We are in Psalm 62 today. This Psalm calls us to wait in quiet confidence for God, even when we are under attack, because God will take care of us. 

“For God, alone, my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.” 

David is talking about trusting God in silence. It’s an inner silence. He said “my SOUL waits in silence. Someone called it a having a quiet core.  It’s being at rest because of confidence in God.  

David is confident in that God HIMSELF is the solution to all his trouble. Four times he uses the phrase God alone or God only. He is waiting for God alone to save him and protect him. 

So the Psalm is a message to us that God HIMSELF is the solution to all that is wrong with us and everything that is wrong in the world. God HIMSELF is fully able to defend us, help us, and save us.  HE is alone is our reason for hope in every situation. Every fear, every frustration, every problem is ultimately solved by God Himself and by all he has planned for us. Therefore we can trust Him and wait for him with inner quietness and rest. 

David said the result of quiet confidence in God alone, is that nothing will shake him or move him. Like it says in Psalm 125, “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion”. They will not be moved. They will stand firm in the midst of trouble. They won’t be anxious or fall apart.  

We easily say we trust God but, how can we tell if we’re really doing that?  Mainly by whether we are at rest or not! I can tell if the water on Lake Panorama is calm or not. Just by looking!  Do I see waves or is the lake still and smooth? Agitation and anxiety in our soul is just as obvious.  It shows in how we talk, how we look, how we live.  ARE you at rest? IS there a quietness in your soul?  

Trusting God will bring you into that. You CAN wait in silence for God only to save you in all the situations that matter to you.  You CAN rest from anxiously trying to save yourself, from striving to fix everything, because you are trusting in God alone. This morning is an invitation to come into this quiet confidence in God alone. 

Now..we do experience times of inner fears and turmoil. I’ve been there, you’ve been there. But the goal is to come back to rest, to inner peace. That message is all through the scriptures. Lamentations 3:26 “It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord”. 

Isaiah 30:15 “The Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, “In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.” 

**Alright I want to move through this Psalm in more detail. I’m going to start with verse 3 (then go back to verse 1) “How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? 4They only plan to throw him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.”  

When David writes this Psalm, he is being severely attacked by somebody or some group. He’s barely able to stand, and it seems like it will never stop.  How long will you attack me? 

The threat comes from people who are nice to him to his face, but they curse him in their hearts. You may have had people in your life who professed that they loved you.  And then you find they are working against you behind your back. 

You may not have people trying to knock you down at the moment. But you probably have in your past and most certainly will in your future. The solution for David is the same for us!  We wait with quiet confidence for God alone to set things right. 

*In the midst of this trouble, David makes a firm resolve to wait quietly for God’s salvation. Verse 1 in the NLT says, “Let all that I am, wait quietly before God”. In verse 5 David COMMANDS his soul to wait in silent confidence for God.  “O my soul, wait in silence for God only.” You can do that too!  When troubles surround you, you can say to your soul, wait in silence for God only.  Spurgeon said, “We must bind ourselves to this holy position (of silent trust)”. If you want to live in this place you must resolve to enter this rest. And you must preach your own soul INTO this rest. 

Years ago I ran across Psalm 116:7 “Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.”  I have preached that to myself so many times over the years! 

*As we said, David believes God ALONE is the answer to all his needs.  Verse 2 “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress.”  David was saying, “In God alone I have all that I need to survive and thrive.” 

He alone is my rock. A literal rock is solid, stable, and strong. He’s saying God is all that to me. God is my place of security and protection.

God is my Salvation. JI Packer “Salvation always means being rescued from jeopardy and misery, so that one is now safe”. The central truth of the Bible is that Jesus saves us! That means he rescues us from the jeopardy of being under wrath, for our sins and brings us into safety with God.  But salvation in the Bible also includes God being the help you need today. You can say God is my salvation about every situation of need in your life! 

God is my fortress. We can trust God to protect us from our enemies and to deal with our enemies. 

And notice the word, “MY”! My rock, my fortress etc. You must think about God like that! He offers Himself to you. You must believe that and claim that. 

Every other security is a false security, every other hope will disappoint and fail you.  Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They will collapse and fall but we will rise, and stand upright!”  

God does not honor our confidence in other things. When Israel trusted God but ALSO trusted in alliances with Egypt and Assyria, God let them fail and fall to their enemies.  

If you are not trusting God ALONE as your answer for life: 

-You will not have inner rest. Rest comes from confidence centered completely in God! 

-You will not pray, much. If you don’t see God as your answer you will neglect prayer and other activities that will direct the attention of your soul to God. 

