Psalm 62

There is a beautiful but subtle shift in this psalm that I can see play out in my life. David begins Psalm 62 with the proclamation that his soul finds rest in God alone. Yet, if you look later in the psalm, David reminds his soul to find rest in God alone (verse 5). So what has changed in four verses?

Namely, David encounters struggle of some kind. He has come under an attack so vicious that it seems to be an attack on God as well as David. Traitors (who bless with their mouths yet curse with their hearts) have unleashed a relentless assault to kick him out of the throne. David's son is probably the leader of this group. It seems that in moments of trial, David needs to remind himself of God's goodness. That may be an important lesson for all of us.

Yet the most fascinating part of the psalm may be that David says "What's the point?" to the newest rebellion. Remember that David is the one who didn't play politics when everyone wanted him to. He even refused multiple chances to steal the throne from Saul. What's the point of all this rat race? Our status at the end of life does not determine our mortality. We are all but a breath, so why extort and steal for our own benefit? Let us instead put our energy toward the Kingdom- toward something that will last.