The Great Weigh-In: Where True Substance Is Found Text: Psalm 62:9-12
Introduction: The Scales of Reality
We live in an age that is obsessed with weight, but only in the most trivial of senses. We measure our worth in pounds on a scale, followers on a screen, or dollars in an account. We are constantly weighing one another, sizing each other up, trying to determine who is a "heavyweight" and who is a lightweight. We have our hierarchies, our pecking orders, our lists of the influential and the important. But our scales are rigged. Our measurements are laughably corrupt. The world has a set of balances, and it places all its trust in them. But the psalmist here invites us to look at a different set of scales, the balances of the sanctuary, the scales of ultimate reality. And on those scales, the world's most impressive figures, and its most overlooked nobodies, are revealed to be something utterly astonishing: lighter than a puff of air.
This psalm is a potent corrective to our misplaced trust. David, surrounded by enemies and treacherous friends, has learned to find his stability, his rest, and his salvation in God alone. He has already declared that God is his rock, his salvation, and his fortress. Now, he turns his attention outward to evaluate all the other things that men are tempted to trust in. He weighs humanity, both the great and the small. He weighs unjust power. He weighs wealth. And he finds them all wanting. They are vanity. They are a lie. They are a breath.
And then, having cleared the stage of all these flimsy pretenders, he tells us what he has heard from God Himself, not once, but twice. He gives us two foundational, bedrock truths upon which we can build our entire lives. This passage is a call to radical, sane God-centeredness in a world gone mad with idolatry. It is a call to weigh things as God weighs them, and to place our trust, our hope, and our hearts on the only thing in the universe that has any genuine substance.
The Text
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.
Do not trust in oppression
And do not put vain hope in robbery;
If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.
Once God has spoken;
Twice I have heard this:
That strength belongs to God;
And that to You, O Lord, belongs lovingkindness,
For You repay a man according to his work.
(Psalm 62:9-12 LSB)
The Weight of Man (v. 9)
David begins his great weigh-in with humanity itself.
"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." (Psalm 62:9)
This is a radical leveling of the social landscape. David takes the two great classes of men, the "sons of Adam" (the common man, the low degree) and the "sons of ish" (the important man, the man of rank), and he evaluates them on God's scales. The common man, he says, is vanity. The Hebrew word is hebel, the same word that echoes throughout Ecclesiastes. It means a vapor, a puff of smoke, a breath. It is not that he is worthless in the sense of being without value to God, but that he is insubstantial. He is transient. To trust in the masses, in popular opinion, in the "will of the people," is to build your house on a fog bank.
But then he turns to the men of rank, the powerful, the wealthy, the influential. And he says they are a lie. This is even stronger. Why a lie? Because their perceived substance is a deception. They project an aura of power, stability, and importance that is utterly false. They are a mirage in the desert. To trust in a politician's promise, a CEO's forecast, or a general's might is to trust in an illusion. They are not what they appear to be.
And just in case we missed the point, he puts them all on the scales together. "In the balances they go up." This is the great shock. You would expect that if you pile all of humanity onto one side of a scale, it would crash to the ground. But on God's scales, the opposite happens. The pan flies up. They have no weight. In fact, they are "altogether lighter than a breath." All the kings, all the armies, all the billionaires, all the celebrities, all the masses of humanity, when weighed against reality, have less substance than a single exhalation on a cold morning.
This is not misanthropy; it is divine realism. It is the necessary first step to wisdom. Before you can trust in God, you must be thoroughly disillusioned with man. As long as you believe that some political savior, some economic system, or some popular movement has the substance to save you, you will never turn to the rock of your salvation. This verse is God's pin, popping the balloon of all humanism.
The Weight of Wealth and Power (v. 10)
From the general category of man, David moves to the specific tools men use to create their illusions of substance: unjust power and wealth.
"Do not trust in oppression And do not put vain hope in robbery; If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them." (Psalm 62:10 LSB)
Here we see two wrong ways to acquire and one wrong way to relate to wealth. First, "do not trust in oppression." This refers to power unjustly used to extort and crush others. This is the way of the tyrant, the corrupt official, the crony capitalist. It is the temptation to believe that if you can just get enough leverage over others, you can secure your own position. But David says this is a fool's game. It has no weight. It cannot be trusted.
Second, "do not put vain hope in robbery." This is wealth acquired through outright theft and plunder. Whether it is the street-level thug or the high-level embezzler, the principle is the same. It is the belief that what you can take by force or fraud will bring you security. David calls this a "vain hope." It is empty. It is a chasing after the wind.
