Living Stream Ministry

XI. THE PSALMIST’S ENJOYMENT OF GOD
AS HIS HIGH RETREAT

The subject of Psalm 62 is the psalmist’s enjoyment of God as his high retreat.

A. The Psalmist’s Enjoyment of God

Verses 1 through 7 speak of the psalmist’s enjoyment of God. In verse 2 he says, "He alone is my rock and my salvation,/My high retreat; I will not be greatly shaken." He repeats this word in verse 6. This is good, but it cannot compare with the teaching in the New Testament.

B. The Psalmist’s Advice to the People

In verses 8 through 12 we have the psalmist’s advice to the people. In verse 8 he says, "Trust in Him at all times, O people;/Pour out your heart before Him;/God is a refuge to us." He goes on to say that men of low degree are but a vapor and men of high degree, a lie. Then he gives this advice: "Do not trust in oppression,/And do not become vain through robbery;/If wealth increases,/Do not set your heart on it" (v. 10). This advice regarding wealth is good, but it is not as good as Paul’s word in 1 Timothy 6. The psalmist concludes by saying, "Once has God spoken;/Twice have I heard this, /That strength belongs to God./To You also, O Lord, belongs lovingkindness;/For You repay every man according to his work" (62:11-12). This word may seem somewhat good, but its spiritual level is very low compared to that of the New Testament.

The psalms we have covered in this message may function as a background to help us understand the real spiritual things revealed in the New Testament. These psalms concern humanity in the ethical field, and thus they are lacking in spiritual weight.

Nowhere in the Psalms do we have a word about living and walking according to the spirit. But in Romans 8:4 Paul speaks about walking according to spirit, and in Galatians 5:25 he says, "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." Furthermore, in Philippians 3:10 he says, "To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." Nothing in the Psalms compares to this. Instead, the Psalms speak about things such as being just and upright and holding on to our integrity. We need to realize, however, that justice, uprightness, and integrity are not spirituality. Spirituality is the Spirit. Since only the Spirit is spirituality, whatever we have apart from the Spirit is not spirituality.

As New Testament believers, it is not right for us to take, without adequate discernment, all the psalmists’ pious expressions uttered out of their complex sentiments. We should use their pious expressions as a background for us to know the spiritual things in the New Testament. We need to see the contrast between the Psalms and the spirituality revealed in the New Testament. We should not pursue the justice, uprightness, and integrity we see in the Psalms. Instead, we should pursue the genuine spirituality we see in the New Testament—a spirituality which is actually the divine life lived out of us by the bountiful supply of the Spirit. This is real spirituality. If we practice such a spirituality, we will not pray for the Lord to destroy our enemies. On the contrary, we will pray, "Lord, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing. Lord, have mercy on them that they may repent and receive You by believing into You."

(Life-Study of Psalms, Chapter 25, by Witness Lee)