Brother Rod Williams

​Trust Only God
Text:  Psalm 62:1-12
Intro:  This psalm has come to be known as “The Only Psalm.”  Not that it’s the only psalm but that it’s focus is on the subject of “only.”  The English word “only” is found 4 times, but the Hebrew word it’s translated from is found 6 times in these twelve verses.  In fact, the very first word of the psalm, “Truly,” is the same word translated “only” and also the word translated “surely” in verse 9 is the same word.  So you can easily see why it’s been called “The Only Psalm.”
The psalm is divided into four parts.  In verses 1-4 David is addressing his enemies.  In verses 5-7 David speaks to himself.  In verses 8-11 David addresses his friends and in v. 12 David speaks to the Lord.  The overall theme of the psalm is for the writer and his readers to put their trust ONLY in God.  That’s really what it’s all about and that’s what it should be about for you and me as we travel this journey called life.  If we are going to live lives that are going to be meaningful, and meaningful in a positive way, then it’s going to be only as we fully trust God with every step we take.  Trusting God is the secret to peace and joy in this life that can be trying to our souls, especially in the day and age in which we live where there is so much tension and unrest.  People’s worldviews clash and everyone disagrees as to how to right the wrongs and fix what’s broken.  We know that only God is our hope and for those whose trust is in Him, He only is our strength and refuge.  So let’s dig into this psalm and see if we cannot learn to trust God more and more.
I.  Adressing Our Enemies (vs. 1-4)
     A.  Who are our enemies?  David identified his enemies as:
           1.  Those who “imagine mischief” against him (v. 3).  The word “mischief” means to          assault or attack.  Whether it was physical or just an assault on his character.
          2.  Those who wanted to “cast him down” from his throne. (v. 4).
          3.  Those who “delight in lies” (v. 4).  These were those who lied about him to get others to turn on him.
         4.  Those who were deceitful allies (v. 4).  Those who were deceitful and acted like they were his friends but all along they were plotting his demise.
     B.  How do we apply this to our lives as Christians?  Who are our enemies?
           1.  We’re not kings in the physical and material sense in the world that we live in, but as born again, baptized members of the Lord’s glorious church we have been made to be “kings and priests” in a spiritual sense (Rev. 1:5-6).  And as such, we have those, as David did, who “imagine mischief” against us.  They may not assault us physically but they will attack our character and because we preach against sin they will attack our motives and say that we are motivated by hate.
        2.  Like David, our enemies are those who would cast us down.  They want to oust us from the throne that God has made us to sit on.  And it may not be down with force but through the subtlety of being friendly and tempting us with their worldly things that would compromise our faith and cause us to drift in our relationship with Jesus Christ who commands us to hate sin and separate ourselves from those who would lead us astray.
        3.  And, like David, our enemies are those who pretend to be our friends but are seeking to undermine our faith and our relationship with the God we love.
     C.  How did David address his enemies?  By letting them know where he stood and where his loyalties lied.
          1.  With great fearlessness David said to them, “Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation.”  David’s attitude and speech toward his enemies was that my soul only waits on God.  The word “wait” means to quietly trust.  And he said, “My God is bigger than  anything you can throw against me and “from Him cometh my salvation.”  He’ll deliver me out of your hands!
          2.  “He only is my rock and my salvation.”  That’s why my soul quietly trusts in Him.  Why should I trust anyone or anything else?  Your temptations don’t attract me at all!
     D.  And this is how we should address our enemies.  And remember that behind the flesh and blood of those who oppose us is the god of this world.  It’s not the people that are our enemies, it’s whose behind them and controlling them that is our enemy.  He’s our enemy, as Paul puts it, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12).
          1.  So when we address our enemies we are addressing the devil and his angels.  And as long as we only wait on God and God only is our Rock and Salvation and we don’t look to other defenses then we can boldly stand with David and like David, we won’t “be greatly moved.”   
II.  Addressing Ourselves  (vs. 5-7)

1.  You’ll notice in these verses that David encouraged himself in the Lord.  You’ll also notice that when he said to his enemies he said to himself.  Verses 5 and 6 are almost a word for word repeat of verses 1 and 2.  Only this time he’s speaking to himself.

