Psalms 62:8 - Meaning and Application

Here David urges others to trust in God and wait for him, just as he has done himself. Anyone who has found comfort in God’s ways will naturally invite others to walk in them too. There is enough in God for all his people to draw from, and we lose nothing when others share it with us.

He counsels everyone to wait on God. He says, “You people,” meaning all people, are welcome to trust in God, for he is “the confidence of all the ends of the earth” (Psalm 65:5). He especially calls on the people of Israel, as the Chaldee puts it, because they were bound to trust in him as their own God.

The counsel itself is simple: trust in God, and pour out your heart before him. To trust in him means to deal with him with full dependence, expecting him to do all things for you according to his wisdom, goodness, power, promise, providence, and grace. We should do this at all times, making it our regular habit to rely on him, not on ourselves or any creature.

To pour out your heart before him means to pray honestly and freely. The phrase likely recalls pouring out drink offerings before the Lord. When we confess our sins with a truly penitent heart, we pour our hearts out before God (1 Samuel 7:6). In prayer, we lay our troubles before him, speak our needs plainly, and then leave ourselves in his hands, submitting our wills patiently to his.

David also gives the encouragement for this counsel: God is a refuge for us, not only for him alone, but for all who flee to him for shelter. Yet he warns us not to place our trust in the wrong things, because the human heart is easily deceived (Jeremiah 17:5-9). Those who truly trust God will trust him alone (Psalm 62:1, 5).

First, do not trust in people of this world, because they are like broken reeds (Psalm 62:9). Men of low rank are “vanity,” completely unable to help us, and men of high rank are “a lie,” meaning they will fail and deceive us if we lean on them. The lowly may seem dependable because of their numbers and strength, and the great may seem dependable because of their wisdom and influence, but neither is safe to rely on.

Of the two, men of high rank are the more dangerous to trust, because their outward appearance makes them more tempting to depend on. We are less likely to lean on ordinary people than on rulers, commanders, and other powerful leaders. But when such people fail us, they prove to be a lie. Test them by Scripture, or by experience, and they will be found lighter than vanity. Their wisdom, strength, goodwill, and promises cannot compare with God, or even stand under him in any meaningful way.

Second, do not trust in the wealth of this world, and do not make it your strong city (Psalm 62:10). Do not trust in riches gained by oppression, fraud, or violence. Much wealth is gathered by unfair means, and Scripture calls it “the mammon of unrighteousness,” or dishonest wealth (Luke 16:9). Do not think you are safe just because you have much, or are in the process of getting more. That is really just cheating yourself while trying to cheat others.

A person who trusts in great wealth often grows bold in wickedness, but in the end he will be a fool (Psalm 52:7; Jeremiah 17:11). No one should be foolish enough to use riches to support sin, much less one’s own sin. And because it is hard to have riches without trusting them, we must be careful even when they increase honestly. We must not set our hearts on them, value ourselves or others by them, or make them our chief good. We are in greatest danger of this when riches are growing. When a rich man’s land produced abundantly, he said to his soul, “Take your ease” (Luke 12:19). A pleasant, successful world is often the one that pulls the heart away from God.

David then gives the reason we should make God our confidence: he is infinitely powerful, merciful, and righteous (Psalm 62:11-12). David himself was fully sure of this, and he wants us to be sure too. “God has spoken once, twice have I heard this” means that God has made this known, and David has taken it in deeply. God has spoken through reason, which points to the perfect Being and his works of creation and providence. He has spoken through many events in David’s own life. He has also spoken by revelation, through dreams and visions (Job 4:15), through his glorious appearance at Mount Sinai, as some think this especially refers to, and through the written word.

Another way to understand it is this: God spoke once, but David heard it twice, meaning he heard it carefully and fully, not only with his ears but with his mind and soul. Some hear God speak again and again and still refuse to listen once. Others hear him only once, yet hear it deeply and well (Job 33:14). What is this truth that has been spoken and heard so fully? It is that God is infinite in power. Power belongs to God. He is almighty and can do all things, and nothing is impossible for him. All creaturely power comes from him, depends on him, and is used by him as he chooses. The power is his, and we must give him the credit for it. This is a strong reason to trust him at all times and live in constant dependence on him, because he is able to do for us everything we trust him for.

He is a God of infinite goodness. Here the psalmist turns directly to God, because he wants to give him the glory of his goodness, which is part of his glory: “Also to you, O Lord, belongs mercy.” God is not only the greatest of all beings, but also the best. Mercy is with him (Psalm 130:4, Psalm 130:7). He is merciful in a way that belongs to him alone. He is the Father of mercies (2 Corinthians 1:3).

This gives us another reason to trust him, and it answers our doubts about our sin and unworthiness. Even though we deserve only his wrath, we can still hope for every good thing from his mercy, which is over all his works.

He never has done, and never will do, any wrong to any of his creatures: “For you render to every man according to his work.” He does not always show this openly in the present world, but he will do so on the day when he gives each person what is due. No service done for him will go unrewarded, and no insult against him will go unpunished, unless it is repented of.

This also shows that power and mercy belong to him. If he were not a God of power, some sinners would be too strong to punish. If he were not a God of mercy, some acts of service would be too small to reward. This especially shows God’s justice when he judges appeals from people who have been wronged. He will judge according to truth, giving help to the injured and punishment to those who have treated them badly (1 Kings 8:32). So let all who are wronged give their case to him and trust him to defend it.