Psalm 62

0 To the leader: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1  For God alone my soul waits in silence;
  from him comes my salvation.
2  He alone is my rock and my salvation,
  my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
3  How long will you assail a person,
  will you batter your victim, all of you,
  as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4  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. Selah
5  For God alone my soul waits in silence,
  for my hope is from him.
6  He alone is my rock and my salvation,
  my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7  On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
  my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8  Trust in him at all times, O people;
  pour out your heart before him;
  God is a refuge for us. Selah
9  Those of low estate are but a breath,
  those of high estate are a delusion;
 in the balances they go up;
  they are together lighter than a breath.
10  Put no confidence in extortion,
  and set no vain hopes on robbery;
  if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11  Once God has spoken;
  twice have I heard this:
 that power belongs to God,
12   and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
 For you repay to all
  according to their work.

Daily Prayer (based on Psalm 62:8)

O God, our refuge, how good You are to me!

You invite me to pour out my heart to You, holding nothing back. You are willing, no, even wanting, to hear all that is in me: my hopes, my wishes, my fears, my doubts, my anger, my discouragement, my confusion, my praise, my gratitude. I am astounded by the freedom You give me to be honest with You. And I am filled with humble gratitude to think that You actually care for me, even the tiny, niggling, selfish, faithless parts of me.

Thank You for being my refuge, the One to whom I can always turn when I'm in distress, the One who will not let me down, the One in whose arms I am safe. I can't imagine living this life apart from You, gracious God. Thank You for making Yourself so available to me.

Postscript

The verb "pour out" (shafakh in Hebrew) appears several times in the Psalms. Sometimes it refers to God's pouring out His wrath on the wicked (for example, Psalm 69:24). Elsewhere, the psalmists pour out their soul (42:4) and their complaint (142:2) in addition to their heart. Truly, we can pour out many different aspects of prayer to God, though in the Psalms, pouring out seems to be reserved for hard things and hard times. This verb reminds us of the freedom we have before God to hold nothing back in our prayers.

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Except for the Scripture text, all material of The Daily Psalm Copyright © 2006 by Mark D. Roberts

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The Scripture text used in The Daily Psalm is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved