both of them, I think our passage today is quite appropriate. We'll be looking at Psalm 62, and I think it has great words of wisdom for us in any situation. And so I look forward to sharing with you the thoughts that I have concerning it. So if you'd please turn to Psalm 62 and stand, we will read it as our passage, standing in respect of the word of God. And we pray that God would bless us with this word and help our hearts and minds to understand. Psalm 62, this is the word of the Lord. To the chief musician, to Jeduthun, a psalm of David. 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. Selah. My soul waits 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. Surely men of low degree are a vapor. Men of high degree are a lie. If they are weighed on the scales, they are altogether lighter than vapor. Do not trust in oppression, nor vainly hope in robbery. If riches increase, do not set your heart on them. God has spoken once, twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God. Also to you, O Lord, belongs mercy, for you render to each one according to his work. And God bless his word. As we consider it this morning, you may be seated. So progressing through the Psalms as we have been on the occasions that we have the opportunity here, we have come now to Psalm 62. A few weeks ago when we covered Psalm 61, I mentioned that we were at a transition point in the Psalms as you walk through them, a transition particularly in, you might say, the mood or tone that is presented in the Psalms. The lamentation, the distress that so often has been a part of the Psalms when David deals with the fact that he's facing a trial and he laments over the situation and depicts it for us that so often has happened particularly in the recent Psalms leading up to this from the mid-50s up to 60. That now is rapidly dissipating and the Psalms that are presented, and we begin to hear more and more a strong confidence in what David presents, a confidence in his resting in God, and you don't hear the extended lamenting over the trials and crises that he's facing. And so, in a way, we can say we now have seen a progression in the maturity and growth of David in dealing with situations. A maturity in his faith, possibly, is being shown here. And that, in a sense, should mirror the type of growth we should be having, even in our own life, in our faith in God. How we respond and react to trials should be different today than it was in the early years of our faith, or even if we've been believers for a long time, 10, 15 years ago, how we might respond to a crisis. and how we do today, there should be evidence of a growth. And that should be manifest in our lives as well. And so instead of spending time hashing over the trial and just repeating it and running it over and over in our minds, and that's all we're able to talk about is the stress and trial and crisis that we're facing. Not that it doesn't help to share that with somebody, but getting muddled in it. in our situation should be less and less our way of dealing with something and like David, more readily going to what is the ultimate answer we had to go to even at the times when we struggled with just grasping what maybe had occurred in our life. we come to the fact that our final refuge, our only hope and safety is in God, and that's where we'll find our comfort, because He's the rock. He's the rock of our life, and we do, we face trials in this life, and actually, we should expect that. We should expect that, and we don't hope for certain things. We don't hope to be robbed, you know. as was said, or a family situation that brings about a breaking down of a family, but we face all kinds of things because we live in a fallen world and we face the woes of this natural life, whether it be sickness or just a sadness by a situation or a natural disaster. disappointments, disappointments, personal disappointments in others, maybe even in ourselves. Just overt acts of unkindness that maybe happen or just blatant hurtfulness done by somebody to us. All these things characterize the things we can face in this world. Because it is a fallen world and we're living among fallen people, people that are governed by sin in their life. And because we are disciples of Christ and we should have a desire to live a life that's pleasing to Him, sometimes we face trials and tribulations because of just who we are in Christ. not just because we're among other people that don't have the character to treat others rightly, but we're among people who actually hate God, and because they hate God, they carry out that reaction toward Him, toward those who represent Him. And so we too can have reactions toward us, those of us who profess faith in Christ and who have allegiance to God in the scripture and walk in accordance to that and speak in accordance to the principles of God's word will be attacked as well. And Paul knew that very well and shared that truth with Timothy when he said, all who desire to live godly in Christ will suffer persecution. And so we should know that those things can happen. And David himself, who, like all of us, had his failings and shortcomings, had the heart to live a godly life, and he desired to live a godly life, and he often suffered persecution for reasons he knew not why. And he suffered them at the hands of ungodly men and ruthless men that wanted to do him harm, and he didn't understand why he would be put at the other end of these acts. But he came to understand that, you know, the best way to deal with such situations