Word of Salvation – Vol.51 No.37 – October 2006
Rest in God Alone
A Reformation Sunday Sermon, by Rev John Haverland on Psalm 62
Scripture Readings: Psalm 118, Galatians 2:11-21
Theme: When others opposed him, David found his rest and security by trusting in God alone.
Purpose: To direct you to the Lord for your rest and security, also in times of opposition.
Congregation in the Lord.
It has been said that more books have been written about Martin Luther than any other human person apart from Jesus himself. Luther has been a powerful, complex and influential figure in the history of the church. The Lord used him to strike the match that lit the fires of the Reformation in Europe in the sixteenth century.
The Reformation began with Luther nailing his 95 Theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg on the 31st of October 1517. In the following months and years he wrote many other pamphlets and books. These attracted the attention and the condemnation of the church officials. Within a few years he found himself in a very difficult and lonely position. He stood as one man against the entire weight of the church. Yes, many others sympathised with his views, many agreed with his concerns, and he was supported by most of Germany; but when he had to defend his views in 1521, before the church and Emperor Charles V, he had to do so by himself. He stood on the authority of the Bible alone.
It was in that situation that he uttered those famous words; “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason – I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other – my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. Amen.”
He took his stand on the Scriptures and he put his trust in God. That trust in God was well expressed in his famous hymn based on Psalm 46: A Mighty Fortress is our God. That psalm and that hymn expressed his trust in the Lord. That trust is also given a beautiful expression in this psalm, Psalm 62. David wrote this when he was facing much opposition from his enemies, just as Luther did 2500 years later. Here he explained how he found rest and security by trusting in God, as Luther did. This psalm was written and recorded so that we too could find our trust and security in the Lord our God, no matter what is going on around us.
David first affirmed his trust in God (vss 1-2);
then he questioned his enemies (vss 3-4);
then reaffirmed his trust in God (vss 5-8);
then assessed his enemies (vss 9-10);
and then closed by explaining his trust in God (vss 11-12).
1. He began this Psalm by AFFIRMING HIS TRUST IN GOD (vss 1-2)
The psalm begins abruptly – which is often the case with one that expresses strong feelings – but also confidently: “My soul finds rest in God alone.” The word translated as ‘rest’ is literally the word for silence. It has the sense of finding rest or peace in the Lord. David committed himself and his cause to the Lord and was able to find peace through that. He was able to be calm and undisturbed, even though there were many enemies pressing in on him and his situation was far from calm.
He found his rest in God ‘alone’; not partially on the Lord but fully and only on the Lord. Spurgeon writes that “unmingled faith is undismayed.” A pure faith that rests completely on the Lord will stand firm and steady. “My soul finds rest in God alone.” You need to be able to say that.
In the next few lines David went on to affirm his great confidence in God:
“My salvation comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”
We will examine these phrases in more detail later on, because they are repeated in the middle of the psalm, but notice that phrase, “I will never be shaken.” In the Hebrew it reads, “I will not be greatly shaken.” He recognised that trials and temptations would come his way; that events would disturb his life and that of the nation; that there were times when he would be shaken.
But he also knew that he would not be greatly shaken. Spurgeon says that he would be “moved but not removed.” He would be moved like a ship at anchor, but not completely swept away.
He did not expect to escape calamity and trouble, but when it came he was confident that the Lord would look after him, because “he alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be greatly shaken.” So the psalm begins with a strong affirmation of trust and confidence in God.
2. David then QUESTIONED HIS ENEMIES (vss 3-4)
They saw him as a ‘leaning wall’ and a ‘tottering fence’. Sometimes you see fences or walls that look about ready to collapse; all they need is a good push and its all over!
This may refer to David in his old age when he was weak and feeble; or it may be an acknowledgment that he had no strength in himself. Whatever the precise reference he knew that his enemies were attacking him and were out to get him.
Luther knew that in the time of the Reformation. He had many enemies in the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope wanted him killed. The Inquisition was out to get him. The cardinals and bishops of the church hated him. His friends were very concerned for his life, so much so that Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, arranged to have Luther “kidnapped” and locked away in the Castle at Wartburg for seven months to keep him safe. The Lord used the Elector to protect Luther.
The Lord did not protect all his people in those days. Many died as martyrs for their faith. Many were burnt at the stake. Many were killed by torture and in prison.
This is still going on today. In some countries Christians are being persecuted for their faith. You only have to read the magazine of “The Voice of the Martyrs” to realise this, or the books being written about Christians in China. More Christians died for their faith in the 20th century than in all the previous 19 centuries put together! We need to pray for Christians under persecution that their faith will remain firm that they will persevere to the end.
We don’t experience this type of persecution in our country. But as Christians and the church we do have enemies, even here. Sections of the media have a strong bias against Christianity. A number of minority groups are utterly opposed to Christian moral principles. The theory of evolution as taught in the state schools is anti-Christian and sometimes militantly so.
As we look overseas and around us in this country we might be surprised at this opposition. We too might question our enemies.
Why are they so against us?
Why do they delight in lies?
Why do they curse us in their hearts?
How long will they continue to assault us?!
Only the Lord knows the answers to all those questions; but we do know that this is a spiritual battle and that the malice and hatred of Satan is behind the persecution and opposition to the church.
3. We also know that we can trust the Lord in such times. David knew this too and he went on to REAFFIRM HIS TRUST IN GOD (vss 5-8)
He spoke to himself (vs 5).
In the opening of this psalm David affirmed his trust in God: “My soul finds rest in God alone.” In verse 5, however, he talked to himself: “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone.” This shows us the realism of the psalms. David knew he needed to work hard to maintain this confidence in God. So he spoke to himself, urging himself to keep on trusting in the Lord.
