PSALM 62
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 not be greatly shaken. 3 How long will all of you attack a man, to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? 4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly, they curse. 5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. 6 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 7 On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. 8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. 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 trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them. 11 Once God has spoken; twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God, 12 and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work.”
One of my favourite Psalms amongst many is Psalm 62, written by David. The reason is because although David was under attack from his enemies (verses 3-4) he could say in the beginning of verse 1 “For God alone my soul waits in silence, from him comes my salvation.” And, furthermore, did you notice how deeply personal David describes God by saying, “my salvation” (verse 2; 6-7) “my rock” (2, 6-7) and “my refuge” (7-8).
They are magnificent words but the one word which stands out for me is the word ‘hope’ in verse 5. When the Bible uses the word ‘hope’ it is completely different to how the world understands it. The world defines hope as “a feeling of expectation” or “a feeling of trust”. As people, we are obsessed with hope, so we will speak along the lines of “I hope we are going to have hamburgers for supper tonight”, “I hope my children will find employment after graduating from university” or “I hope I have enough money to live on when I retire.” Our natural tendency is to use the word very loosely and the problem is if we are going to look to the world’s ways for hope, we are going to disappointed sooner or later for it will never fulfil our dreams or aspirations.
However, biblical hope is not found in our circumstances, situations or locations. Biblical hope is found in a person. That person is God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who through his death and resurrection has given us a living hope. The Apostle Peter says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
In other words, not only is our hope found in Christ in this present world, it also means that our hope is future orientated as we look forward to spending eternity with Jesus where there will no longer be any more sicknesses, pain, suffering and death itself will be removed.
As we enter into Day 8 of the 21 Day-Lockdown, may I encourage you as a believer in Christ, although we may not necessarily be attacked by our enemies like David, the point is as of yesterday, 47,522 people have lost their lives, due to COVID-19. It is a vivid reminder to us of this horrible, broken world in which we are living in as Paul reminds us in Romans 8 & our longing for our future hope. Romans 8:24-25 “Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.”
As we continue living for Christ this side of eternity, let us like Paul eagerly wait for our future hope with patience knowing our Lord Jesus has promised never to leave or forsake us. During this time of uncertainty because of COVID-19, we can pour out our hearts to God and trust Him. And, we can trust him for God alone is our salvation, our rock, fortress and refuge.
Our souls can find rest in God because our hope is in Jesus who is said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary & burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew11:28-29)
In closing, may God help us to reflect upon this magnificent truth that our souls can find rest in our Lord Jesus Christ, for our hope is in Him.
I leave you with these opening words from Stuart Townend’s song “In Christ alone”.
“In Christ alone my hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song; This cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled, when strivings cease! My comforter, my All in All, here in the love of Christ I stand.”
Amen.