wanting his ideas to stand as strongly opposed
to
others. "Only unto God is my soul silence." The whole phrase
‘ak ‘el ‘elohim12 is emphatic and
expresses the writer's emphatic idea.
Contrary
to the popular view it is only in God that he is silent. The
state
of mind indicated by the particle ‘ak
is that of one who through
his
many experiences has been seriously contemplating a subject,
estimated
all his resources and means of reliance, and examined his
own
state of mind and is now able to say "only unto God is my soul
silence."
8 It occurs at the
beginning of vss. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10.
9 From now on abbreviated
BDB.
10 BDB, p. 36; cf. also
Gen. 7:23; Job 14:22; Ps. 37:8; Prov. 11:24; Isa. 45:14. All of
these
use ‘ak in a restrictive sense and
are best translated "only," "exclusively," or
"utterly."
11 Norman H. Snaith,
"The Meaning of the Hebrew 'ak,"
Vetus Testamentum, 14(1964);
221.
Ex. 12:15; 31:13; Lev. 23:27, 39 use 'ak
and are all concerned with an item that is
different,
unique, or contrary to that which is generally done. Dahood says 'ak is restrictive
in
5 occurrences in this psalm, 2:90.
12 Dahood wants to emend
the text to "the God of gods" changing 'el to 'el, 2:90.
Exegesis of Psalm 62 85
The meaning of dumiyah (silence) from this verse alone is uncertain.13
Tsevat
says this form occurs nowhere else but in the psalms.14 Of the
four
occurrences of dumiyah, Psalm 39:3
affords the clearest parallelism.
Here
it seems to be synonymous with 'alam,
which BDB defines as
"to
bind" or when in the niphal (as it is here) "to be dumb." The
parallelism
in Psalm 22:3 may not be antithetical, but four words are
contrasted.
'eqera' is opposite of dumiyah li and yomm is antithetical
to
layelah. For our purpose the
former contrast is the important
one.
The opposite of "call," or "cry out," is
"silence." We can infer
then
from these passages that damiyah
means silence. Both BDB and
Gesenius
have it coming from the unused root dhum.
They have,
however,
no definite proof that this is the original root. Dhum is very
closely
connected with the root dhamam
(according to both BDB and
Gesenius),
which also means "to be silent."
Since there is no evidence for dhum, it may be possible to get an
even
better grasp of dumiyah by looking at
the meaning of dhamam
in
the context of the other psalms and, if possible, in the context of a
psalm
of trust. Psalm 131 affords this possibility. Its basic structure
is
very similar to Psalm 62. The psalmist expresses his childlike trust
in
the Lord (vss. 1 & 2). In turn, he exhorts the people of
the
same (vs. 3). The first stich in verse 2 can be translated "surely I
have
smoothed and stilled my soul . . ." Dhamam
is synonymous
with
shavah, which BDB defines as "to
be smooth" or "composed."
So
dhamam takes on the idea of being
calm, composed, satisfied,
confident.
This meaning can be substantiated even further from the
context
of the psalm.
The psalmist compares himself to a
weaned child. As a weaned
child
once craved the milk of his mother, he now is content with-
13 Dahood translates it
"mighty castle." He argues that it is the masculine form of the
Ugaritic
damath and similar to the Accadian dimthu,
which means castle or fortress;
cf.
Ezek. 27:32. He also wants to shift the athnach
so napheshu is in the second stich.
His
translation reads "The God of gods alone is my mighty castle." For
further
reference,
see Mitchell Dahood, "Accadian-Ugaritic dmt in Ezekiel 27:32" Biblica,
45(1964),
83-84.
Jastrow believes that the yah-ending
represents an emphatic afformative. This would
give
the stich an added idea of "Only unto God is my soul indeed silent."
Morris
Jastrow,
"The Origin of the form yah of the Divine name," ZAW, 16 (1896), 1-16.
