Commentary - Psalm 62:9-12

Bird's-eye view

In this final section of Psalm 62, David moves from his personal declaration of trust in God alone to a universal statement about the nature of man and the nature of God. Having established God as his rock, his salvation, and his refuge, he now turns his attention outward, warning all people against placing their trust in anything or anyone else. The psalm concludes with a magnificent summary of what God has revealed about Himself: He is the God of all power, and He is the God of all mercy. These two truths, held together, form the bedrock of a stable and confident faith, a faith that is not shaken by the vanities of men or the seductions of wealth.

David first dismantles all human-centered confidence, showing that both the common man and the great man are utterly weightless in the scales of reality. He then pivots to warn against the false gods of ill-gotten gain and burgeoning riches. The human heart is an idol factory, and if it is not set on God, it will certainly set itself on something else, to its own ruin. The psalm culminates in a profound revelation, something David has heard not just once, but has fully grasped: strength and lovingkindness both belong to God. This is the foundation for everything, and it results in a final, sobering reality: God will repay every man according to his work. This is not a contradiction of grace, but the outworking of it. A life rooted in the all-powerful, all-merciful God will inevitably produce fruit, and God sees and rewards it.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 62 is a psalm of unwavering trust. Unlike many psalms that begin with a lament and move toward confidence, this one starts with confidence and remains there throughout. David's soul "waits for God alone" (v. 1, 5). He is surrounded by enemies who want to topple him, who "delight in lies" (v. 4), but his footing is secure because God is his rock and his fortress. The verses we are considering (9-12) serve as the concluding exhortation and theological foundation for this radical God-ward trust. After declaring his own personal faith, David universalizes the lesson. If God alone is his salvation, then it follows that everything else is not salvation. These final verses are a systematic dismantling of the alternative objects of trust that tempt the human heart.

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 9 Surely men of low degree are merely vanity and men of rank are a lie; In the balances they go up; They are together lighter than a breath of vanity.

David begins his warning by putting all of humanity on the scales. He divides mankind into two basic categories: "men of low degree," the common folk, the masses, and "men of rank," the important people, the movers and shakers. And what is the verdict on both? They are nothing. The common man is hebel, a breath, a vapor, mere vanity. Think of the book of Ecclesiastes. All the striving under the sun is vanity, a chasing after the wind. So it is with the ordinary man when he is looked to as a source of salvation or ultimate significance. But lest we think the solution is to trust in the elite, David tells us that men of rank are a "lie." They present an illusion of substance, of power, of stability. But it is a facade. When you put your trust in them, you are trusting in a mirage. To drive the point home, David puts both groups together on a scale. You would expect them to have some collective weight, but no. They are so insubstantial that the scale shoots up. "They are together lighter than a breath." This is a radical statement. It is not that man is worthless in the sense that God does not care for him. Far from it. But man, as an object of ultimate trust, is an absolute zero. Any political or social salvation project built on the inherent goodness or strength of man, whether populist or elitist, is built on less than nothing. It is built on a puff of air.

v. 10 Do not trust in oppression And do not put vain hope in robbery; If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.

Having shown the vanity of trusting in people, David now turns to the vanity of trusting in possessions, particularly those acquired unjustly. "Do not trust in oppression," he says. This is the temptation to use power to exploit others for gain. It seems like a shortcut to security, but it is a dead end. The same goes for robbery. Don't become "vain in robbery." This is not just about street-level theft, but about any kind of extortion or dishonest gain. To place your hope in such things is to place your hope in vanity itself. But then David broadens the warning. It is not just about ill-gotten wealth. "If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them." This is the key. Riches themselves are not the problem; God is the one who gives the power to get wealth (Deut. 8:18). The danger is in the orientation of the heart. When your portfolio swells, when the business thrives, when the assets multiply, the great temptation is to allow your heart to migrate from God to your stuff. Your trust subtly shifts. You start to think your security lies in your 401(k) rather than in the living God. David says you must actively fight this. Do not set your heart there. It is a conscious act of the will, a refusal to let your affections be governed by your net worth. To trust in riches is idolatry, and it is a fool's game, because riches, like men, are a breath. They have a way of taking flight (Prov. 23:5).