was to hold tighter, to delve deeper into his trust and his reliance upon God, upon God for his protection and to work out his will in the situation. Paul again, and I see so many parallels between what Paul asserted and even experienced and said and what David teaches in his Psalms. We can kind of bounce back and forth here. Paul, who wrote those words to young Timothy coming up in the ministry and kind of says, well, you want to live godly? You're going to suffer persecution. He knew firsthand what that meant. He knew the truth of that more than just intellectually, for he had suffered persecution simply for living a godly life and speaking godly truths, for he had been whipped and he had been beaten and he had been jailed for his faith and for professing that faith. But you know, he somehow Even through all those situations, and this is what we need to grasp here, and David's going to actually help us learn how to, Paul didn't succumb to that. He didn't lose hope. or think things were meaningless because it wasn't going well, or that his ministry was vanity because he always just ended up with a black eye after trying to minister type of a thing. He had a whole different attitude about it. He had a different reaction. He was actually able to rejoice in all things. Yeah, he did say all things when he said that. He actually rejoiced in all things, And I think it's because he learned the lesson that David speaks about here, a lesson that is to be content. A contentment was there in all situations. Paul even spoke about that, didn't he? As he wrote to the church at Philippi, he says, I have learned Okay, so that means he had to go through lessons, but he came to a point of having grasped the truth of that lesson. I have learned in whatever state or condition, not like Oregon, Idaho, and so forth state, but condition, I am to be content. Well, that's a challenge. I know how to be abased. Okay, for young people, that means I know how to be in the lowest and most troubling situation, and I know how to abound. Things are really good today, nice, bright and sunny type of a day. Everywhere and in all things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. But in those, as he says, I've learned to be content. So what is it that Paul learned? What did he have to get hold of and come to a position of that brought him to the place in life that he could actually say those words, that he could live a life of contentment even through all that he was facing? Well, I think it's very key of what Paul's talking about having learned is what David displays in this psalm. So hopefully we will gain some of that and be taking more of a step towards that point of greater maturity in Christ that even Paul. displayed and David articulates here. So let's look at the psalm and walk through it some, we'll jump around some as well, but hopefully grab a few key ideas that can bring a reality to us. In the superscription, just get a setting of the psalm. It says it's to the chief musician, and that tells us that this is to be a publicly sung psalm. And that was its intent. In fact, it's written to Jeduthun, the couple of Speculations of what that means, but most likely he was one of the chief choir directors. People perceive there was probably a handful of them. They each had their choir that they worked with. David maybe favored him for this particular psalm and his choir, so he particularly addressed it to him, or he was the one who wrote the music for it. That's another speculation. His name shows up in a couple of other psalms, 39 and 77, just for your academic understanding, I guess. It doesn't help us a whole lot other than he was addressed more than once. And it is a psalm of David. It is identified as such. He's the author of this psalm. David, obviously, is considered the most prominent author of the Psalms. He has the most that are attributed to him, both by clear identification, as well as others that aren't identified by the superscription, but are believed to be his as well. You know, there were other contributors to the Psalms, but the Psalms of David is the typical reference to the Book of Psalms because he contributed the most. Well, this psalm is, you know, of a different character. And what I think about this psalm is that it may very well have been written as almost like an immediate follow-up to some of these lamenting psalms or one of the heavily lamentation type psalms in which David had so distressed over a situation and he goes through this is what's happening to me type of a situation and had expressed about where are you God type of expressions, wondering if God had rejected or left him or was waiting too long to act or what is going on here or maybe abandoned him. But in those Psalms, we realize that in those heavy lamentation Psalms, David finally would come to a point where he would resolve and understand he had to resolve that his only trust and place of stability was to trust in God and rest in his providential plan and protection. We would see that often in those heavy Lamentation Psalms. And what we have here is a song of that resolve. A song of that position that he came to in the Lamentation Psalms. A resolve to wait. for his salvation from God in this life trial. So it's like a new song of resolve that we have here, one that speaks of calm in the storm and peace in the trial. and peace that one can only have if they wait silently, okay? Wait silently for God. That's really the emphasis here, a silent waiting. And by silent, that's speaking not only of not