May 26, 2009
IN GOD ALONE
Psalm 62
Robert Murchison
Central Truth
This psalm describes a time of trouble and vulnerability. It contrasts the security of trusting in God with the insecurity of relying on people and wealth.
Key Verse | Psalm 62:6
He alone is my protector and deliverer.
He is my refuge . . . .
(Psalm 62:6)
Psalm 62
My Soul Waits for God Alone
To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1
For 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.
Dive Deeper | Psalm 62
I had it all. For you comic book reading boomers I had a Richie Rich life. How many six-year-olds could boast that their daddy started the Dallas Cowboys? My family had a long entrepreneurial history. We regularly appeared in the Forbes list of the four hundred richest families in America. Our twenty-five acre estate in Dallas was staffed with fifteen people. We owned homes in New York, New Orleans, Vail, Acapulco, Honolulu, and La Jolla. We had ranches in Texas and Mexico, a private island in the Bahamas, and a fleet of aircraft to get us to them.
As a young man, my future was certain. I would continue to build on the entrepreneurial successes of my forefathers and increase our family empire. My hopes and dreams were about the accumulation of wealth and the power it brings. My trust was in the almighty dollar. I had it all . . . or so I thought. I did not understand the ephemeral nature of wealth. In the eighties Texas suffered through a depression leading to the failure of every major bank in Texas, as well as my father’s bankruptcy, one of the largest in U.S. history. The shifting sands of fate had destroyed my hopes and dreams.
Thanks go to God for He had been preparing me for that day. I had recently put my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord. Rather than trusting in an unstable, unpredictable, and uncertain commodity, my trust was in the firm foundation of God, the creator and sustainer of all things. As our wealth dissolved, He built a new foundation on His love, grace, and truth.
While it took about ten years to work through the legal and financial entanglements, God used that time of humiliation and stress to refine my faith and dependence on Him. He alone became my Protector, Deliverer, and Refuge. I found rest and satisfaction in Him alone. I could truly sing: “I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I’d rather be His than have riches untold.” I, indeed, had it all.
Discussion Questions
1. Is there something or someone besides God in which or in whom you attempt to find rest and satisfaction?
2. Can you identify a time when you felt particularly vulnerable from trusting in something or someone other than God?
3. Have you experienced being swallowed up by God’s complete adequacy?