John Calvin Commentary Psalms 62

Nevertheless, my soul is silent towards God. If the translation I have followed is adopted, the psalm is to be considered as beginning abruptly, in the usual style of impassioned compositions. We have an instance of this in Psalm 73, where the prophet, who had been agitated with doubts, as we will see in more detail later, suddenly brings his mind to a fixed decision and, by way of cutting off all further subject of debate, exclaims, Yet God is good to Israel. And so it is, I believe, in this psalm.

We know that the Lord’s people cannot always reach such a level of composure as to be entirely free from distraction. They would wish to receive the word of the Lord with submission and to be silent under His correcting hand; but inordinate affections will take possession of their minds and break in upon that peace which they might otherwise attain through the exercise of faith and resignation.

Hence the impatience we find in many—an impatience they express in the presence of God, and which causes them much trouble and disquietude. The Hebrew particle אך, ach, is often used in an exclusive sense and has been rendered by some as only; it is also employed in an affirmative sense and has been rendered as truly, or certainly. But to understand its full meaning, we must suppose that David felt an inward struggle and opposition, which he found it necessary to check.

Satan had raised a tumult in his affections and produced a degree of impatience in his mind, which he now curbs; and he expresses his resolution to be silent. The word implies a meek and submissive endurance of the cross. It expresses the opposite of that heat of spirit that would put us into a posture of resistance to God.

The silence intended is, in short, that composed submission of the believer, in which he acquiesces in the promises of God, gives place to His word, bows to His sovereignty, and suppresses every inward murmur of dissatisfaction. The Hebrew word דומיה, dumiyah, which I have rendered as is silent, some consider to be a noun; and it matters little which translation we adopt.

The particle אך, ach, in the second verse, I would render in the same way as in the first. The believer triumphs in one encounter with temptation only to enter upon another; and here David, who seemed to have emerged from his distress, shows that he still had to struggle with remaining difficulties.

We encounter the same particle at least six times throughout the psalm. This may also explain the many titles he applies to God, each of which is to be considered as a defense by which he would ward off the tempter's attacks.

The expression at the end of the verse, I shall not be greatly moved, implies his persuasion that he might be overtaken by afflictions (for he was well aware that he could claim no exemption from the common lot of humanity), but his conviction at the same time that these would not overwhelm him, through God's good help.

We will find him saying later, in these very words, I shall not fall; perhaps because he felt, as he progressed in prayer, that he had greater boldness in despising affliction. Or the expressions may be taken as synonymous in the two places.

The truth itself is unquestionable. The believer may be overthrown for a time; but as he is no sooner cast down than he is raised up again by God, he cannot properly be said to fall. He is supported by the Spirit of God and is therefore not truly prostrated and overcome.

How long will you continue mischief? The Hebrew word תהותתו, tehotethu, which I have translated continue, or lengthen out, mischief, is rendered by some, to meditate, or imagine mischief, while others suppose an allusion to the putting forth of the tongue in sign of mockery. It has been rendered also, to rush upon, or assault. The sense of the passage seems to be, How long will you meditate evil against a man, and persist in mischievous devices for accomplishing his ruin?

He has in view the obstinate malice of his enemies, moving every stone for his destruction, and forming new plans daily for effecting it. The instruction to be learned from his experience is, that we should exercise patience, even when our enemies show unwearied cruelty in their attempts to destroy us, and are instigated by the devil to incessant artifices for our persecution.

We may just refer to the meaning of the figure that follows. Some think that the wicked are compared to a bowing wall, because it threatens every moment to fall to the ground, and they, upon every sin which they commit, tend more and more downwards, until they are precipitated into destruction.

But it would seem as if the allusion were somewhat different. A wall, when poorly built, bulges out in the center, presenting the appearance of nearly twice its actual breadth; but, as it is hollow within, it soon falls to ruins. The wicked, in like manner, are dilated with pride, and assume, in their consultations, a most formidable appearance; but David predicts that they would be brought to unexpected and utter destruction, like a wall badly constructed, and hollow in the interior, which falls with a sudden crash, and is broken by its own weight into a thousand pieces.

The word גדר, gader, which I have rendered, a fence, means, properly, an enclosure built of slight and insufficient materials; and an epithet is added still more to express the violence and impetuosity of their fall. The Psalmist, then, would teach us that, high as our enemies may appear to stand, and proud and swelling as their denunciations may be, they shall be suddenly and signally overthrown, like a smitten wall.

Yet they consult to cast him down from his elevation. I still would interpret the particle אך, ach, in an adversative sense. David, on the one hand, encouraged himself by determining to rest steadfastly upon the promise of divine favor; but, on the other, he had before him the machinations of his enemies, characterized by cruelty, audacity, pride, and deceit.

By all their attempts, as if he had said, they do nothing but precipitate their own fall; still, such are the frenzy and the fury by which they are actuated, that they persist in their intrigeduanya against me. He insinuates that their attacks were directed not so much against himself as against God — consistent with the picture of impiety given to us by the poets in their fable of the Giants.

