Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 62:11
God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power [belongeth] unto God.
11, 12. Once, yea twice, i.e. repeatedly (Job 33:14; Job 40:5) has God spoken and the Psalmist heard (Psa 85:8) the double truth which supplies the answer to such temptations;
That strength belongeth unto God,
And that unto thee, O Lord, belongeth lovingkindness.
He has the power and He has the will; therefore those who fear Him have nothing to fear. This he emphatically declares to be a truth of revelation, which he has learnt himself from God. “Scit, potest, vult; quid est quod timeamus?”
The sense will be the same if we render, One thing hath God spoken, two things there are that I have heard, and compare for the form of the sentence the numerical proverbs, e.g. Pro 6:16 ff; Pro 30:15 f.
for thou renderest &c.] The punishment of the wicked and the reward of the faithful attest God’s power and love. See Rom 2:6 ff, where St Paul quotes the words and expands their meaning.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this – This repetition, or this declaration that he had heard the thing repeated, is designed to give emphasis to what was said, or to call attention to it as particularly worthy of notice. See the notes at Job 33:14. Compare Job 40:5. The sentiment here is particularly important, or is deserving of special attention, because, as the psalmist had shown, all other resources fail, and confidence is to be placed in nothing else for that which man so much needs; neither in people, whether of low degree or high Psa 62:9; not in oppressive acts – acts of mere power; not in plunder; not in wealth, however acquired, Psa 62:10.
That power belongeth unto God – Margin, strength. The idea is, that the strength which man needs – the ability to defend and to save him – is to be found in God. All else may fail, but the power of God will not fail. The result of all, therefore, should be to lead us to put our trust in God alone.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 62:11
God hath spoken once: twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God.
The omnipotence of God
First allow me to remind you of the definition of power which is adopted by the most approved writers. They instruct us to consider power as divided into two kinds, active and passive power. By active power we are to understand the capacity possessed by any substance or being of effecting change or alteration upon any other substance or being; so that it is an instance of active power when we speak of fire as having the capacity of melting gold, for we mean that fire has the capacity of effecting on gold that alteration of its consistency which we denominate melting. So it is also an instance of passive power when we speak of the capacity of any substance to undergo changes; as when we say of gold that it possesses the power of becoming melted, or of having its consistency altered by the influence of fire. From this statement of the most approved definition of power we advance to an attempt to illustrate the power of the Deity as far as we are enabled to do so, first, from the appearances of nature. The first of these is the vastness of its extent. According to the modern doctrines of astronomy, the solar system, of which the globe on which we live forms a portion, consists of several worlds, most of them larger than our own, and many of them very much so; and that these severally are carried round the sun in different orbits at an equable but rapid speed. The agency, whether immediately exerted or resulting from the constitution of self-acting causes, which could effect such amazing alterations of the originally confused and undistributed matter of the universe, which could continue them in this state of action, overwhelms the imagination. Another characteristic of the power of the Deity, as illustrated in the works of nature, is that of the variety of modes by which it is displayed. The insatiable variety of nature has ever been considered one of the most wonderful of the qualities of the universe. This is exhibited in nothing more strikingly than in the ability exerted to secure the same ends by widely different means. Astronomers, for instance, tell us that the general provision ,made for giving light to a planet during the absence of the sun is by moons similar to our own, differing in number in proportion to the size of the planet round which they revolve. In the case, however, of the planet Saturn, this purpose is accomplished partly by numerous moons, and partly by a most singular deviation–namely, by a ring of such size as would reach from our earth to the moon, which is suspended at the distance of twenty thousand miles above the planet itself, and revolves and reflects the light of the absent sun upon its immense regions. Another characteristic of the power of the Deity, as illustrated in the works of nature, is that of complexity. Nothing, perhaps, more effectually demonstrates power than the arrangement and combination of numerous portions of machinery so as to produce, by their relative action, one result. The display of power will, of course, be in proportion to the extent of the complexity, and will he augmented according as the materials adopted are of a varying nature; in proportion, also, as they are difficult of management, and as the result is successful. It may be most safely asserted that all these qualities pre-eminently distinguish the works of the Creator, (J. F. Denham, M. A.)
