Silence and listening to God

Psalm 62 – Silence and listening to God

Introduction

In 2 Kings 6, the servant of Elisha did not have spiritual eyes to see God’s protection from their enemies that surrounded them. To him, the solution could be found in what they must do.

Haven't we all been in situations like this? Though probably never this extreme, we have faced situations where there was no clear path forward. What was our default reaction? Was it to stop, be silent, go to God in prayer, and wait for his help, or was it to think of the best plan and then act as quickly as possible?

Background

In Psalm 62, the psalmist’s enemies think he has no way to defend himself, so, they will simply destroy him. They talk maliciously behind his back and curse him in their hearts. In this overwhelming situation, David waited quietly before God. Why? Because he knew where his victory would come from. He had his hope in God.

Exposition

What do we do in situations like these? There are several self-empowered options, but the psalmist chooses another option…waiting on God. Today we will see that we must wait upon God 1) when all seems lost; 2) pour our hearts out to him; 3) know he will judge.

First, we must wait upon God when all seems lost (vv. 1-4).

What do we usually do when we are struggling? We try to numb the pain. For some it might be a hobby, eating, music, TV, movies, or video games. We try to escape our worries and fears by ignoring or masking them. We often ignore present reality by trying to escape it. But the psalmist has a different idea.

David starts this Psalm by essentially saying, "My inner being, the real me, is silent and only waits for God the Creator." The idea here is that when we are in over our heads, we should be silent and wait before God. We should wait on him to help us.

The phrase, "from him (is) my salvation" means to rescue or deliver. In the OT, the name Joshua was derived from salvation. And in the NT this name is Jesus. Though David sees God saving him from his present situation, all of Scripture shows us that Jesus is the true savior that God provides for his people. He is the true Joshua. He brings salvation to us. From God our creator, in Christ, comes our salvation.

The psalmist doesn't look for other places of refuge or salvation. God alone is David's rock, a place of support and defense, salvation, deliverance from his enemies or his situation. Jesus is David’s and our true rock or defense.

Jesus is David's and our high place where we find safety and will not be made to greatly stagger or sway. In Christ, we will be on solid ground, protected from the floods of water, or the presence of earthquakes. We will be kept safe and secure.

Notice that it doesn't say that we won't be shaken at all, but that we won’t be greatly shaken. In other words, winds will come, we feel them and will even feel some movement in our soul…we will experience fear, but we won’t collapse.

Jesus wants us to stop trying in our own strength or power to figure out how to get out of our situation. We must stop and make our soul quiet before God. We must meditate on his salvation, defense, protection, on how he will protect us from being greatly shaken.

Notice that this is not an emptying of our mind, but a shutting our mouth, and stopping our mind from running to a million solutions. It is waiting on God to come to our rescue. We fill our mind with Christ and the Gospel as we sit in stillness before God. We wait for the Spirit to show us what to do as he leads us by his word and Spirit. We quiet our souls before God and listen as he reveals his love and power.

But why is David saying all this? He is surrounded by enemies. They are attacking him and either want to ruin his life or kill him. They see him in his weakened state. He looks like a tottering fence that they simply need to push over.

Their plans have one purpose, to bring him down from his place of security. They are malicious. They take joy in lies. They say one thing to his face and then underneath, in their hearts, they curse him. There is no good will in them. They simply want to destroy him.

Second, we must wait on God and pour our hearts out to him (vv. 5-8).

David commands himself to settle down and wait on God in silence. He must wait on God. Perhaps, he is saying that he should wait on God to act instead of simply taking matters into his hands. But how? David goes through seven things that we can do or think through to help us remember who God is and how he can help.

1) God is our hope. We must have an expectation or assurance that God will, eventually, resolve our problem. How? He doesn’t know. But he does know that God always keeps his word. He is a faithful God.

Do you struggle with this? Look to Christ. He was promised to come, and he did. God promised to take away our sins and give us his righteousness. Christ is proof that God can be trusted.

2) God alone is our rock. David was constantly hiding in the rocks from Saul who wanted him dead. For David, a rock was a place of strength, defense, and safety. David knew that God provides more security and safety than a rock, so, he declares that God is alone his rock. Safety comes from God being our true defender and place of refuge.

We are told that Jesus was the rock that led the Israelites through the wilderness. Jesus is our only true hope and defense. When we stand in him, we have security and safety from enemies without and within. We have protection from God’s wrath and peace with God.

3) God alone is our salvation. This salvation is both physical and spiritual. God rescued David countless times and so this is not simply a spiritual thought, as in simply knowing if I die I won't be condemned in final judgment. Sure, this is true, but God is much more than this for us. God protects us and saves us from unnecessary trouble, things that aren't good for us.

Jesus Christ is our salvation from sin and death so that we can be called children of God and heirs of the promise. Jesus didn't get rescued, but we do. Since the Father did not spare his Son but gave him up for us, he will give us the right thing at the right time?

4) God is our high fortress. This is another way of relating the fact that David is protected by God in an impenetrable defense. In God, his high fortress, he cannot be shaken. No one can get in and destroy him. David finds himself 'in God'. David is found in him and we are too.

