| Reflections on The Psalms |
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Psalm 62 To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. Truly my soul waits upon God: from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. 3 How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. 5 My soul, wait only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; 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; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. 9 Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity. Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. 11 God has spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongs unto God. Also unto you, O Lord, belongs mercy: for you render to every man according to his work. ________________________________________________ There seems a little contradiction in that last verse, for in my experience, God not rendering to me according to my works was a mercy. The Hebrew in this segment apparently gives some difficulty to translators, because there is a significant variance between the King James Version and the more modern translations. In verse three, the NRSV takes this line: "How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?" Note that it is not "You will be slain or battered," but "Will you slay?" The object of their hatred was a man weakened, like a tottering fence.Verse four then follows this line: "Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse." I.e., they have no plan of their own, they only want to bring down a prominent man. After so many disasters in the past decade, verse 8 is especially affecting. People who fled from disasters found refuge in strange cities, and often in churches. This a real world example of how God is a refuge. He does it through people who hold true to his name. Verse nine is strange in that the words "low degree" do not appear to be in the Hebrew and yet every translation has some version of it. But the Hebrew says that "The sons of Adam" are but a breath. Elsewhere, "every man at his best state is altogether vanity" (Psalm 39:5). Hence, the sons of Adam are a breath, and highborn men are a lie. "If riches increase, set not your heart upon them" (v. 10). This is probably a hard admonition to follow, but some people manage, even when riches increase. They remain generous, finding ways to give. Maybe that is the secret that has been lost on this generation. It makes the words of the prophet especially relevant: "As they were increased, so they sinned against me (Hosea 4:7). |
Youth in Action |
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