Nothing will satisfy the enemies of God but setting themselves above the heavens. David is to be understood as primarily speaking here of himself in the third person, but of himself as one specifically elevated by the divine hand. Accordingly, though we might consider God to be the party directly intended, the scope of the words rather suggests that they aimed at the overthrow of one whom God had exalted and desired to establish in honor.

In thus attempting to thwart His purpose, they were really fighting against God. The clause that follows, they delight in lies, refers to the same thing. Refusing to acknowledge his divine vocation, they persevered in following such corrupt designs, as could only recoil upon them to their own downfall, as the Psalmist exclaims:

O you sons of men! How long is my glory made matter of your reproach? How long will you love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. — (Psalms 4:2)

Or the expression may denote the hidden and deceitful measures they adopted in their persecution of this saint of God; for it is immediately added, that they blessed with their mouth, but cursed inwardly. Whatever the meaning may be, it is evident that David, contemplating all the treachery, intrigues, and wickedness of his enemies, supports himself with the single consideration that his help was in God, and that every opposing agency was therefore vain.

Nevertheless, my soul, be thou silent before God. A slight inconsistency might appear here, since he encourages himself to do what he had already declared he had done. His soul was silent before God; so what was the necessity for this new silence, as if he were still agitated in spirit?

We must remember here that our minds can never be expected to reach such perfect composure as prevents every inward feeling of uneasiness. Instead, they are, at best, like the sea before a light breeze, fluctuating noticeably, though not swollen into waves. It is only with a struggle that a saint can compose his mind. We can very well understand how David would urge more perfect submission upon a spirit that was already submissive, urging himself to advance further in this grace of silence until he had put to death every fleshly desire and completely submitted himself to God's will.

Moreover, how often will Satan renew the anxieties that seemed to have been effectively driven out? As creatures of such instability, liable to be carried away by a thousand different influences, we need to be confirmed again and again.

I repeat, there is no reason to be surprised that David here calls upon himself a second time to preserve that silence before God which he might already seem to have attained. For, amidst the disturbing impulses of the flesh, we never reach perfect composure.

The danger is that when new winds of trouble arise, we lose the inward tranquility we enjoyed. Therefore, it is necessary to learn from David's example by establishing ourselves in it more and more.

He adds the reason for his silence. He had no immediate response from God, but he confidently hoped in Him. My expectation, he says, is from God. It is as if he had said, "God will never disappoint the patient waiting of His saints. Undoubtedly, my silence will meet with its reward. I will control myself and not make that improper haste which will only delay my deliverance."

In God is my salvation. One expression is piled upon another here, apparently because he wished to rein in that weakness of our nature which makes us so prone to fall into wrong ways. We may offer a passing and occasional acknowledgment that our only help is found in God, yet soon display our distrust in him by busying ourselves in every direction to supplement what we consider lacking in his help.

The various terms he uses to express God's sufficiency as a deliverer can thus be seen as many arguments for steadfastness, or as many restraints he would apply to the waywardness of the carnal heart, which is always inclined to depend on others for support rather than on God.

This is how he encourages his own spirit. Next, we find him addressing others, calling them to engage in the same conflict and reap the same victory and triumph.

By the people, there seems little doubt that he means the Jews. Since the Gentiles had not yet been visited by the true religion and divine revelation, it was only in Judea that God could be the object of trust and religious invocation.

It would seem that by distinguishing the Lord's chosen people from the surrounding pagans, he suggests how disgraceful it would be for them not to devote themselves entirely to God. They were, after all, the children of Abraham, favored with the revelation of his grace, and especially taken under his divine protection.

The expression, at all times, means both in prosperity and adversity, suggesting the blameworthiness of those who waver and succumb to every change in their external circumstances. God tests his children with afflictions, but here David teaches them to endure these afflictions with steadfastness and courage. Hypocrites, who are loud in their praises of God as long as prosperity shines upon them, yet whose hearts fail them at the first approach of trial, dishonor his name by placing a most harmful limitation on his power.

We are obligated to honor his name by remembering, in our greatest hardships, that to Him belong the issues of death. And since we are all too inclined at such times to keep our affliction hidden within ourselves—a circumstance that can only worsen the trouble and embitter the mind against God—David could not have suggested a better remedy than unburdening our cares to him, and thus, as it were, pouring out our hearts before him. It is always found that when the heart is weighed down by distress, there is no freedom in prayer.

In difficult circumstances, we must comfort ourselves by reflecting that God will provide relief, provided we freely entrust our troubles to his consideration. What the Psalmist advises is all the more necessary, considering the harmful tendency we naturally have to keep our troubles bottled up within us until they drive us to despair.

Indeed, people usually show much anxiety and ingenuity in seeking to escape the troubles that may weigh upon them; but as long as they avoid coming into God's presence, they only entangle themselves in a labyrinth of difficulties. Without dwelling further on the specific words, David is here to be considered as exposing that corrupt but deeply-rooted principle in our nature, which leads us to hide our griefs and dwell on them, instead of immediately relieving ourselves by pouring out our prayers and complaints before God.

The consequence is that we become more and more distracted by our distresses and sink into a state of hopeless despondency. At the end of the verse, referring to the people generally, he says what he had said about himself individually: that their safety is to be found only under divine protection.