The reiterated message and the twofold hearing
God hatch spoken once. This is a description of sovereignty. The oriental despot speaks once, decisively, unequivocally, and only once. If the inferior does not instantly understand and obey, off with his head! But though the old divines laid all the stress on the sovereignty of God, this does not constitute His chief glory. There are other and diviner elements in Deity than this. According to the psalmist, God stretches a point in pity for human weakness and incapacity. He speaks more than once. If His first message is misunderstood, He repeats it. Twice have I heard this. God spoke once as a Sovereign, the second time as a Father. And twice stands as a figure of speech, not for one repetition, but for many. Once, twice. Some people cannot wait for Gods second word. They seize on a text for controversial purposes, tear it out of its connection and proper sequence, and imagine they have proved something by it. But wait! Is there not another text? Has not the truth another phase? IS there not a New Testament as well as an Old? Is there not s Church as well as a Bible? Is there not a Spirit as well as a Church? The true mind of the Spirit lies in the consensus of all the texts, in the harmony of all the voices. Not only is there the reiterated message, but there is twice hearing for every message. Twice have I heard; once with the ear, once with the heart. It is the sympathetic intelligence, the spiritual faculty alone that hears. When you knock at a door, it is not the door that hears, but the resident within. Much truth falls upon mens ears but as the tap of the knocker upon the unconscious door. Now observe the first element in that idea which had thus impressed itself upon his mind. Power belongeth unto God. That was a natural impression. That is, as a rule, the first truth that the human mind lays hold of in its attempt to conceive a first cause. It deifies power. But While the Hebrew conception began here, it did not stop here. It included the idea of mercy as well. Now, as it cannot be said that we find this idea in nature, it is all the more remarkable that these Hebrew seers and poets should have had, not merely a glimpse, but so firm a grasp Of it. This was the thought of God in which they exulted, and to which they sometimes gave utterance in sublimest fashion. He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names. He bindeth up the broken in heart, He healeth all their wounds. Isa 40:1-31. is a beautiful poem of reconciliations; of the reconciliation of the majesty and mercy, the power and tenderness of God. But now I ask your attention to the psalmists enlightened conception of mercy as well as of God, for thou renderest to every man according to his work. That is not at all the conventional idea. We rather think of mercy as letting off the criminal, and shielding him from the deserts of his transgression. But that is really an altogether mistaken view. The truest mercy is to let him suffer, and let him learn by his suffering. Otherwise, mercy to him is wrong to the other members of the community. Further, the unkindest thing to any man himself is to leave the roots of evil in his nature, there to spring up and bring forth all their baleful harvest. This is what we do, however, when we only relieve him from the painful results of his wrong-doing. The sooner he perceives the real quality and tendency of his actions, and the more rigorously he therefore seeks to eradicate the last fibre of evil propension from his being, the sooner will he come to a healthy and happy moral condition. And all this arrives through the experience of that suffering which is the inevitable consequence of moral guilt, and the purpose of which is disciplinary and not vindictive. And so the psalmist mentions it as an essential element in the Divine mercy, that it renders to every man according to his work. (J. Halsey.)
The power of God
I. What we are to understand by the power of God.
1. As to the principle. It is an ability to do all things, the doing of which speaks power and perfection; that is, whatever is not repugnant either to the nature of things, or of God; whatever does not imply a contradiction in the thing, or an imperfection in the doer; an ability to do all things which are consistent with itself, and with the Divine nature and perfection. To help our conception–
(1) Let us imagine a principle from which all other power is derived, and upon which it depends, and to which it is perfectly subject and subordinate.
(2) A perfect active principle, which can do, not only what any finite being or creature can do, but what all beings joined together can do; nay, more and greater things than they all can do.
(3) A perfect active principle, to which nothing can make any considerable, much less effectual resistance, which can check and countermand at pleasure, and carry down before it, and annihilate all other powers that we can imagine besides this; because we cannot imagine any other power that is not derived from this, and does not depend upon it.
(4) A perfect active principle, which can do all things in a most perfect manner, and can do all things at once, and in an instants, and that with ease.
(5) The most perfect active principle we can imagine, the utmost bounds and limits of whose perfection we cannot imagine, that is, when we have imagined it to be as perfect, and to act in as perfect a manner as we can imagine, yet we have not reached the perfection of it; but after all this, that it can do many things more than we can imagine, and in such a manner much more perfect than we can imagine.