1.  And my thought is that this is David making sure that his words to his enemies was not just a bunch of tough talk.  It wasn’t just words but it was truly what he did and how he felt.

1.  David says to himself, “My soul, wait thou only upon God.”  Soul, quietly trust in God.  Practice what you preach.

1.  Then David tells himself why he should trust only in God.  It’s because “for my expectation is from Him.”  This is a little different from verse 1.  Verse 1 says the reason he trusts only in God is because “from Him cometh my salvation.”  This is a

little different from verse 1.  Verse 1 says the reason he trusts only in God is because “from Him cometh my salvation.”  But this is really not different.  It’s just a different way of saying the same thing.  David’s expectation in verse 5 is of his salvation in verse 1.  The word.  The word “salvation” means deliverance or victory.  And the word “expectation” in v. 5 means “hope.”  David’s hope was in God’s salvation.  Why didn’t the translators use the word hope then?  My thought is because of the way we use the word hope.  When we say, “I hope” something, there’s a possibility of what we hope for not coming to fruition.  But when we expect something, that means we are confidently trusting that what we’re hoping for is certain.

1.  The word translated “expectation” means to confidently expect deliverance or victory.  It actually comes from a root word that means “a cord (as an attachment).”  That is, David had an attachment to God, or better yet, God had an attachment to David, and because of that David had an expectation of salvation.

1.  What is our expectation of salvation?  Is it not in God through His Word to us?  (John 3:16; Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 10:13; Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:9).  And when we exercise that faith then we are saved, and we, like David, have an attachment to God and I love what the writer of Hebrews says about this hope of salvation (Heb. 6:17-20).  We have an anchor in Christ and what good is an anchor if it’s not attached?  We have, not only an anchor in Chris, but we are attached to that Anchor, and He’s attached to us.

1.  Now notice what David says in v. 6.  Once again, he repeats to himself what he said to his enemies in v. 2.  With one exception.  He omits the word “greatly.”  In v. 2 he says, “I shall not be greatly moved.”  Not fully confident.  But in speaking to himself of Who his Rock is and Who his Salvation is and Who his Defense is, he says with the utmost confidence, “I shall not be moved!”  At all!  The enemy will not be able to move me one inch!

1.  As David encourages himself in the Lord his confidence grows stronger.  And that is the purpose of our encouraging ourselves in the Lord.  We want our trust to grow stronger with each step of the journey because the journey doesn’t get easier.  It keeps getting more difficult.

1.  Then David, in his final words of self-encouragement reiterates what he has already said (v. 7).  He basically says that everything he’s looking for in life, namely, salvation and glory, strength and refuge, are only found in God.

1.  Everything we need for our survival in the world and our success in the spiritual life is found in God and we need to encourage ourselves everyday in the Lord through the reading and studying of His Word.

III.  Addressing Our Friends (vs. 8-11)
       Folks, we are not in this alone.  David’s friends were those who had like faith in God as he did and those who desired to be faithful and obedient to His Word.  Our friends are our brothers and sister in Christ.  You are my friends and I hope I’m your friend.  How did David address his friends?

1.  He encouraged them to trust God at all times.  Just as God only was the One in whom David quietly trusted he encourages others to do the same (v. 8).  They say, “Misery loves company.”  Well, so does faith.  Those who trust in God love it when others trust Him with them.

1.  David encourages them to “pour out your heart before Him.”  David was man of prayer and he was a man who poured out his heart before God.  He let his feelings be known to God.  All you have to do is read the psalms to know that David did not hold back his feelings when it came to his prayer life.

1.  God desires to hear our prayers and if we have certain feelings about something God wants to hear it.  God knows our feelings but He wants you and me to express them to Him anyway.  It’s not for Him so much as it is for us.  Even if our feelings are negative.  God won’t get offended or hold a grudge if we complain to Him.