14 Matitiahu Tsevat, A Study of the Language of the Biblical
Psalms (
Society
of Biblical Literature, 1955), p. 14. There are only three other occurrences:
22:3;
39:3; 65:2. Perowne understands the phrase in 65:2 "to thee silence is
praise" to
mean
that praise is given to thee in silence, i.e., "the deep stillness of the
heart's
devotion
as opposed to the loud noisy service of heathen worshipers," p. 503.
86 Restoration
Quarterly
out
(vs. 2). Likewise, the psalmist who was once restless and
proud
and attempted to walk in ways for which he was not fit is now
like
a weaned child, composed and silent (vss. 1 & 2). His victory
over
frivolous ambition results from trusting in the Lord. The meaning
of
dhamam is found in its comparison
with gamul (weaned child, BDB).
As
a child is calm, content, submissive "upon" his mother, so the
psalmist
is dhamam (silent, calm, content,
submissive) in the Lord. It
is
believed that the meaning of "silent" in this psalm of trust can also
be
applied to dumiyah in Psalm 62.
The LXX enables us to further probe
the meaning of dumiyah. It
translates
dumiyah with the word hupotagee, which means "to subject
oneself"
or "to acknowledge someone's dominion or power.”15 Even
if
some were to question this translation of the word, it gives a possible
nuance
of its meaning. With this understanding its essential content
can
be pinpointed even further and an element of surrendering or
humbling
oneself before God be recovered.
After much thought and meditation
and after an evaluation of all
his
wealth and means of reliance, the psalmist emphatically declares,
"Only
in God can I be silent, confident, content, submissive." His
conclusion
did not come suddenly in one burst of meditative thinking.
It
had come through a long painful growth, a growth which is at any
age
painful but unlimited in rewards.
The word nephesh (soul) in this psalm, as elsewhere in the OT, is
simply
another way the psalmist refers to himself. It does not refer to a
spiritual
and immortal principle that enters the body at birth and
leaves
it at death. Nephesh has no existence
apart from the body.16
After
death the nephesh ceases to exist
(Job 14:22). Any weakening
of
the bodily. functions such as through hunger or thirst is also
described
as the pouring of the nephesh (Lam.
2:12). It is the usual
term
for a man's total nature, the Hebrew man being regarded as a
unity
and not composed of a physical and a spiritual separate from
one
another. When nephesh is not
referring to the whole person, it
means
nothing more than a distinction between that which is living
and
that which is dead.17 "It is the unimportance of nephesh that is
15 Delling, "hupotasso in the Septuagint," TDNT (
16
Publishing
Co.), Vol. 9, pp. 617-631.
17 Cf. Gen. 1:20, 24, 30;
9:12, 15, 16; Lev. 11:10, 46; Num. 19:13. These are some of
many
examples. The root nphsh means
"to breath," "respire."
Exegesis of Psalm 62 87
really
significant for Christian belief."18
The psalmist assuredly concludes the
verse by proclaiming "from
him
is my salvation." The restrictive idea of 'ak in the first stich can
be
implied in this phrase as well. For him God alone is his salvation.
Yasha’ (to save) meant
originally "to be roomy," "to make spacious,"
as
opposed to "to be narrow" (tsarar--bind,
tie, restrict BDB).19 As
oppression
is a kind of hemming in, so salvation is a moving out into
the
open. More room, or space, or freedom is gained through the
saving
intervention of a third party. So yasha’
takes on the meaning of
"to
come to the rescue." It does not carry the thought of self help or
of
cooperation but is used in the psalms, and specifically Psalm 62,
for
the experienced help of the Lord against public or personal
enemies.
The help is such that the oppressed is lost without it. Generally
speaking,
the OT idea is usually salvation from external evils such as
oppression,
death, captivity and public and private enemies.20 Only
in
a few instances is the concept of salvation from sin found in the
psalms
(e.g,, 130:8, where the word is Padhah--ransom,
BDB p. 804).
The tradition of God as Savior comes
from the actual historical
experiences
of his deliverance of
probably
be inclined to say that this is the beginning of the tradition.
But
the idea of God as Savior goes back even to the book of Genesis.21
God
has always been throughout history a God of salvation.
