Psalm 62:3-12

3 How long will you assail a man, That you may murder him, all of you, Like a ¹leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

4 They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position; They ²delight in falsehood; They ³bless with their mouth, But inwardly they curse. Selah.

5 My soul, ⁴wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him.

6 He only is ⁵my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.

7 On God my ⁶salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my ⁷refuge is in God.

8 ⁸Trust in Him at all times, O people; ⁹Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.

9 Men * of ¹⁰low * degree * are only ¹¹vanity and men * of rank are a ¹²lie; In the ¹³balances they go up; They are together lighter than breath.

10 ¹⁴Do not trust in oppression And do not vainly hope in ¹⁵robbery; If riches increase, ¹⁶do not set your heart upon them.

11 Once God has ¹⁷spoken; Twice I have heard this: That ¹⁸power belongs to God;

12 And lovingkindness ¹⁹is Yours, O Lord, For You ²⁰recompense a man according to his work.

Psalm 62:3-12 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, [A Psalm] of David. Concerning "Jeduthun," See Gill on "Ps 39:1," title. Kimchi thinks this psalm was written concerning the captivity; and Jarchi twtdh le, concerning the decrees and judgments made against Israel by their enemies; and so some of their ancient expositions {d}; but it seems to have been composed by David when in distress, either through Saul and his courtiers, or by reason of the conspiracy of Absalom. Theodoret takes it to be a prophecy of the persecution of Antiochus in the times of the Maccabees.

{d} Vid. Yalkut Simeoni in loc.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 30:13
• 2. Psalms 4:2
• 3. Psalms 28:3; Psalms 55:21
• 4. Psalms 62:1
• 5. Psalms 62:2
• 6. Psalms 85:9; Jeremiah 3:23
• 7. Psalms 46:1
• 8. Psalms 37:3, 5; Psalms 52:8; Isaiah 26:4
• 9. 1 Samuel 1:15; Psalms 42:4; Lamentations 2:19
• 10. Psalms 49:2
• 11. Job 7:16; Psalms 39:5; Isaiah 40:17
• 12. Psalms 116:11
• 13. Isaiah 40:15
• 14. Isaiah 30:12
• 15. Isaiah 61:8; Ezekiel 22:29; Nahum 3:1
• 16. Job 31:25; Psalms 49:6; Psalms 52:7; Mark 10:24; Luke 12:15; 1 Timothy 6:10
• 17. Job 33:14; Job 40:5
• 18. Psalms 59:17; Revelation 19:1
• 19. Psalms 86:5; Psalms 103:8; Psalms 130:7
• 20. Job 34:11; Psalms 28:4; Jeremiah 17:10; Matthew 16:27; Romans 2:6; 1 Corinthians 3:8; Revelation 2:23

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "his"
• [b] "Selah" may mean: "Pause, Crescendo" or "Musical interlude"
• [c] Lit "become vain in robbery"
• [d] Or "One thing"
• [e] Or "These two things I have heard"