Psalm 62: When Your Soul Can’t Sit Still

Core Theme: For when the waiting feels unbearable — and you’re tempted to lean on people, plans, or anything other than God while you wait for Him to act

(Related Theme: This psalm also carries a strong note of Strength & Courage — see Verses 5–7 below.)

Background

David wrote Psalm 62 and gave it to Jeduthun, one of the chief musicians appointed to lead worship and give thanks to the Lord (1 Chronicles 16:41). The psalm doesn’t name the occasion, but the situation it describes is clear. People were working to topple David from his position, smiling to his face while plotting behind his back. Some think it fits the time of Absalom’s rebellion, when flattery and betrayal came from those closest to him. Whatever the setting, David was under pressure, and he was waiting on God to act. One small Hebrew word runs all through the psalm, often translated “only” or “truly.” It appears again and again, as if David keeps reminding himself where his hope must rest.

Psalm 62 (KJV)

1 To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.

2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.

3 How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.

4 They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.

5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

9 Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.

10 Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.

11 God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.

12 Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.

The heart of it

Psalm 62 is about waiting quietly. The phrase “my soul waiteth upon God” carries the sense of a soul that has grown still and silent before Him. It isn’t the stillness of giving up. It’s the stillness of someone who has stopped scrambling because he knows who holds the outcome. Waiting is hard, and one of the hardest parts is the pull to grab for something, anything, that seems to offer a quicker answer: a person with influence, a plan of our own, or the security of money. David names all of those and sets them aside. God only is his rock.

The Lord spoke the same truth through Isaiah: “…in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength…” (Isaiah 30:15). That quiet confidence is what Psalm 62 cultivates in a waiting heart.

Walking through it

Verses 1–4: “To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.”

David opens with a settled declaration: his soul is waiting on God, and his salvation will come from Him and nowhere else. That certainty matters, because verses 3–4 show what he was facing. His enemies were working to push him down from his place. They spoke blessings with their mouths while cursing him in their hearts. Yet David sees them clearly for what they are: “a bowing wall” and “a tottering fence,” something that looks solid but is already leaning toward collapse. Notice too what he says in verse 2: “I shall not be greatly moved.” He’s honest. He might be shaken a little, but not greatly. His rock will hold.

Verses 5–7: “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.”

Here David does something every waiting heart needs to learn. He talks to his own soul. In verse 1 he said, “my soul waiteth.” Now he has to tell his soul to keep waiting, which suggests the stillness was slipping. Waiting is rarely a decision made once. It’s a decision made over and over. “My expectation is from him” means that whatever David hoped for, he was looking for it from God alone. Then comes a quiet but beautiful change. In verse 2 he said, “I shall not be greatly moved.” Now in verse 6 he says, “I shall not be moved.” The word “greatly” is gone. As he waits and fixes his eyes on God, his strength and courage grow. Waiting on the Lord doesn’t weaken you. It plants your feet. The God who is “the rock of my strength” makes a waiting soul steady.

Verse 8: “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.”

Now David turns from his own soul to everyone listening. Trust Him “at all times”: in the waiting as much as after the answer comes. And while you wait, “pour out your heart before him.” Quiet waiting doesn’t mean bottling everything up. God invites you to empty your heart before Him completely: the fears, the frustration, the questions, the tears. Peter wrote, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). He is a refuge big enough to hold everything you pour out.

Verses 9–10: “Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.”

While we wait, it’s tempting to put our hope in people. David says that whether someone is of low or high standing, if you put them on a scale against your trust, they weigh less than a breath. That isn’t contempt for people. It’s realism about where hope belongs. He warns too against the shortcuts of taking what isn’t yours, and against setting your heart on riches if they increase. Money can feel like the answer to the waiting, but it can never carry the weight of your soul. “…Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm… Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is” (Jeremiah 17:5, 7).

Verses 11–12: “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.”

David ends with two things he has heard from God and will never forget: power belongs to God, and so does mercy. Both truths are essential to anyone waiting. If God had power without mercy, we could fear Him but never rest in Him. If He had mercy without power, we could love Him but never be sure He could act. He has both. He is strong enough to do anything you’re waiting for, and kind enough to do what is truly best. In His time, He will set every wrong right and render to every person according to his work. You can leave that with Him.

Carrying this forward

If the Lord has already brought you through a long season of waiting, you know how hard it was to keep your soul still. You remember the days you were tempted to take matters into your own hands, and how His answer was better than anything you could have arranged. Hold on to that. Once the waiting is over and life gets “better,” it’s so easy to drift back into trusting people, plans, and paychecks more than Him. Keep saying with David, “He only is my rock.”

If you’re waiting right now, and your soul just can’t seem to sit still, talk to it the way David did: “My soul, wait thou only upon God.” You may need to say it every morning, and some days every hour. Pour out your heart before Him without holding anything back. Refuse to lean your weight on a tottering fence when the Rock is right there. Power belongs to God, and so does mercy. He is able, and He is kind. And as you wait on Him, you’ll find what David found: that “greatly moved” slowly becomes “not moved” at all.