Though the salvation of the Lord
generally refers to external factors
(as
it does in this psalm), the term does pass over into a religious or
spiritual
sense.22 In many cases one cannot distinguish between instances
of
ordinary, everyday empirical deliverances and deliverances from sin,
in
the same way as there is no dichotomy between nephesh and
baslar.
In a sense all
distinction
between secular and religious history in the Bible.
In
this psalm the psalmist has learned a great lesson from his own
18 David Stacey, "Man
as Soul," Expository Times,
72(1961), 349, 350.
19 George Fohrer, "sozo and soteeria in the OT," TDNT
(
Publishing
Co.), Vol. 7, p. 973.
20 BDB, p. 447, and Alan
Richardson, "Salvation," Interpreter's
Dictionary of the
Bible (
21 When God drove Adam and
Eve out of the garden, he may have intended a type
of
deliverance or escape from their present condition by giving to Eve a son (Gen.
4:1).
His
salvation is vividly portrayed in the story of Noah. Gen. 49:18 specifically
refers
to
a salvation which belongs to the Lord.
22 Cf. BDB, p. 447, 2nd
Para., #3, and Richardson,Vol. 4, p. 170.
88 Restoration
Quarterly
experiences
and from the tradition of his people. To him God's
salvation
is not some abstract idea as we many times make it to be.
Rather
it is an assertion of what God has done for him and for his
people
throughout all of history. It is a proclamation not a philosophy
(cf.
Ex. 12:26; 13:14; Deut. 6:21-23). The emphasis of the phrase in
verse
2 seems to be this: There is no salvation apart from God. He
alone
is my deliverance—secular as well as religious, individual as well
as
national.
A large portion of space has been
devoted to this verse because it
forms
the heart and core of the psalm. It contains three principal
words
that embrace its substance: 'ak
(only) is repeated , six times,
'elohim (God) seven, and yeshu'ati (my salvation) four.23 Only God
is
my salvation. Because of this, man acquires that which he desires
most:
silence, security. It is significant that the next most frequently
used
words are "man" and "vapor."24 When one sees that God
alone
is his salvation, then man becomes only a vapor. This is the
message.
In verse 3 the psalmist resounds the
message: "Only he is my rock
and
my salvation, my secure height, I will not totter greatly." Tsur
(rock),
yesha’ah (salvation), and miseghabh (secure height) are
synonyms.
Tsur25 and miseghabh are used repeatedly
through Psalms
as
figures of God's strength and faithfulness. The Hebrew people did
not
speak in abstract or unrelated terms. Their thoughts and ideas
were
built on practical, concrete observable events. God's strength and
steadfastness
were not some emotion or idea conceived only in
thought.
They were everyday observable occurrences. He was their
rock
of ages.
God is spoken of in a very personal
way. He is not someone who is
concerned
only with a nation as a whole. He is also deeply involved
in
the life of the individual (cf. Ezek. 18:1-20). So this writer is able
to
proclaim assuredly "he is my rock and my salvation, my secure
height."
23 'ak, vss. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10; 'elohim,
vss. 2, 6, 8 (twice), 9, 12 (twice); yeshu'ati,
vss.
2, 3, 7, 8.
24 ‘ish, vss. 4, 10, 13 and 'adham,
vs. 10; hebhel, vss. 10 (twice), 11.
25 Tsur is used nine times in Deut. 32 as a metaphor for God.
tsur seems to be a figure of
speech drawn from Palestinian scenery to portray strength
and
permanence. B. W. Anderson, "God Names of," Interpreter's Dictionary of the
Bible (New York: Abingdon
Press, 1962), Vol. 2, p. 415. Men homeless in an alien
universe
crave the permanent, something or someone to tie to. This idea of God as a rock
brings
out more vividly the words of a popular hymn: "Change and decay in all
around
I see; 0, thou who changest not abide with me."
Exegesis of Psalm 62 89
The
result of God being his rock and salvation is that he will not
be
greatly shaken.26 Shaking is linked to confusion, anxiety,
and
unrest
of the human heart. Man is always in danger of wavering and
it
is sinful arrogance for him to think that he can stand fast alone.