1.  David reminds his friends of the unreliability of men (v. 9).  Our tendency is to seek advice from men and trust in them when it is God only that we should put our trust in.  That’s not to say that we should not seek advice from others but we should be acquainted with God and His Word enough to know when someone is giving us godly advice or ungodly.

1.  In v. 9 David gives the reason why we ought not to put our trust in men, whether they’re the common man or whether they’re the educated and high ranking men.

1.  “Men of low degree” are the common man.  And because they are mere men and not God they are vanity.  Remember that David said that God is my glory and glory means “weighty.”  God’s counsel carries great weight and man’s in comparison is empty, which is the meaning of vanity.
2. “Men f high degree” are those who have rank in the world.  But just because they have rank in the world doesn’t mean they’re fit to give counsel and fit for you to trust in.  Their counsel apart from God’s Word is a lie.

1.  David then instructs his friends in things not to trust in.  Not only is man not worthy of your trust but neither are certain things.  The accumulation of wealth and things is David’s concern here because it is of such concern to so many in our world.  So David says don’t resort to:

1.  Things like oppression.  Never resort to oppression to accomplish your desires.  That’s what evil people do, not God’s people.
2. Things like robbery.  Don’t be a thief.  When we make wealth and possessions our desire we are susceptible to becoming thieves and robbers in order to get those things.  Don’t trust in things because they’ll cause you to do things you will regret.
3. Things like riches.  Desiring and trusting in riches causes people to oppress and steal.  Riches are not bad in and of themselves, but it’s the overpowering desire for them and then it’s the trust in them once you have them.

1.  David reminds his friends where true power comes from.  Power doesn’t come from rank or riches.  True power belongs to God.

1.  If you want true power in life then walk with God and trust God.  When David says, “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this,” it’s just a way of emphasizing how important this is.  It’s David’s way of trying to keep his friends from trusting in the wrong people and the wrong things.  If you want real power in life then you’re going to have to trust in God because He is the “only” One who possesses power.  The word “only” is not used here but it sure is implied.  God possesses power and He gives power to those who trust only in Him.  He doesn’t always give riches but He will always give power.  Power to live a good and godly life which is far better than living a godless luxurious life.  Never forget that we are living for eternity, not just for this life on earth.  Our treasures are in Heaven and the inheritance we have for eternity is “incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4).  God will always give us the power to live and thrive in poverty down here knowing we have an eternal treasure up there.

IV.  Addressing God (v. 12)

1.  Finally, David turns to God and says, with a gleam in his eye and gratitude in his heart, “Also unto Thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for Thou renderest to every man according to his work.” 

1.  Not only does God possess power, but thank God, He also possesses mercy.  A powerful God without mercy is a terrifying God.  A God with mercy and no power is a laughable God.  But a God who possesses both power and mercy is a God to be trusted.  He’s a God that can be quietly trusted and a God that can be approached that we can pour our heart out before and a God that can save and a God that will save.
2. And never forget that this powerful yet merciful God “renderest to every man according to his work.”  Every man whether of low degree or high degree.  He will render to those who trusted in oppression, robbery, and riches according to their work.  He is a merciful God to those who are of a contrite spirit and a broken heart.  He gives them power.  But to the unrepentant there is only power and no mercy.  And God only has the power to cast into hell.  He has the power but has no desire to cast into hell.  This is a choice that all will make.  Will they choose to trust God for salvation or trust in men and things?

Conc.  Those who quietly trust in God will be saved and those who trust in anyone or anything else will be damned.  The Only Psalm points us to the One One who can saved and the Only Way to be saved is by trusting Jesus.  He’s the Only Way, the Only Truth, and the Only Life and no one will come to the Father but by Him.  His is the Only Name under Heaven  given among men whereby we must be saved.  He’s the Only Savior that you can trust.