But then he addresses the most subtle and dangerous temptation, the one that ensnares even the "good" people. "If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them." Notice, the problem is not that riches increase. Scripture does not condemn wealth itself; it is often a sign of God's blessing on diligent, lawful work. The danger is not in the having, but in the heart's attachment. To "set your heart" on them is to make them your rock, your fortress, your security. It is to look at your portfolio and say, "My soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry." And God calls that man a fool.
Why? Because wealth, no matter how honorably acquired, is still hebel. It is a vapor. It has no ultimate substance. It cannot buy you another day of life. It cannot purchase forgiveness of sins. It cannot comfort you in the dark night of the soul. It cannot stand in the day of judgment. To set your heart on it is to anchor your ship to a cloud.
The Two Unshakeable Words from God (v. 11-12a)
Having shown the utter lack of substance in man and his treasures, David now reveals where true weight is to be found. He presents it with the utmost solemnity.
"Once God has spoken; Twice I have heard this: That strength belongs to God; And that to You, O Lord, belongs lovingkindness..." (Genesis 62:11-12a LSB)
The phrasing "Once God has spoken; twice I have heard this" is a Hebrew poetic device for saying, "This is a settled, doubly-confirmed, unshakeable truth." This is not David's opinion. This is a direct report from the throne room of the universe. And what are these two foundational truths? They are the two great pillars of God's character upon which our faith must rest: His power and His love.
First, "strength belongs to God." The word is oz in Hebrew. It means power, might, strength. All of it. All the power in the universe is derivative. The power of a king, a hurricane, an atom bomb, it is all borrowed. God is the source. He is not just powerful; He is power itself. This is the truth that undergirds our security. The universe is not a chaotic mess of competing forces. It is a monarchy. And our God, the God of the Bible, holds all the strength. Nothing can happen to us that He does not either decree or permit. No enemy can touch us outside of His sovereign will. Our fortress is built on the omnipotence of God.
But power alone could be terrifying. A God who is all-powerful but capricious would be the ultimate cosmic tyrant. So the second word is absolutely essential: "And that to You, O Lord, belongs lovingkindness." The word is hesed. This is one of the great words of the Old Testament. It is covenantal love. It is steadfast, loyal, faithful, utterly reliable love. It is not a sentimental mood; it is a sworn commitment. God's hesed is His promise to be for His people, to love them, protect them, and save them, not because they are lovely, but because He has bound Himself to them in a covenant of grace.
These two truths must be held together. His hesed without His oz would be well-meaning but impotent. His oz without His hesed would be terrifying. But together, they are the ground of all Christian confidence. Our God is the all-powerful King, and He has pledged His infinite power to our eternal good through His covenant love. This is the only thing in the universe with any real weight.
The Final Reckoning (v. 12b)
The psalm concludes with the practical outworking of God's character. Because He is all-powerful and all-loving, He is also the righteous judge.
"For You repay a man according to his work." (Genesis 62:12b LSB)
This is where God's power and love meet justice. Because He is strong, He has the ability to enforce His will and to see everything that is done. Because He is loving and just, He will ensure that in the end, all accounts are settled rightly. This is both a comfort and a warning.
It is a comfort to the believer. When you are oppressed, when you are slandered, when the wicked seem to prosper, you do not have to take matters into your own hands. You can trust the final judgment to God. He will repay. He will vindicate His people. Our works, done in faith, will be rewarded, not because they earn us salvation, but because they are the evidence of the grace that has saved us. God, out of His hesed, rewards the fruit of His own Spirit in our lives.
It is also a solemn warning to the unbeliever. To the man who trusts in oppression, to the one who puts his hope in robbery, to the one whose heart is set on riches, this verse is a promise of a coming audit. Every deed will be brought into account. The scales of divine justice will not be rigged. God sees, He knows, and He will repay. The apostle Paul picks up this very theme in Romans, reminding us that God "will render to each one according to his works" (Romans 2:6). This is not a contradiction of salvation by grace; it is the necessary consequence of a universe governed by a just and powerful God.
The final judgment reveals what we truly trusted in. If our works show that we trusted in our own strength, our own wealth, our own righteousness, they will be found to be hebel, lighter than a breath, and will be blown away like chaff. But if our works, imperfect as they are, are the fruit of a life that has taken refuge in the strength and lovingkindness of God, they will be graciously received, and we will hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."