The
righteous of this psalm knows that he has the divinely given
unshakableness
which keeps him stable in all the shattering experiences
of
life.
The mood changes with verses 4 and 5
and an element of lament
is
brought forth. "How long will ye rush27 upon a man will ye
slay, all
of
you, as a bent wall a tottering wall?"28 The vague meaning of
this
verse is made somewhat clearer in the context with verse 5. Possibly
the
psalmist is saying, "How long will you assail me before I am
destroyed?"
It is interesting to note that even though the Lord is his
mighty
fortress the physical and verbal attacks are still agonizing.
Because
a person is God's servant does not immune him from suffering.
The
Lord never promised freedom from pain.
In verse 5 we obtain a little clearer
picture of the situation at hand.
"They
only counsel to thrust him (him understood) down from his
exaltation,
they are pleased with falsehood, with their mouth (lit., his
mouth)
they bless but within them29 they curse (Selah30)." The first
26 The root meaning oft is
a sudden unexpected and disastrous shaking, any
uncertain
or aimless kind of movement. See George Bertram "salvo, salos," TDNT
(
it
is a figure of steadfast obedience. Cf. also Pss. 15:5; 16:8; 21:8; 30:7;
112:6.
27 Hathath, according to
Dahood (2:91) and Gesenius, is a hapax
legomenon. Gesenius
believes
that it does not contain the idea of crying out but simply means "to break
in
upon,"
"to rush upon."
28
that
the particle 'ak is not a normal way
to begin. Another is that vss. 2 & 3 weaken
the
effect of vss. 6 & 7. See William Taylor, "Psalms, Exegesis," The
Interpreter's
Bible
(New York: Abingdon Press, 1955), Vol. 4, p. 322.
Kittle wants to solve some of the
problems of interpretation by deleting KhuleKhem
(all
of you). With the athnach in its
present position the translation of the text would
be
"How long will ye rush upon a man, all of you are like a bent wall a
tottering wall."
Barnes
supports this translation. He says it is not natural to speak of enemies coming
on
a man making him like a falling wall. Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament:
Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker
Book House, 1931), Vol. 2, p. 168. The KJV translates
it
this way. It however seems more natural that, since the enemies are the ones
who are
rushing
upon the man, the result is that the man becomes like a tottering wall rather
than
the enemies. Therefore, I place the athnach
after KhuleKhem.
29 The LXX translates qerebh with kardia and in this context simply refers to one's
thoughts,
feelings, or motives.
30 Selah is possibly an
instrumental interlude. It may refer to the raising of voices in
Praise
or their cessation. In any case, it involves some kind of break in the
rendering of
the
psalm.
90 Restoration
Quarterly
stich
gives us a hint to the setting of the whole psalm (see introductory
remarks).
Most likely the individual of this psalm is in a position of
authority,
probably a king. His enemies are using deceptive means to
overthrow
him from office. They respect and bless31 him in the presence
of
the people, but their true feelings are contempt. These people
delight
in dealing falsely with the king.32
One of the main problems in verses 4
and 5 is who are the ones
opposing
the king; who are the enemies? The solution must be within
the
context of this psalm and in no way a generalization from other
psalms.
Even though the enemies of the king in this psalm are probably
also
the enemies of the people, in these two verses they appear to be
specifically
occupied with him. They could be enemies within his own
court,
those who are envious of his position, or possibly political
opponents.
In any case, they are real humans and not some mythical
power.
The situation involves more than
just a personal quarrel. Since the
writer
is a man of righteousness, those who oppose him must
automatically
oppose what he stands for—righteousness. In this
psalm,
then, they are primarily enemies of the Lord and because the
king
is a godly man he automatically becomes their enemy. This
point
needs to be seriously considered and reflected upon by those
who
are set apart by the Lord. If a person is truly God's man, he will
automatically
be in battle with those of the world and rejected by
those
who are indifferent. How many Christians today are visibly
despised
and rejected by the world?
We cannot be dogmatic in saying who
the enemies of the king
are.