-You will likely talk about problems over and over to other people, because in reality you don’t see God alone as an answer for you.

*Part of this quiet confidence in God is waiting. David tells his soul to WAIT.”  To wait for God means to look to God with hope, over time, till He bring his salvation.  Isaiah 64:4 promises “God acts for those who wait for Him.”  

*Another part of this life of quiet confidence is boasting in God.  Verse 6 “He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.”  IF your trust is in God you SHOULD talk like that!  Spurgeon said, When we say, “I shall not be made to fear even in the smallest degree, not moved even an inch….This gives the saint a manly force which we don’t have in spiritual childhood”. Confidence based on God as your rock is WHY you can be at rest! 

Verse 7 “On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.” This repeats things he’s already said, except here he adds that he trusts God as “my glory” or “My glory rests on God or comes from God”. That means my honor, or my reputation. It’s saying, “I trust in God to defend who I am, to lift me up.”  I think the reason we have such fragile egos in our culture, is that we do not trust God to be “our glory and the one who lifts our head.”  

**So far this has been David’s personal testimony and his personal self talk. In Verse 8 He begins preaching to all God’s people.  “Trust in Him at all times, O people! Pour out your heart before HIM; God is a refuge for US.” The last thing Denny DeGroote, told me, just before he passed, was something like this, “Reid, don’t take all the burdens upon yourself. Trust God and it’ll be okay.” He was talking to me specifically about the burdens of the ministry. He was just saying trust God. That was it. 

That’s the best advice you can ever give anyone! Whatever they are going through! Trust in Him, at all times. 

*Athanasius said, “Against all attempts upon your body, your soul, your fame, in temptations, tribulations, machinations and defamations, say THIS Psalm. 

*“Pour out your heart before Him’. David told God, “My enemies are leaning hard on me, pushing me over like a tottering fence.  I’m about to fall.” Pour out your troubles to God. 

Of course there is a place to share our cares with each other.  We should do that. But the first place we go and the main thing we do is go pour out our problems and cares to God. 

Spurgeon’s commentary said, “He who talks much of his troubles to men, is apt to say too little of them to God.”

Luther,

Bear and forbear, and silent be.

Tell to no man thy misery;

Yield not in trouble to dismay,

God can deliver any day. 

Go directly to God and tell Him all that is in your heart.

Verse 8 ends for “God IS a refuge for us”. That’s WHY we trust Him and pour out our heart to Him.

Then he give us three things to NOT trust in. 

*Do not trust in people, no matter their position in life!!  Verse 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.”  This is a warning to NOT trust in man!  Help may come through people. But your help comes FROM God! 

*Do not do anything deceitful, clever, unlawful, or wrong in order to solve your pain and problems.  Verse 10 “Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery.”

*Verse 10 goes on, “If riches increase, do not set your heart on them.” Some trust God alone for a time. But when prosperity comes, that becomes their security and identity. If you do well financially, keep trusting in God alone. 

*David ends this Psalm saying, 11 “Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.”  You can mull over your problems and never find rest.  OR you can LISTEN to one word from God, and that will put your heart at rest.  

Nothing is able to quiet our hearts like the powerful impression of His OWN word!  And that word is that power and lovingkindness belong to God and are only found in God.  Since power and love belong to God, David refused to look for his strength and loving support and mercy, anywhere else. 

David said, this revelation had been deeply embedded in his soul. God has said it, and I’ve heard it... twice. Or many times. IE he knows this well. It’s a firm conviction.  The power to help comes from God. And love that satisfies his soul comes from God. 

And then this ending… “you will render to a man according to his work.”  God’s gonna take care of things. He will repay all people according to what they have done. This truth is terrible for the ungodly, but it’s a tremendous encouragement for God’s people. It’s an assurance that God will remember those who trust in him for good and will reward them. 

So this Psalm is a resolve to wait quietly for the salvation of God, WHATEVER your situation is. 

Elisabeth Elliott read a poem she found hung up in a room at a cabin where she spent the night.  It was a favorite of Cindy’s and that’s how I heard it.  

Sleep sweet within this quiet room,
O thou, whoe'er thou art,
And let no mournful yesterdays
Disturb thy peaceful heart.
Nor let tomorrow mar thy rest
With dreams of coming ill:
Thy Maker is thy changeless friend,
His love surrounds thee still.
Forget thyself and all the world,
Put out each garish light:
The stars are shining overhead —
Sleep sweet! Good night! Good night! 

Psalm 3:5,6 “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me all around.”

You actually CAN live in that quiet confidence, at all times! All that it requires is that you trust in God alone, and wait for Him. Like David, preach that to your soul. And make that your own confession.