2. As to the exercise of it. The Divine will determines it to its exercise, the Divine wisdom directs and regulates the exercise of it; that is, God exerciseth His power willingly, and not by necessity, and in such manner, for the producing such effects, and in order to such ends and purposes, as seem best to His wisdom. Hence He is said to act all things according to His good pleasure, and according to the counsel of His will; that is, freely and wisely.
II. This perfection belongs to God. This I shall show–
1. From the dictates of natural light. This was one of the most usual titles which the heathens gave to their supreme deity, Optimus Maximus; next to his goodness they placed his greatness, which does chiefly appear in his power; and they did not only attribute a great power to him, but an omnipotence. Now their natural reason did convince them that this perfection did belong to God by these three arguments–
(1) From those two great instances and expressions of His power, creation and providence; for the heathens did generally acknowledge the making of the world, and the preservation and government of it, to be the effects of power, determined by goodness, and regulated by wisdom.
(2) Because all other perfections, without this, would be insignificant and ineffectual, or else could not be at all. Without this, goodness would be an empty piece of good meaning, and not able to give any demonstration of itself; knowledge would be an idle speculation; and wisdom to contrive things, without power to effect them, would be an useless thing.
(3) Without this there could be no religion.
2. From Scripture.
(1) Texts which in general ascribe power, might, strength to God– Psa 24:8; Psa 29:1; 1Ch 29:11; Mat 6:18.
(2) Those which ascribe this to God in an eminent degree– Job 9:4.
(3) Those which ascribe such a power as transcends any human or created power. Such as those which express all the power which men have to be derived from God– Joh 19:11. And those which advance the power of God above the power of men– Luk 18:27; Eph 3:20; 2Ch 20:6; Job 9:4. Those which declare all things to be equally easy to him, and nothing difficult– Jer 32:17; 2Ch 14:11; 1Sa 14:6.
(4) Those which ascribe all power to Him, by the titles of Almighty, All-sufficient– Gen 17:1. Rev 4:8; Rev 4:11; Rev 15:8; Rev 16:7; Rev 19:16. Job 42:2. Thou ernst do all things– Mat 19:6; Mar 10:27; Luk 1:37. (J. Tillotson.)
All power Gods
There are two theories, differing widely, with regard to the Divine power. According to the one view, the Almighty has lodged in the various agencies of the material world capacities and tendencies, by virtue of which they prolong the order and harmony of nature, perpetuate the races of organized and animated being, and work out a course of events, incidentally disastrous, yet in the main beneficial, and adapted to produce a vast and ever-increasing preponderance of happiness over misery, and of good over evil. According to the other view, God is actively present in the entire universe, upholding all things by the word of His power, guiding the course of events by His own perpetual fiat–preserving, indeed, a certain uniformity in sequences which we call cause and effect, so far as is needed to assist human calculation and to give definite aim to human endeavour, but behind the order of visible causes adjusting whatever takes place with immediate and constant reference to the needs, the deserts, and the ultimate well-being of His creatures; ordaining the seeming evil no less than the seeming good, making even wicked men His sword. I hardly need say that this last is the view directly sanctioned by the express language and the entire tenor of Scripture. Indeed, as much as this is admitted by the Christian advocates of the former theory, who regard the sacred writers as by a bold, yet legitimate figure ascribing to the direct action of the Almighty whatever takes place under a system initiated by His power and sanctioned by His wisdom. But there was, it seems to me, immeasurably more than figure in their minds. To them the curtain of general laws, which hangs in so dense drapery before the eyes of modern philosophy, was transparent, and they saw no intervening agency, no intermediate force, between the Creator and the development of His purposes in nature and in providence. Our view of the direct administration and perfect providence of God is confirmed by the results, or rather by the non-results, of science. Six thousand years of research have failed to reveal the latent forces, to lay bare the hidden springs, of nature. Gravitation, cohesion, crystallization, organization, decomposition,–these are but names for our ignorance,–fence-words set up at the extremest limits of our knowledge. That Nature pursues her course and events take place under such and such conditions is the utmost that we can say. We find it impossible to conceive of any innate or permanently inherent force in brute matter, but by the very laws of thought we are constrained