They are, however, primarily the enemies of the Lord and
secondarily
political adversaries of the psalmist.
In verses 6 and 7 the message of the
psalm is again joyously echoed.
"Only
for God be thou silent my soul, for from him is my hope.
Only
he is my rock and my salvation my secure height I will not be
31 Ledogar observes that
when a man receives a blessing his honor is thereby increased.
This
is made even more evident when it is contrasted with qalal "to despise," "treat
as
of little value." R. J. Ledogar, "Verbs of Praise in the LXX
Translation of the
Hebrew
Canon," Biblica, 48(1967),
52-55.
32 The noun Khazabh means "deception,"
"lie." See Hans Cozelmann "Psudos,
"
TDNT Vol. 9, pp. 594-603.
The same word is used in vs. 10. There it is directly parallel
with
hebhel, "vanity." Legally
the worst offense against truth is perjury. Cf. Ex. 20:16;
Deut.
5:20. Prov. 6:16-19 lists seven things that the Lord hates. One is "a
false witness
who
scatters lies." Cf. also Pss. 4:3; 40:5.
Exegesis of Psalm 62 91
moved.”
There are a few differences between verses 2 and 6 but
their
thought is the same.33
One interesting parallel is noted
between trigeVati (my hope)34 and
yeshu’ati (my salvation). In this
context both take on similar meaning.
Hope
is also closely linked with trust.35 It is general
confidence in
God's
protection and help. His strength to endure does not come from
his
own manly courage or by his own perseverance or by just thinking
positively.
It comes rather from his silent hope in God behind which
stands
a concrete expectation of deliverance.
Verse 7 duplicates the words of
verse 3 except for the omission of
rabhah. In my opinion, its
omission does not show the progressive
growth
of the writer's faith, it once being qualified but now expressed
as
an unqualified assurance. In both verses he is saying the same
thing:
Because the Lord is my salvation, I can maintain steadfast
obedience;
nothing will move me. The figure of "secure height" (i.e.,
miseghabh)
in the OT may be traced back to the language of warfare.
The
"secure height" and the "strong rock" describe both natural
and
artificial protection afforded by the rocky landscape of
mountain
regions. It means both a place to hide and a place to make
a
final stand. It is the strongest of all strong points.
The psalmist continues to multiply
the metaphors to show his
invincible
defenses in God. "Upon God is my salvation and my
honor,
rock of my strength my shelter is in God." Not only is man's
safety
dependent on God but his honor is clearly a gift (cf. Ps. 8:6).
The
idea of honor is not so much concerned with an ideal quality
but
understood in' accordance with its root meaning "as something
‘weighty’
in man which gives him ‘importance.’"36 It is all those gifts
or
blessings which extend and enhance the personality, which gives
an
individual "weight"—wealth, property, wisdom, status. Man's
importance
and impressiveness are found only in God. The writer uses
still
another synonym when he compares God with a shelter.37 The
33 ‘el 'elohim is changed to le'lohim;
dhum is in the imperative; ki
is added; tigeVati is
substituted
for yeshu’ati
34 The LXX translates it
with hupomonee, "to hope," "to have confidence." See
F.
Hauchk, "hupomonee," TDNT,
Vol. 4, pp. 581-588.
35 Rudolf Bultmann,
"The OT View of Hope," TDNT;
Vol. 2, p. 523.
36 Won Rad, "Kabhodh in the OT," TDNT (
Vol.
2, p. 238. Its root meaning is "to be heavy," "weighty"
BDB.
37 Macheseh is a common figure used throughout Psalms for God as the
shelter of his
people:
14:6; 46:21; 61:4; 71:7; 73:28; 91:2, 9; 94:22. It is also figuratively used
for
seeking
shelter under the wings of the Lord: Ruth 2:12; Pss. 36:8; 57:l; 61:4; 91:4.
92 Restoration
Quarterly
shelter
does not involve a reciprocal relation between the one who
seeks
and the one who offers, but it emphasizes the place or the
giver
of shelter.
Throughout these verses the psalmist
has emphasized the fact learned
through
his own painful experiences: that God only is his salvation.