having to just complain or murmur or speak of so much, but also a calm, a peace within. So that's what I actually have titled the message, Wait Silently for God. And we hear the theme of that, wait silently for God, and also the thesis of Psalm in the very first verse. We're gonna start. It says, truly my soul, silently wait for God. From him comes my salvation. Truly my soul, silently waits for God. That's the theme of the psalm. My soul silently waits for God. And that's the position we need to learn to come to, that silent waiting for God. or as Paul would say, learn to be content in whatever situation you find yourself in, would be his expression of waiting silently for God. And you say, well, you know, how do you do that? How do you do that? David's going to give us some answers here on the way peace in Storm's life are brought about, or you come to that point. And it begins with the use of his word here, soul. He says, truly my soul silently waits for God. He didn't say my mind is quiet, though that is part of it. He didn't say my heart is at peace waiting for God, though that truly should be it as well. But by using the word soul, he's saying my whole being. He has incorporated the whole aspect, heart, mind, soul, and will in one. the core of his being. He says, my soul silently waits for God. And that word refers to, as I said, more than his mind, more than just his heart in this content position. But his whole being has come to the resolve. And so it's more than, though it can involve you just telling yourself not to be anxious. I mean, you probably have done that. Don't be nervous. Don't be nervous as you play with your ring and, you know, crack your knuckles and, I'm okay. I'm not nervous. But it's not true. You're intellectually telling yourself this, but your heart is troubled. Your mind is racing as you say that. Now, it's not wrong. Sometimes you can wake yourself up to the fact that you need to have your emotions under control. by speaking to yourself, but don't fool yourself that by the fact that you told yourself it's now done. You know, even David is going to tell himself to be quiet before the Lord, and it's kind of odd. We'll try to explain why he might have done this, but here he begins the psalm as truly, my soul silently waits for God. He declares his position, but yet, the beginning of the second stanza, which is verse five, says, my soul, wait silently for God alone. It's as if he's now telling himself that that is what he needs to do and that's the position he needs to be at. But at this point, let's just think about the fact that telling ourselves to be a certain way, it's important. I think it's important that we do speak to ourselves. We got to realize that our body, our mind, are servants of who we are. We are a spirit being and we can control our thinking and our emotions. There's a deeper resolve that needs to be obtained here. And the resolve is stated in the thesis statement of this psalm, which I think is the second part of verse 1. And that thesis statement, that truth that must be held is this. From Him, that is God, comes my salvation. From Him comes my salvation. And certainly that is spiritually true in the saving of your soul for eternity, but it's true in the physical realm as well, of which David is actually referencing here as a reality and certainly as a type for the spirit. The thesis, from him comes my salvation. In other words, there's no other source. And this is what we have to get to. There's no other source. Hope can't be found in your own strength. Now, that doesn't excuse you from not doing what you ought in a situation, but the hope isn't that, well, if I do what I ought, then it's going to work out because of what I did. No, it's because God maybe will honor and respect in the sense of causing it to work for your good at that moment, but it's all in Him. The hope isn't in your own strength. It isn't in others. It is only in God. He might use others. He might bring others in to the situation and help work it out for the good, and we can thank them, but we praise God. The calm, the peace a believer has in the midst of a trial must be there because God, and God alone, is understood to be the source for your salvation, working out of your situation. That's the ultimate key point and position of resolve that needs to be obtained in order to be able to say, I wait silently for God, for it's God only, God alone that has to be our hope. You can't have divided interests. I hope in God, but I got to do this too, or it won't work out. I hope in God, but boy, I sure hope this individual does this as well. because it's almost as if God isn't enough. There needs to be a singularity in your focus, in your mind. I, you might say, that it's only on God as your hope. In fact, this thesis statement is reiterated throughout this psalm with the emphasis of that singularity. He states it here from Him, that is God, comes my salvation. But look at how he repeats this in the psalm. Look at verse two. He only is my rock and my salvation, he says there. Look at verse five. My soul waits silently for God alone, he says. And then in verse six, the beginning of it. He only is my rock and my salvation. We see that his hope in God for his salvation is a complete 100%. There is no percentage going anywhere else for the ultimate hope. It is in him alone. He says only in verse two. He says alone in verse five. He says only again in verse six. These are the words that express the necessity of singularity in your hope. Now we read only and alone