Psalm 62:5-12 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 62:5-12 on biblegateway.com
Verse 5For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.
Verse 6He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
Verse 7On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
Verse 8Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
Verse 9Those 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.
Verse 10Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
Verse 11Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,
Verse 12and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.
Devotion
“For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.”
In his book, Churches and the Crisis of Decline, Dr. Andrew Root suggests that Martin Luther King, Jr.’s nonviolent resistance was a “waiting with the world.” The psalmist calls us to a similar waiting. Some have argued that Dr. King’s assertion that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice” is naive. Dr. Root contends that what these critics fail to realize is that MLK trusted that God does the bending.
The psalmist commends a similar trust. “On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.” Waiting can feel like an overly passive posture in light of all we face. We are wise to listen to the psalmist who implores us to trust the one who is faithful.
Prayer
O God, we wait for you. Shape our waiting with the Word of your faithfulness and make us faithful bearers of your love—toward one another and toward all whom you love. Amen.