to attribute all power to mind, intelligence, volition. But what shall we say of mans power over outward nature and events? We are conscious of free volition. Is it ours to execute our own volitions; or is it literally in God that we live, and move, and have our being? I cannot conceive of divided power, of concurrent sovereignty, in the same domain–of our ability to do what He would not have us do, That we can will what He wills not we know only too well; but must we not reach the conclusion that He executes our volitions for us whether they be good or evil–nay, that the execution of these volitions, whatever they are, is always good–that He literally makes the wrath of man to praise Him, and the remainder of wrath–that whose mission would be unavailing for the purposes of His righteous administration–He will so restrain as to frustrate of its end? In thousands of ways His providence may and does make void the thought of evil, the counsel of violence–avert the blow which guilty man would aim at the peace of his fellow-men. Evil and death come to none for whom it is not the fit time and way in the counsels of retributive justice, or the best time and way in the counsels of paternal love. There are indeed mysteries in Providence–heights which we cannot scale, depths which we cannot fathom. We seek only to look between the leaves of the immeasurable volume, where Jesus has unloosed the seals. I have barely endeavoured to develop what we must believe, if we would receive our Saviours lessons, and imbibe His spirit of implicit trust and self-surrender. Where Reason fails, let Faith usurp her place, and let us rest in the calm assurance that what we know not now we shall know hereafter. This we do know now–that our times are in our Fathers hands, our path through life marked and guarded by His watchful providence, and that to the soul that stays itself on Him all things must work together for good. (A. P. Peabody.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 11. God hath spoken once] God has once addressed his people in giving the law on Mount Sinai. The Chaldee translates the whole passage thus: “God hath spoken one law, and twice have we heard this from the mouth of Moses the great scribe, that strength is before God: and it becomes thee, O God, to show mercy to the righteous; for thou renderest to man according to his works.”
Twice have I heard this] Except some of the ancient Versions, almost every version, translation, and commentary has missed the sense and meaning of this verse. I shall set down the text: achath dibber Elohim; shetayim zu shamati; of which the true version is this: Once hath God spoken; these two things have I heard. Now what are the two things he had heard?
1. ki oz lelohim, “That strength is the Lord’s;” that is, He is the Origin of power.
2. ulecha Adonai, chased; “and to thee, Lord, is mercy;” that is, He is the Fountain of mercy.
These, then, are the two grand truths that the law, yea, the whole revelation of God, declares through every page. He is the Almighty; he is the most merciful; and hence the inference: The powerful, just, and holy God, the most merciful and compassionate Lord, will by and by judge the world, and will render to man according to his works. How this beautiful meaning should have been unseen by almost every interpreter, is hard to say: these verses contain one of the most instructive truths in the Bible.
ANALYSIS OF THE SIXTY-SECOND PSALM
The intent of this Psalm is to teach men to trust in God; and not to trust in wealth, or strength, nor in the power or promise of men.
It may be divided into the five following parts: –
I. David’s confidence in God, Ps 62:1-2.
II. The mischievous but vain attempts of his enemies, Ps 62:3-4.
III. He encourages himself and others in the same confidence, Ps 62:5-9.
IV. That no trust is to be put in men, nor riches, Ps 62:9-10.
V. The grounds of our confidence in God, Ps 62:11-12.
I. In the first verses David expresses, or rather labours to express, as appears by his frequent repetition of the same thing in divers words, his trust, hope, and confidence in God: –
1. “Truly, my soul waiteth upon God.” I acquiesce in his will.
2. “From him comes my salvation.” If I be safe in my greatest troubles, it is from him.
3. “He only is my rock, and my salvation; he is my defence so that I shall not greatly be moved.” He is to me what a rock or tower or defence is to such as flee to them.
II. And upon this he infers that the mischievous attempts of his bitterest adversaries are but vain; with them he expostulates; them he checks, and over them he insults.
1. “How long will ye imagine mischief against a man?” i.e., me. He chides their obstinacy.
2. “Ye shall be slain all of you;” and their ruin he declares by a double similitude; “Ye shall be as a bowing wall;” whence when some stones begin to start out or fall, the rest follow: or as a tottering fence, that is easily thrown down.
Next, by the description of their manners, he intimates the cause of their ruin.