the variation in the English word, and those words are highly synonymous in their meaning, but it is one Hebrew word that is used each time. And it can be translated in a variety of ways, and one individual pointed out that his actual way he would like to see it translated is, nevertheless. Nevertheless, and that actually emphasizes the beginning of this, nevertheless, no matter what situation, no matter what circumstance, no matter what's going on, nevertheless, he is my rock and salvation. Nevertheless, no matter what situation, what's going on, my soul waved silently for God. Nevertheless, once again, God only, nevertheless, he is my rock and my salvation. With that, you have kind of an emphasis of the fact of not wavering, not wavering in your faith. Do you waver in your faith? Do you falter in your hope with God? Do you doubt whether He really is there and involved so significantly in what is going on in your trials? I mean, that's where we do quiver, waver, or shaken in our hope and our faith because we have doubts. And if you're in a situation where you have that anxious feeling, In a sense, you need to backtrack a little bit and look carefully at your heart and your mind and deduce, do you truly trust in God alone? Are you trusting God and? other sources or help? Are you telling yourself intellectually to trust God but inside you know or believe it's all up to you? This is that dual commitment that will tear a person apart and leave them in an anxious state. It's that singular focus, that resolve in God alone that we need to have that we can then join David in this psalm and sing words like verse two, he only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be greatly moved or shaken is another way that could be translated. David does reference those who are giving him trouble not nearly in the lamenting tone that we have seen before, but in verse three and four, he does reference it, but it's in the sense that God is going to deal with the situation. Look at this. How long will you attack a man? You shall be slain. All of you. He knows that. God will judge the wicked. Like a leaning wall in a tottering fence, he says. Then he speaks of their character. They only consult to cast him down from his high position. Probably, you know, it could be Absalom wanting to throw David off his throne or whatever. They delight in lies, they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. The character of those who would do evil so often get into the midst by their friendly talk, but inside they have wicked designs. And that brings us to the first Selah, which is that dramatic pause. And here, you know, he's expressed his contentment. He's expressed his reliance upon God. He's expressed that God's going to deal with these people. And he says, these are the type of people that are going to be dealt with. They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. and then he waits, the song waits. How would you feel if you had described those who would be dealing with you and you had spoke of them wanting to throw you off of a high position or whatever you would attribute that to, that they are delighted in lies, they bless with their mouth but curse inwardly, you got a forked tongue in a sense. You know, having, Drawing the picture of who these people are, you might like quiver a little bit in your boots as you picture the reality of these individuals. And so David begins verse 5 talking to himself. But this is effective talking to himself because he has within him what's needed to be what he's telling himself to be. And this is why there's a change from, in my mind, the declaration of his position of his soul waiting silently before God and having come to this point in the psalm and having had that pause dramatically of this is what I'm facing, He reminds himself, wait soul, wait. Don't let the anxiety and the anxiousness come up. He says, my soul, I say, Mr. Barrett, you might say your name to yourself. I don't know if you do that. I do that. This is the way it's got to be thought of. This is the way it's got to be. My soul, wait silently for God alone. And I'm sure for David it was, that's right. That's the way it is. It wasn't just an intellectual thing. It was his being. And he could reiterate those things that, emphasized the truth of why he could wait silently for God alone. He adds that there. He adds that there. Because I'm sure at this point in the psalm, he's thinking, I got to do something. I got to do something. I better do something now. And he said, no, wait silently for God alone. God may call upon him to do something, but he needs to do it out of a contentment and a rest in him. And having come to that, then he could speak of why. Well, for my expectation is from him, or my hope is another word that could be used there. My hope is from him. The expectation of my hope of what will happen and how God will work it out is from him. This expectancy of a hopeful outcome is here. In fact, that's an interesting word there because it literally means accord. And maybe it would be the setting of why some people might say, well, I'm at the end of my rope. I'm at the end of the one thing I can hang on to, to, you know, resolve and get through the situation. It is a picture, you know, the Hebrew pictorial language here, it is a picture of, holding on to that which is tied to what you need to be attached to. And so David is there holding on to the cord that connects him to God. My full connection of expectancy of resolve is to God. It's from Him. And so he settles his soul, you might say. He settles it in his hope in God, and then you actually see him revert back to the beginning of the psalm. He's now back in that position, and he reiterates the same words. