Psalm 62

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Psalm 62
• Sermon

---

Sermon Title: God Alone as the Object of Our Faith

Scripture: Psalm 62

I. Trust in God Alone Because He Is Just

A. The enemies of David are cruel and manipulative — Psalm 62:3-4

1. They batter like a tottering fence — attacking the weak
2. They bless with their mouths but curse inwardly — flattery and deception

B. The unnamed enemies represent fallen mankind in general — Psalm 62:9

1. Those of high estate and low estate alike are not to be trusted
2. All mankind falls short and is ultimately unjust

C. God alone judges rightly because He alone sees all — Psalm 62:12

1. Even the best human judges are limited to their empirical senses
2. Only God sees the hidden inward cursings of the heart
3. Suffering for Christ often happens in secret — condemnations we cannot see or hear

D. Practical and paradoxical implications

1. Trusting God as the just judge frees us to love our enemies and take the risk of loving others
2. We give vengeance to the Lord rather than letting anger burn — Romans 12
3. God's role as avenger paradoxically liberates us to love
4. Conviction: how we speak about others when they are absent is seen and judged by God

II. Trust in God Alone Because He Is Eternal

A. All mankind — high and low — is but a breath — Psalm 62:9

1. The Hebrew word for "breath" is the same word translated "vanity" throughout Ecclesiastes
2. Vanity: that which is temporary, pointless, self-indulgent — here one moment and gone the next
3. Riches, pomp, and high status are connected to this vanity and temporality

B. God alone is eternal and His character is permanent and solid

C. David addresses his own soul — the inward man — to wait in silence — Psalm 62:5

1. While the outer man is besieged and attacked, the soul is directed to wait on God
2. "Wait in silence" — a refusal to unleash the tongue in vengeance; God alone is salvation, not the tongue

D. The inward man must guard against external temptations — Psalm 62:10

1. Jonathan Edwards (Religious Affections): Satan has no direct access to the soul; he works through external forces on the imagination
2. Example: Adam and Eve — Satan worked through the appearance of the fruit to capture the soul
3. Riches and high status are the "cookies" Satan places before the imagination — a delusion
4. Speak to your soul as David does; the eternal God alone can satisfy the eternal soul of man
5. Echoes of Christ's teaching: lay up treasures where moth and rust do not destroy — Matthew 6:19-20

III. Trust in God Alone Because He Is Both Powerful and Loving

A. A continuing revelation of God yields two great realities — Psalm 62:11-12

1. Power belongs to God
2. Steadfast love belongs to God

B. Power and love together make God uniquely worthy of trust (J. J. Stewart)

1. Power without love is brutality
2. Love without power is weakness
3. Power is the strong foundation of love; love is the beauty and crown of power

C. The gospel is the supreme display of power and love united — Romans 1:16

1. God not sparing His Son is the ultimate act of divine love and divine power simultaneously
2. The incarnation, cross, and empty tomb display the same God of Psalm 62 — not a new God, but more of who He is revealed at Calvary

D. Conclusion: In Christ alone is our hope, our security, and our foundation

1. The "alone" of Psalm 62 is fulfilled in Christ alone — verily, truly, absolutely
2. Nothing in this world is worthy of our trust; Christ and Christ alone is the object of our faith