Martin Luther had to do this as well. He was a man of great faith and he had a massive knowledge of the Bible; but he often suffered attacks from Satan and times of great doubt. He saw the great division in the church that his teaching had prompted. He watched the church tearing itself apart. He heard stories of persecution and of protestant Christians being put to death for their faith. As he struggled with all this he had to go to God in prayer and remind himself that he could find his confidence in God alone.
You need to do this, too. It is a struggle to maintain your confidence in God. It is not easy to remain strong in faith. Don’t take your faith for granted. Don’t assume that it will just keep plugging along. You need to feed it and care for it. You need to keep it alive. You need to remind yourself to trust in God and you need to do that through prayer and through reading the Bible and through coming to worship faithfully. You need to strengthen your faith and commitment to the Lord and continue to trust in God.
David also recalled who God was (vss 6-7).
As he thought about the Lord he recalled the character of God and who the Lord was to him. The Lord was his rock and salvation, a fortress, a mighty rock and a refuge. These are powerful images drawn from the time he had been hiding in the wilderness from King Saul. Often he had found refuge in rocky places and in caves. The Lord used those to protect him, so it was natural for him to think of the Lord as a rock and refuge. These are pictures of security and stability. The Lord was his help and protection.
Luther recalled this character of God in his hymn;
“A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our Helper He, amid the flood, of mortal ills prevailing.”
You need to do this too. In times of doubt and trial and uncertainty you need to remind yourself of who God is to you. He is your rock and salvation – a fortress and a refuge. As New Testament believers we have an even clearer picture of who God is and of our security in him because we know God through the Lord Jesus Christ. You can find a secure foundation in Jesus. No one can lay any other foundation than that already laid, which is Jesus Christ. The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus as the chief cornerstone. This is our comfort and strength today as a church community and also personally as individual believers.
Because of this we can say with David, “I will not be shaken.” This statement in verse 5 is stronger than that of verse 2. Then he said: “I will not be greatly shaken”; this time he affirmed that he would not be moved at all! As he recalled who God was his faith in God had grown; his confidence was absolute; his trust was firm. “I will not be shaken.”
David then urged the people of Israel to trust in the Lord (vs 7).
“Trust in him at all times, O people.”
He took his own experience and applied it to the people of Israel. Having spoken to himself he addressed others. God had helped him and he realised that the Lord could help others who also were in situations of trouble and opposition.
The Lord can also help you. You need to trust in him, because you can’t trust in yourself. You won’t be able to solve your own problems. This is pressed home to us with some force at certain times. We see this more clearly in times of sickness, or when we have an accident, or when our strength fails, or our plans come to nothing, or our resources are exhausted, or when others let us down and we find we are on our own. Then we realise that only God can help us that we must find rest in him alone.
We need to do this at “all times”:
in good times and in bad times;
in prosperity and adversity;
in health and in sickness;
in light and in darkness.
We need to do this because God is our refuge.
4. Having reaffirmed his faith in the Lord, David thought again about his enemies who were opposing him. He had questioned them, but now he stepped back to ASSESS THEIR SITUATION (vss 9-10).
His enemies seemed to be powerful, but they were only a breath, a vapour. This is a picture of something worthless and empty. The word for breath is used often in Ecclesiastes to describe life without the Lord – it is meaningless, vanity. David says; if you put all men together and weigh them on a scale, they are nothing. Literally the Hebrew reads: “on the balances they go up“!
It is the same for all the things they gather for themselves – all their possessions and stolen goods and their riches. What do these mean? What good will they do for them? We entered the world with nothing and we will leave the world with nothing. We were born naked and we will die naked. You can’t take any of this stuff with you.
We need to remind ourselves of that. “Though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.” These things too are a vapour. Yes, we can enjoy our homes and our gardens and find satisfaction in our work, but don’t set your heart on these things. Don’t make them the most important part of your life. Don’t take pride in these things.
5. The most important matter in all of life is to trust in the Lord, to rely on him, and to put our confidence in him. At the end of this psalm DAVID EXPLAINED WHY WE SHOULD TRUST IN GOD (vss 11-12).
The first two lines of verse 11 might make you think David did not do well at maths at his Jewish school!
“One thing God has spoken,
two things I have heard.”
That doesn’t really make sense mathematically! But David is not doing arithmetic; he is doing theology. This was a Hebrew way of emphasising a point. What he was about to write was certain, it was sure, you could depend on this.
You can be sure that God is strong. God is all powerful. He is sovereign. He is the Ruler. He is in control of all things. He is almighty. God can and will restrain the powers of wickedness and he will crush the forces of evil. We can commit our lives and times and plans into his hands because he is our refuge and our fortress.
And you can be sure that God is loving. The word used for love here describes the unfailing covenant love of the Lord, his faithful love, his reliable love. It is a love seen supremely in the coming of the Lord Jesus and in his death on the cross. Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Jesus showed us this love.
Calvin described these statements as “the two pillars on which we rest.” They remind us of the opening address of the Lord’s prayer – “Our Father who art in heaven”. God is all powerful and he is loving. He wants to help his people because he loves us, and he is able to help us because he is all powerful.
David needed to remember that when people opposed him.
Luther had to remember that in the difficult days of the Reformation.
You need to remember that when people and circumstances are against you.
Is this God your rock?
Is he your salvation?
Is he your fortress?
Can you say: “I will not be shaken”?
Can you say: “My soul finds rest in God alone”?
Amen.