All of this is the precursor to the idea that we are united with Christ, and as we are found in him, we get all his benefits and all his protection. Tough situations are not being faced by David alone. In God, our impenetrable fortress, nothing can shake us.

5) God is our salvation or victory. The battles that David won were not of his own doing. So many times, David would find himself up against insurmountable odds, dangerous enemies, and hopeless situations. But God, did miraculous things. God fought for David and brought victory. Jesus Christ is our ultimate victory. He has defeated the most powerful of all enemies for us, death.

6) God is our honor/glory. When David was being mocked and shamed by Saul and his enemies, he did not resort to similar tactics, instead, he realized that his glory was in God not self. God called him by name. God anointed him. He was God's and God would vindicate him.

This is what it is to be in Christ, united to him. He is the true anointed One who defeated sin and death and is now seated at God's right hand, conquering his and our enemies. Christ is our honor/glory. We are his and he is ours. He is pleased to put his name on us, and though the world may mock us, we have confidence because we have been called children of God. We are honored children of the mighty King.

7) God is our rock of refuge. Since God is our true refuge, or place of safety, our true rock, because we are found in Jesus Christ, we can be confident that no one can reach us that God does not allow. No enemy can get us. We are united to Christ and he protects us.

In all these things we can see one thing clearly…we can rest in God. He can rescue us from our present situation because he has rescued us from our ultimate terrible situation. We were in bondage to sin and death, but God rescued us from it by our mighty Hero, Jesus Christ.

So, we must always trust or have faith and confidence in him. We must take our lives and pour them out before God. We must remember that God is our refuge and so we must take our heart, the seat of who we are and pour ourselves out before him. He alone can help us.

Third, we must wait on God and know he will judge (vv. 9-12).

The psalmist then goes back to think through the reality of his humanity. Perhaps God revealed this to him as he sat in silence and stillness. Perhaps it came to him because he was pondering how great God is. Regardless, he looks at those who are weak and poor, and those who are strong and rich. He sees that the weak will die quickly and the strong aren't as strong as they think. Both are equal. Their lives are a quick vapor or mist. They will be here one day and gone the next.

He then might be thinking about all the ways he can get out of his situation, but realizes that underhanded ways of being secure will not help. Money won't even help. Why? Because God has all power and all authority (v. 11). God is the Lord and Master of all, and he is One who is full of unfailing love for those who trust in him (v. 12).

And so, there really isn't anything that the psalmist can do or should do that is outside of God's moral law, for God is the judge and he will render everyone according to his work. So, the psalmist should wait patiently upon the Lord and allow his Creator and Master to save him and rescue him rather than taking matters into his own hands and disobeying God.

What is the conclusion of all this? We can always trust God no matter how big, bad, or scary our situation is. All we need to do is come to him in prayer and pour our heart out to him, tell him our lack of faith, our fears, our need for rescue. When we do, he will hear and be with us.

Application – a method or process

What should you do when you are overwhelmed? First, wrestle with your soul in silence. Allow God's salvation and defense that is sure in Christ to wash over you before you act. Read Romans 8:31-38 repeatedly. "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" If this is true, why would we try to make it on our own. Why wouldn't we sit in silence before the Lord and wait for his deliverance, saturating ourselves with all the promises found in Christ that are yes and amen.

Second, think through your situation with God. Walk through the situation that you are in. Evaluate what is going on. Who is harming you? What are they doing? Why are they doing it? Is it malicious? Take these worries and fears to God.

Third, wrestle with your soul again in stillness. After taking these things to God, be still before him. Allow his rich and mighty promises to wash over you. Rest and trust in him. Remember that God is your hope, rock, salvation, fortress, victory, honor, and refuge. Then pour out your heart before him with the things that you are already worried about. Go back to these things after realizing who he is.

Fourth, remember who you are before God. You and everybody else are mere vapors. We come and go in a moment. To trust in ourselves as mere creatures and to be worried about other mere creatures does no good. Don't try to use your power or strength to fight your way out. Don't try to use immorality in any way. Don't resort to other people's devices to save you.

Fifth, remember who God is. In your silence and stillness, remember the voice of God. All power belongs to Elohim, your creator. Your Master is a God of steadfast, unfailing love toward those who trust and wait on him. And one day, God will repay everyone according to what they have done. Look and wait for the final judgment to be vindicated. Don't try to take matters in your own hands. Allow God to work. Your job…to be silent and still before the Lord.

Finally, remember Christ. All of these descriptions of God being our hope, rock, salvation, fortress, victory, honor, and refuge are found in Christ. When we are overwhelmed, when we are worried, when we have no idea what to do, we should trust in God and lean not on our own understanding. We should acknowledge him in all we do, and he will direct our paths. But, in order to do this we must be silent and still before God.

We must practice silence and stillness to appropriate Christ and hear the Spirit speak to us the reality of whose we are, "children of God." Only Christ's person and work can help us to be still and know who God is, for Christ is the revelation of God.