Perhaps one reason my heart is inclined to this "nugget" for today is because the first verse, especially, was one of my beloved wife's favorite and most oft quoted texts of scripture. It was here that, by faith, she positioned herself, and found stability during her long season of illness. It is also a very appropriate counterpoint to our emphasis two weeks ago, "vain is the help of man."
It is worthy of reflection and meditation that these two verses are nearly a carbon copy of the first two verses of this psalm, except for this: in the first verse he makes an affirmation "Truly my soul waiteth upon God." Here he makes that affirmation into the form of counsel to himself that has almost the character of a prayer. "Stayed upon Jehovah" is not something that is to be occasional, nor that can be taken for granted; it is the most fundamental responsibility of the redeemed, and there must be a continual reaffirmation of this position in the inward counsels of the soul. "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall [I Cor. 10:12]."
There is another interesting nuance in this verse, disclosed by those who have a better understanding of the language of the original than I do. That is, that the word "wait" carries the force of "be silent," or "listen." Waiting upon God does not mean bringing our basket of self interests to Him for endorsement or fulfillment, but waiting in quiet contemplation before Him, listening for what He has to say. This is something modern Christians do too little of. We are like shoppers, rushing in with our grocery list to get our prayers answered, often without so much as pausing to greet the Proprietor, to say nothing of inquiring whether He might have something to say to us. Check out the average prayer meeting for proof!
Many years ago a man came into the fellowship of one of our churches, who was a German who had suffered much under the Nazi regime. One of our men led him to Christ, and soon he joined our weekly early morning men's prayer meeting. When he prayed, two things always stood out. First, he always prayed for the welfare of our nation; he understood the high cost of tyranny. But more importantly, He would begin his prayer with an awkward, almost embarrassing period of silence. He seemed to understand, much better than the rest of us, the importance of tuning his soul to the frequency of heaven—waiting, keeping silence, listening to God—before he spoke. I always felt he understood prayer better than any of the rest of us.
David makes an inward request, "My soul, wait thou only upon God." He understood the need for an undivided heart. He would have understood the significance of James' declaration, "A double minded (lit., "two souled") man is unstable in all his ways [Jas. 1:8]."
The rationale behind that request immediately follows: "He only is my Rock." In God alone is the believer's sure foundation. That is security; "all other ground is sinking sand." Then, He is "my salvation." In the New Testament we read, "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead… This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved [Acts 4:10-12]." This is the salvation of which the scripture speaks. It is not physical, social, economic nor political; it is essentially spiritual, and is found in God alone. That is the real, ultimate, essential deliverance, from sin and its corollary, "the wrath to come." Again, "He is my defence." Our protection against the enemy as we journey from here to eternity is not found anywhere in the human arena nor arsenal, but in God alone. Precious hiding place!
And what is the result? When the soul leans upon God, and God alone, the heart can say with assurance, "I shall not be moved."
With eternity in view,
"Pastor" Frasier
