Today, Thursday June 01
“I Shall Not Be Shaken”
Psalm 62:9-12
“Surely men of low degree are a vapor, Men of high degree are a lie; If they are weighed on the scales, They are altogether lighter than vapor. Do not trust in oppression, Nor vainly hope in robbery; If riches increase, Do not set your heart on them.
God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God. Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; For You render to each one according to his work.
Welcome to the first day of a new month! For some reason, I get motivated by thinking about the “first day”! God gives us the first day of the week, the first day of the month, and the first day of a new year! Our God is the God of “new beginnings”. Today is the first day of the rest of your life! No matter what happened yesterday, last week, last month, or last year, the Lord has given us a new fresh day to experience Him and His great love and mercy.
In a way, that is what Psalm 62 is about. We are not sure of the circumstances behind this psalm. It could be when David was initially fleeing from King Saul. Or maybe when David was anointed king over Judah at Hebron and still had to deal with Saul’s son who became king over the other eleven tribes to the north. Or it’s possible David wrote it as he is dealing with his son Absolom’s rebellion. Whatever and whenever it was, David is watching everything around him being “shaken”.
The lies, the corruption, the attacks are coming from every direction, and he feels “like a leaning wall or a tottering fence about to get knocked down and fall over” (v. 3). David didn’t know who he could trust because they would “bless him with their mouths, but he knew they were cursing him inwardly” (v. 4). Things are shaking, but David declares by the grace and mercy of the Lord, he will not be shaken (vv. 2, 6).
In verses 9-12, David reminds himself that the God he serves is really the One in control of all things no matter how powerful his enemies might appear to be! Now, when he looks at the enemy, he sees them as nothing! No matter how high socially, or how powerful they might be politically or economically, he knows that all men are but vanity or like "a breath", here one second and gone the next. (James 4:14; Job 7:7). If you put them on the scales, nothing will register, because they weigh nothing (Job 6:2; Isa. 40:15; Dan. 5:27).
David's enemies had acquired their power and wealth by oppressing and abusing others, and David is now warning his own people and us also, not to adopt their philosophy of life. How tragic when God's people today put their trust in their wealth, positions, and human abilities and not in the God who alone can give blessing. The phrase "once... twice" in verse 11 is a Hebrew way of saying "many times, repeatedly" (Amos 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; Job 33:14). David had often heard these words and the lesson they carried was written on his heart.
David knew and believed that God is powerful, and all authority belongs to Him! And David added, “Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy”. Like David, we must believe, that God's sovereign authority, His power, His strength and His lovingkindness and mercy are sufficient for every crisis of life, for we are in the hands of a God whose omnipotent love can never fail. "Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great" (2 Sam. 24:14).
“For You render to each one according to his work” (v. 12). God did vindicate David and give him his throne, and he reigned with great distinction. No matter what people may say about us or do to us, God keeps the books and one day He will give sinners and saints the rewards they deserve. "And each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor" (2 Cor. 3:8).
Let me finish with these verses in Hebrews 12:27-29: “Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”
My friend, everything around us might be shaking, but God will never be shaken, His Son Jesus Christ will not be shaken, the Word of God will not be shaken, and anything that pertains to His Kingdom cannot be shaken! Therefore, we can also say, “I shall not be shaken”, and we should receive His grace to continue to serve God acceptable with reverence and godly fear!
God bless!