Text: Psalms 62:1-7
Theme: Standing steady in the midst of an unchanging world.
Need Analysis: Each commercial and advertisement thrown at the individual today suggests they lack something and must change something to get it.
Objectives:
o For Christians: To gain the greatest assurance from trusting in the Lord.
o For Non-Christians: To know that a world of uncertainty is not all there is to life..
Introduction: We’ve all heard the familiar term, “Don’t just stand there – do something.” It always means to stop doing nothing and change – to do something. Today we meet a playful twist on the same words, having an entirely opposite meaning. “Don’t just do something – Stand there!” It means more than it suggests. Standing. Not wavering. Holding firm.
o Transition: Today there is such a thrust to constantly be doing something. We find minds filled with things we could and should be doing at the very moment we fill another task. Everything changes. Politicians change, one day to the next. The economy changes. The “near future” even changes. We must come to an abrupt stop and listen.
I. Waiting upon God (1-2)
o Exegesis: David probably wrote this psalm while running from his son Absalom. It was a very low point in his life. The Psalmist encourages himself by reflecting on who the Lord is. His entire soul receives consolation from the conviction that the Lord is sufficient. He can give “rest” to all who are looking for quietness of heart. He is a safe point in a storm. He will fight for us.
o Application: Does life ever seem unstable? Do you find yourself wishing you had more knowledge and ability to fight the storms of life? The Psalmist did two things:
1) He “waited upon God.” Sometimes it is good to sit down,
calm yourself, and wait to see what God has to say. Satan wants you busy.
2) He trusted in Him. When the storms of life beat heavily, he waited for God to defend him. There is peace in knowing that God will take care of your situations.
o Illustration: Rock of Gibraltar. In the commercials you see the merciless waves shooting as high as they can to beat down on the cliff, driving pointedly and forcefully into the side. It still stands firm and has been for many years. It rises seamlessly in the middle of the ocean, a haven of rest.
o Transition: Giving trust to God gives the ability to stand firm in the face of opposition and a busy lifestyle. Placing hope in man though will only lead to disappointment.
II. Trusting not in man (6-8)
o Exegesis: In contrast to great confidence in the Lord, the psalmist has little faith in the kingdom of man. Man in opposition to the Lord is destructive, selfish, and deceitful. Yet in all, he asks “How long?” It’s as if the godly ask the ungodly to give up the evil.
o Application: How many times do we find ourselves put out by man? Are we to not trust anyone then? No. We know that man will ultimately always let us down. We call to those who do not trust the Lord to give up evil ways of “doing” many things, and to come to God.
o Transition: The Psalmist does not wait long here. It is only a pause before he returns again to his show of trust in the Lord.
III. Hoping for salvation (5-7)
o Exegesis: These verses repeat the thoughts of the first two, perhaps creating a “sandwich” to symbolically enclose all evil in. This time thought the author chooses “hope” instead of salvation the first time. The “hope” in the Lord receives focus because of the underlying faith in God Who will bring salvation.
o Application: The beginning and ending points at looking at everything is to realize Who can be trusted. Hope is a beautiful thing. It gives reason to smile in the deepest of pain. It shoots light to the darkest night. Hope gives peace and rest.
o Illustration: Halford E. Luccock tells a story: “One night at dinner a man, who had spent many summers in Maine, fascinated his companions by telling of his experiences in a little town named Flagstaff. The town was to be flooded, as part of a large lake for which a dam was being built. In the months before it was to be flooded, all improvements and repairs in the whole town were stopped. What was the use of painting a house if it were to be covered with water in six months? Why repair anything when the whole village was to be wiped out? So, week by week, the whole town became more and more bedraggled, more gone to seed, more woebegone. Then he added by way of explanation: ‘Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.’"
o Transition: There is hope for today. Our hope does not lie in what money we possess or what investments we keep. Our hope does not lie in the politics of a nation or the words of any man. Our hope is found in the strength and rock of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You can stand firm in a changing world.
Conclusion: If there is anyone here who does not have this hope and is not saved, if you’d like to know for yourself the peace and joy of placing trust in the Lord, won’t you come. If there are saved ones here who have gone to worrying about things of man, and not had the peace of mind that God wants you to have come