He
had tried to find safety in other things but all failed him. It was
only
upon God that he found contentment and peace of mind.
With the beginning of verse 9 the
situation in the psalm changes.
In
the previous lines the author was uttering a conviction in private
devotion
to the Lord. He now turns his attention to the community of
believers.
Verses 9-13 contain some wisdom material.
wisdom
as a practical knowledge of the laws of life based on the
accumulation
of personal experience. Man's welfare is the goal of
wisdom.38 The purpose of the wise
man was to reflect upon the
practical
affairs of everyday life and to offer the hearer(s) good
judgments
and counsel. This is what the psalmist does here. "Trust
ye
in him in all times oh people,39 pour ye out your heart
before
him,
God is a refuge for us (Selah)."
The psalmist cannot keep the great
discovery in his personal life to
himself.
His experience must be shared. He found in his own
personal
struggles that God alone was his salvation, and now he
must
turn to help others in distress. What he found in his crisis he
knows
will avail "in all situations." The heart of his teaching to the
people
in these verses is "Trust40 ye in him in all
times." The feeling of
being
secure in God is the only certain support for human life.
He continues to exhort them to
"pour ye out your heart before
him";
that is, let your innermost thoughts and desires be made known
to
him. This is one of the main concerns of the psalms of lament, not
with
distress in and of itself, but taking human guilt and misery
before
God. This is one of the qualities of genuine prayer. It is the
tendency
of human nature to keep griefs to oneself. But until our
hearts
become tender so that our feelings and desires flow forth
freely,
we can never put our trust in the Lord.
"God is a refuge for us."
Just as he had been the personal refuge
38 Von Rad, Old Testament Theology (London: Oliver
and Boyd, 1967), Vol. 2, p. 421.
39 The LXX reads
"Trust ye upon him oh whole assembly of people."
40 Jepsen says derivatives
of the root have the meaning of "to feel secure," "be uncon-
cerned."
Alfred Jepsen, "batach, " TDOT
(
Vol.
2, p. 88.
Exegesis of Psalm 62 93
and
stronghold of the king, so he is a refuge for all who trust in him.
Trust in God is now contrasted with
the futility of trusting in man.
"Only
a vapor are the sons of men, the sons of men are a lie, in the
balances
they go up they are all together made of breath."41 Man is
only
a vapor and a lie. These are figures of what is evanescent,
worthless,
and vain. When man is put on the balances with an empty
pan,
he flies up.42 Man has no substance or weight; he is simply
"made
of
breath." It is only God who gives man "honor,"
"weight,"
"importance"
(see vs. 8 above). The point is not so much that we have
nothing
to fear from man as that we have nothing to hope from him.
There
is no substance to man's power, or possessions, or achievements.
No
man is worthy of our trust.
The writer is still directing his
thoughts to the community of believers
when
he says, "Do not trust in oppression and in robbery do not
become
vain, when wealth bears fruit do not set heart (upon them)."43
There
is a definite parallel between "do not trust," "do not become
vain,"
and "do not set heart." The people are not to rely on oppressing
and
robbing others to accomplish their object. They are not to depend
on
wealth amassed by violence and wrong instead of trusting in the
Lord.
It is a warning against the old temptation to follow might rather
than
right. But not only that, when wealth increases through honesty
and
good hard labor, they are not to place their trust in it.44
In the two concluding verses the
writer summarizes the essential
character
of God. "One thing God has spoken two of these I have
heard
that power belongs to God. And to thee oh Lord is steadfast
love,
for thou will reward a man according to his deed." The phrase
41 There is no evidence
in other parallel passages (cf. Ps. 49:3) for a distinction between
ish and adham. The LXX translates both with anthropan. The
true
meaning by translating it "all men."
42 "Balances
consisted of a beam either suspended on a cord held by the hand or
mounted
on an upright support. A pan was suspended by cords from each end of the
beam"
(O. R. Sellers "Weights and Measures," IDB (
Vol.