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be moved. Those are the words of verse two. But he doesn't go into talking about what he's up against. He goes deeper into talking about who God is. His focus is in God and who he is. And so in verse seven, we hear, in God is my salvation and my glory. The rock of my strength and my refuge is in God. He's declaring what is his conviction. He, in a sense, is preaching to himself. He's preaching to himself to remind himself of where he is in God. But his preaching to himself isn't where he stops. You know, the best way to take ownership of information or a truth or a conviction is to be able to say it to somebody else. I don't know if my students that are here have heard me say this, haven't used the statement for a while, but when you're learning something and you think you've got it, The best way you can know and the only way the teacher can know is if you can now say it out loud or write it down in a cogent way expressing that truth or that knowledge. David has it, but does he? If his preaching can turn from telling himself to telling others and it be the same message, It's more of an assurance that he has taken ownership. And there's what he does. Look at where he goes in verses eight and nine. He turns from preaching inward to preaching outward. Particularly verse eight. Trust in him at all times. And you realize he's not talking to himself. You people. Trust in Him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us." So, he has turned and become preacher externally. And that brings the second middle segment to a close. Just think of the dramatic pause that would be there in the song as he declares himself to be silent because his whole His grasp is up on God for his hope, but he reiterates, he's my rock, he's my defense, I'm not going to be moved, he's my salvation and glory, the rock of my strength and refuge. And then he turns, trust in him, all you people. Pour out your heart before him. God is the refuge for us. Now everybody needs to meditate on that. There's the pause that everybody needs to meditate on that. Because it's not just his truth for him and you can have your truth for you. God doesn't operate that way. God is truth. And what is true in God for me has to be for you because it's his word. It is from him. And so now we enter the last section of the psalm. And here, I think he deals with those he's been preaching to. He's including those who are persecuting him as well. But he's addressing man and his tendency to want to work it out all himself, to get on with life and control it and be successful because of what they do. And he addresses who God is. And he closes with God's relationship with man that must be kept in mind. And so it begins with the reality of who and what man is. Man is a finite being. He's finite in his mind. He's limited in his perspective. He's finite in his strength and abilities. He often will think of himself as stronger and more significant than he is. I mean, if you really think about yourself and your life, I mean, when you were young, like our little ones here, and you know, you get to, certain age of six, seven, eight, and you're thinking about yourself more, you're thinking how much life you have before you. Oh, it's, I mean, people like Mr. Barrett are so old. I'll probably never get as old as that guy or whatever. And then all of a sudden you're there. Your life moves on. You're older, then you realize you're going to be sooner than you thought you'd ever be there. Your existence in the whole scheme of things is quite small. And the real perspective is from God's perspective. And our existence, our time of active influence and impact is quite small. And we need to gain a godly perspective on things concerning ourselves and concerning who he is. and what he is, and what man really is. Well, in time and history, the true scheme of things, from a respect of all history and God, is that we're nothing. I mean, in another psalm we did way earlier, David said, what is man? But you're mindful of him. And it's an amazing thing that God would have such an interest in such a pathetic being. And David begins this final stanza with those ominous type of thoughts about man. And he says, Surely men of low degree. Okay, so he's talking about people who are just the common individuals and, you know, not rich, probably according to the US status, poverty stricken. I mean, I wish I could make as much as poverty level, but I might feel like I actually have something. But anyway, we won't get there. Those of low degree, you know, you and me. You're a vapor. Whoa. A vapor. The commoner. Just like a breath. That's another word for that. Just a breath. Some of us just whisked away in the wind. In fact, that word vapor there and other places it's used is the same Hebrew word that's used in the book of Ecclesiastes, vanities, a vanities, all is vanity. It's the same word, vapor, a vapor, all is vapor. Emptiness, emptiness, nothing. Essentially nothing. Nothing but a breath, just a puff of steam or something that's just blown and is gone, disappears into the emptiness. That's what man is and not just men of low and common means, a low estate. David says that I think to make the impact upon those who are seemingly so well off. But he has similar words for men of high estate or a high social status