v. 11 Once God has spoken; Twice I have heard this: That strength belongs to God;

After tearing down all the false refuges, David now builds up the one true refuge. He does this by appealing to the direct revelation of God. "Once God has spoken; Twice I have heard this." This is Hebrew parallelism, a way of saying that this truth is doubly sure, firmly established, and something he has taken to heart. It is not a fleeting thought, but a foundational conviction. And what is this bedrock truth? "That strength belongs to God." All power, all might, all ability to effect change in the world resides ultimately with God. Men of rank seem strong, but they are a lie. Riches seem to provide security, but it is a vain hope. True, unshakeable, sovereign power belongs to God alone. This is the first pillar of our faith. We do not worship a well-meaning but limited deity. We worship the omnipotent God, the one for whom nothing is too hard. When we are tempted to fear what men can do to us, or to despair over our financial situation, we must come back to this twofold word from God: power belongs to Him.

v. 12 And that to You, O Lord, belongs lovingkindness, For You repay a man according to his work.

Here is the second pillar, and it is just as crucial as the first. If God were only power, we might have cause to fear Him, but not to trust Him. An all-powerful tyrant is the ultimate terror. But David says that is not our God. "To You, O Lord, belongs lovingkindness." The Hebrew word is hesed, which means covenant loyalty, steadfast love, mercy. God's infinite power is wielded by a hand of infinite love toward His people. He is not just strong, He is strong for us. He is not just mighty, He is merciful. This is the heart of the gospel. The cross of Jesus Christ is the ultimate display of God's power and His lovingkindness together. The power to save, and the mercy that willed to save. Then comes the final clause, which can seem jarring to some. "For You repay a man according to his work." How does this fit with lovingkindness? It fits perfectly. This is not about earning salvation through works. Scripture is clear that we are saved by grace through faith. Rather, this is about the nature of God's kingdom. God's grace is not a dead thing; it is a transforming power. The one who has truly trusted in the powerful and merciful God will have a changed life. Faith works. And God, in His lovingkindness, is not indifferent to the fruit of that grace in our lives. He sees our work, our faithfulness, our obedience, and He rewards it. This is not the reward of a wage slave, but the reward of a beloved son. It is a gracious reward for grace-enabled works. It is the final assurance that our labor in the Lord, rooted in His power and His mercy, is not in vain.

Application

The message of this psalm is a frontal assault on the autonomy of modern man. We are taught from our youth to trust in ourselves, in our abilities, in our education, in our financial planning, in our political systems. David puts all of that on the scales and finds it lighter than a puff of smoke. The application for us is to conduct a thorough audit of our hearts. Where is our trust really located? When anxiety strikes, where does our mind immediately run for comfort? To our bank account? To a powerful connection? Or to God alone?

We must learn to see both the common man and the great man for what they are: vanity and a lie when they are made into an ultimate thing. This should make us humble about our own abilities and skeptical of all political saviors. Our hope is not in the White House or in a grassroots movement. Our hope is in God.

Furthermore, we must be vigilant against the encroaching idolatry of wealth. In a prosperous culture, this is a constant battle. The command to "not set your heart" on riches is an active, ongoing duty. This means cultivating generosity, practicing contentment, and constantly reminding ourselves that our true treasure is in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys.

Finally, we must ground our lives in the twofold revelation of God. He is strong, and He is loving. Meditate on these truths. Preach them to your own soul. When you are weak, remember His power. When you have sinned, remember His hesed, His steadfast love, demonstrated most fully at the cross. And live in light of the final judgment, not in fear, but in the joyful confidence that your works, done in faith, are seen and will be graciously rewarded by your loving Father.