4, p. 829. "A plummet was in front of the upright support so that when the
articles
in the two pans were equal the exact vertical position of the plummet would
be
evident. . . . The Egyptians envisioned the use of balances by gods passing
judgment
on
the deceased in the after life. There are scenes in which the heart of one
being judged
before
the gods is in balance against the ma'at
feather, the emblem of truth," O. R.
Sellers,
"Balances," IDB (Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1962), Vol. 1, pp. 342, 343.
43 The verbs ba’ach, habhal, and shith are all
Qal impf. 2nd ms. pl., but because of
context
translating them in the imperative seems to make more sense. The structure
of
this verse is an A-B-B-A-C-A pattern.
44 Chayil means legitimate wealth as opposed to criminal extortion,
Dahood 2:93.
94 Restoration
Quarterly
"One
thing . . . two of these . . ." is a Hebrew idiom which means
"repeatedly"
or "many times."45 It is designed to emphasize what is
said.
Repeatedly he has learned this through his experiences from the
Lord:
"that power belongs to God and to thee oh Lord is steadfast
love."
As opposed to the pretended power of man, real power belongs
to
God.46 To him also belongs steadfast love. The
predominant meaning
of
chesedh, when used of God, is
faithfulness, firmness, his "sure
love.”47 "The most
important of all the distinctive ideas of the OT is
God's
steady and extraordinary persistence in continuing to love the
wayward
To
him it is a fact of life that the steadfast love of the Lord never
ceases.
The result of God's power and
steadfast love is that "thou wilt
reward
a man according to his deed." The writer is not so much
preoccupied
with the final judgment as with how God treats men in
general
(cf.
should
confide in him. There is ground for confidence only in one who
is
impartial and just.
Man throughout time has relied on
such things as financial security,
social
prestige, military power, intellectual achievement, and personal
45 Wolfgang M. W. Roth,
"The Numerical Sequence x/x+ 1 in the Old Testament,"
Vetus Testamentum 12(1962), 300-311. He
says the sequence is not equivalent to the
English
"about," p. 300. It is a parallelism, either synonymous, synthetic,
or
antithetic,
p. 306. He says Ps. 62:12 refers to a rather indefinite numerical value,
p.
304.
46 "’oz denotes the presence and
significance of force or strength rather than its
exercise."
In the majority of instances it refers to the power of God. In some cases it
denotes
natural strength (cf. Deut. 8:17; Job 21:23) Wilhelm Michaelis. "Kratos," TDNT
(
47 Norman Snaith, Distinctive Ideas of the Old Testament (
1950),
p. 95. Snaith surveys the use of the word chesedh
by the kind and frequency
of
other words that are paralleled with it (pp. 100-102). Out of a total of 60
passages 48
times
it is paralleled with the idea of being firm, keeping faith and covenant. Nine
times
it
is paralleled with the idea of kindness. These are some of his results. Of the
43 cases
where
the noun chesedh is linked by the
copula with another noun 23 are with some form
of
'amen or 'emeth, 7 are berith. Of
18 cases of chesedh in parallelism 9
are with 'etneth
and
'emunah (Is. 16:5; Hosea 4:1; Micah
7:20; Pss. 26:3; 88:11; 89:2; 92:2; 117:2); 4 are
with
the two righteous words tsadha and mishpat (Is. 57:1; Hosea 10:12; Micah
6:8;
Ps.
36:10). In contrast to this in Ps. 109:12 it is parallel to "have
pity" and Ps. 77:9,
"compassion."
"This definitely shows a preponderance in favor of the meaning 'firm'
'steadfast.'
" At the same time it does not deny the element of
"lovingkindness" (p. 101).
According
to Zimmerli chesedh is especially
developed in the Pss. Of its 237 instances
127
are in the Psalms. Walter Zimmerli "chesedh,"
TDNT (
Publishing
Co.), Vol. 9, pp. 381-387.
48 Snaith, p. 102.
Exegesis of Psalm 62 95
skill.
But they all fall short. Only out of a confidence which comes
from
experience with God can a man acquire composure and learn to
take
difficulties in stride. Because of God's power and steadfast love
he
only is our salvation.
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