or degree. Here he says, men of high degree are a lie. Well, I think ESV kind of captures it a little bit better here. They are a delusion. In other words, we get deluded by that. We see the individual in the finer clothes and really nice house and driving such expensive cars and we're thinking, that must be contentment. And often, they in their own minds are thinking, I can gain a contentment if I have all this possessions, land, cars, clothes, prominence in society. You know, they must have it all figured out if they're living the high life. But I'm sure you're as aware as I am about the sadness of so many people that live that life. Drunkenness, debauchery, depression, loneliness. There's an external pride and haughtiness that often shows, but there's an internal empty shell, a hollow heart and life that is truly there. In fact, many of them are living the same life as the man on the street. They just look better doing it externally. They're living the same life. They're doing the same thing. Just one's on the street and the other's behind a gated fence. Doing the same thing. Don't be fooled by the appearance of others. Don't be fooled by that. You too should weigh things in a balance. God does see the reality of things. That's what the psalmist says here as he goes on to say, about these individuals of high degree. If they are weighed on the scales, if they're truly weighed like all of us are, they're altogether lighter than vapor. They're nothing. They weigh out the same. Doesn't matter. They have gold rings, chains, and nice clothes. They weigh out the same. Reminds me of the words of God to Samuel, who's lamenting over Saul, who now is rejected. And God tells Samuel, but the Lord said to Samuel, do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. And God weighs the heart of man, the true nature of an individual. And we need to have discernment to look beyond the external as well and seek God for that discernment in terms of the character of others. And David says, it doesn't matter what a state you are in social society, there is an emptiness, a vapor aspect of men, and that needs to be grasped actually to realize your trust must only be in God. In fact, he emphasizes as he goes into verse 10, don't put your trust in oppression. Don't put your trust in who you can get under your thumb and who you can make be a certain way and follow your assertions of power and authority. The word there literally means fraud, unjust gain, so he's actually kind of starting a theme here of gaining by means that are not kosher, you know, benefit from others. And there are those in the highest state that can use their position to do such a thing. And those in the lowest state do the same thing. They just rob a coffee shop, okay? And that's what the next line is. Nor vainly hope in robbery. He says, you of lowest state, you're not gonna get off on this either. You try to use unjust means to gain a step ahead. Don't trust in those kinds of things. Not that one can't be blessed with riches, but look at how you are to look at it in verse 10. If riches increase, do not set your heart on them. And that's the key, that's what's so difficult. Because if money's come your direction, Yeah, you start getting pretty excited about that. You have something you haven't had before and wow, look what you might be able to do with that for yourself or whatnot. And then you're thinking, boy, if I had more of this, how much more would I be content? And that's the rub. That's the thing. There's always the temptation in this world to feel like you're more secure and at peace if you just have more money. And if you have more money, you start thinking that if I just had more, I would feel better and more content and at peace. And what could be a blessing of God that could be for your good personally and others turns into actually a trap because you begin to desire it. That's what Paul said, that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And it's usually rooted in wanting more of it. You begin doing things with it or because of it that you would never have thought of if you didn't have it. But it's not wrong to be wealthy. It's not wrong to have possessions. We could go through a number of people in the Bible that did, but we could just use Abraham as an example. He was extremely wealthy. the places that it speaks of, you know, his servants and his cattle and his whatever, all that he had. But you know, Abraham's an interesting person. He is depicted and chosen of God and spoken of as the father of the faithful. Faithful in God. Faithful in trusting in Him. He believed God and it was accounted him for righteousness. What's emphasized in Abraham's life is where his hope was. And you don't hear once of Abraham speaking about Oh, how wealthy I am." Even when Abraham stumbles and actually lies concerning his wife in order to be selfish in his own protection, he actually comes out of the situation wealthier But he doesn't seek to gain more wealth. He doesn't seek to speak of his wealth. He seeks to live justly, and he won't even accept a well as a free gift. He has to pay for it, or a burial place for Sarah, I think it was. You know, he didn't lift himself up in his wealth. He didn't have a love of it. He had a faith in God. So if riches increase, like Abraham, do not set your heart on them. Because where is your heart set? Your heart is always set on God alone. My soul is waiting silently on God alone. He is my rock and salvation. God is my salvation and glory. Trust in Him at all times. Why? Well, because God is the most powerful being in all the universe. That's what David says next in this psalm. God has spoken once, twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God. You hear what David is doing, he's using that legal standard of a double witness in order to bear the validity, or to emphasize the validity of this fact. A thing is established by the witness of two or three, by the mouths of two or three witnesses, the Bible says, and David says, I've got two witnesses to tell you of this, that power belongs to God. Now, of course, it should be sufficient if God says, I have all the power, and he's the only one that says it, and it's said once. That should be sufficient for us because that is the word of God, and David's not saying it's not true if I hadn't twice heard this. He is just using that formula to say, truly, truly, just like Jesus would say, I've got something to tell you. Now, it would be sufficient for Jesus to say, truly, and we know it's true. It'd be sufficient for Jesus just to say, and we know it's true. But Jesus himself used that double witness formula of truly, truly emphasizing that you who are within my hearing had better pay attention. And David uses the same type of double formula here when he says, God has said, And twice I have heard this. God said it and there is witness to it that power belongs to God. And when he says that, he's not saying that God has some power. He's not saying that God has a lot of power. He is actually saying that he has all the power. Power, that thing that is there, it all belongs to God. Power belongs to God. That's the implication of the way David has worded this statement. He has all the power. He has all the power necessary to do whatever needs to be done to accomplish his will in my life against all opposition that should come against me. That is what David has just said. Jesus actually affirmed his Godhood, his God nature for the last time while he was still present on this earth with those very words. Power belongs to me. He said, all power in heaven and earth is given unto me. That is, I am God. Go and make disciples of the nations. Power belongs to God and Jesus possesses it all. But what is so blessed to us, such a blessing to us, that God isn't just raw power. He isn't just raw power. Now we are so, We can be so content in the fact that he has all the power that's necessary, but it's not just raw power. He's merciful. And that's what David balances this off with in verse 12. Also to you, that is to God, O Lord, belongs mercy. And it's because of God's mercy that he acts justly. toward those on this earth. And to believers, that is a comfort because our justice or justness is in Christ. And in his mercy, he treats us as his own child, Jesus Christ. But that's a danger to those outside of Christ. because God's mercy isn't there, but his power still is. And they too will be judged. All will be judged, as he says here, for you render to each one according to his works. Now, to bring this to a close, we are to be content in God But that doesn't mean we have to be do-nothing people. Contentment in God and His providence and His care and the working out of all things for our good, that Romans would say, is not, I can't think of the Greek word. Did not write it down. But it's not the caesura, sera, that wasn't the one I was going to use, type of position, whatever will be, will be, type of holding that we have. But we're always called to do some things. We are always called. And I think one of the verses I want to end with is Ecclesiastes. Oops, get to the right, there we go. Ecclesiastes, how it ends in chapter 12, where it too talks about God rendering to those according to the things they've done. In verses 13 and 14, in a sense, being content in God requires you to do your duty as well. And what is, he says, The conclusion of the whole matter. In verse 13, fear God, that's where your trust should be, and keep his commandments. For this is man's all, or I like the King James, I don't have it here, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. God will render according to what you've been doing. And if your doings are out of a fear of him and obedience to his commands, God blesses you. But if you do not fear God, you walk in disobedience, he too will render the proper judgment there as well. And you have no hope outside. of Him. David and Paul had come to understand that. David and Paul had come to know what it meant to be able to be silently waiting before God, to be content in every situation. And we see here that that comes to us as we in our whole being remain singularly focused upon God as our only hope, and obedience our duty. God is our hope and obedience is our duty. Amen. Let's pray. Thank you, Father, for this psalm and how it speaks so clearly to us today and our standing before you and this world and the situations that we face. Father, we thank you that we are not here alone. Not that we're here with just other people, we're here with you. Or we should say you are here with us. And Father, we thank you for that because we can grasp onto you like a cord that's tied to our hope and we don't need to ever let go. Father, forgive us for the times that our eyes get turned from the vertical to the horizontal and remain fixated upon our situations and we begin to lose sight of your authority over all things, your power, your plan, your providence. in our lives. And Father, restore us to that place of silently waiting in you and obediently walking for you. We thank you for that.