1. “They only consult to cast him down from his excellency;” their counsel is to destroy David.
2. “They delight in lies;” invent lies and tales to destroy him.
3. Flatterers and dissemblers are they: “They bless with their mouth but they curse inwardly;” no wonder then, if destined to the slaughter, “if they be as a broken wall,” c.
III. And lest his heart faint and fail through the multitude of temptations, he first encourages himself to be confident still. Secondly, persuades others to do so.
1. He encourages himself, making use of the words of the first and second verses for reasons: “My soul, wait thou only upon God for my expectation is from him: he only is my rock, and my salvation; he is my defence, I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation, and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.”
2. He exhorts others to do the like: “Trust in him, ye people,” which he amplifies: –
1. By assignation of the time: “Trust in him at all times:” in prosperity, that he be not secure; in adversity, that he be not heartless.
2. And in our saddest occasions he shows what is to be done, that we bring our grievances and complaints before God, and with an honest heart open them: “Pour out your heart (that is, the griefs of your hearts) before him.”
3. Adding this reason: “God is a refuge for us.”
IV. So are not other things; whether, 1. Men. 2. Wealth, especially unjustly got.
1. Not men; there is no credit or trust to be put in them of any degree. 1. “Surely men of low degree are vanity,” 2. “And men of high degree are a lie.” The low are not able; the high deceive our hopes.
“Put them into the balance; they are altogether lighter than vanity.” Make trial of them, as of things in a scale, and you shall find them so vain and light that they carry no proportion to what is weighty, but ascend as an empty scale.
2. Nor wealth, nor riches; especially if unjustly heaped together: “Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.”
V. In the close, he sets down the grounds of his confidence, taken upon God’s word: “God hath spoken; twice have I heard the same;” or, “I have heard these two things:” –
1. “That power belongs to God;” and there fore he is to be trusted.
2. “That mercy belongs to God;” and therefore, also, you may have the utmost confidence in him.
The consequence of both is, “Thou renderest to every one according to his works,” bonis vera, malis mala: rely upon him. Bad work cannot have good wages; good work cannot have bad wages. “What a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” “The righteous shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the promotion of fools.” A man may deserve hell by a wicked life; but he cannot merit heaven by a good life because he cannot do good but through the grace of God, and the merit of the work belongs to the grace by which it was wrought. Reader, hear God’s sentence on this subject: “The wages of sin is death.” This is desert. “But the gift of God is eternal life.” Here is no desert, for it is “by Jesus Christ our Lord.” To him be glory for ever. Amen.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Twice, i.e. frequently, as Job 33:14, both immediately, as at Sinai, and by his holy prophets from time to time.
That power belongeth unto God; that power is Gods prerogative; and consequently all creatures, either against or without him, are poor impotent things, to which no man can trust without certain disappointment, and God alone is fit to be trusted.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. once; twice(as in Job 33:14;Job 40:5), are used to giveemphasis to the sentiment. God’s power is tempered by His mercy,which it also sustains.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
God hath spoken once,…. One word of his is more to be confided in, and depended on, than all the men and things in the world. The meaning is not that God hath only spoke once; he has spoke often; he spoke all things out of nothing in creation; he spoke all the words of the law at Mount Sinai; he spoke by the prophets under the Old Testament dispensation, and by his Son in the last days, and still by the ministers of the Gospel: but the sense is, that what God has once spoken stands; it is irreversible and immutable; it is firm, sure, and unalterable; he does not repent, he cannot lie, nor will he alter the thing that is gone out of his lips; and therefore his word is to be trusted to, when men of high degree are a lie;
twice have I heard this; that is, many times, as Kimchi explains it: the Targum refers this, and the preceding clause, to the delivery of the law:
“one law God spake, and twice we heard it from the mouth of Moses the great scribe;”
but the meaning is, that the psalmist had heard of two things, and was well assured of the truth of them, and which were the foundation of his trust and confidence; one is mentioned in this verse and the other in
Ps 62:12; the first is,
that power [belongeth] unto God; great power, even almighty power, as appears from the creation of all things out of nothing, the preservation of them in their beings, the government of the world, the redemption of his people by Christ, the work of grace upon their hearts by his Spirit, the perseverance of the saints, their deliverance from their enemies, and the destruction of them. The ancient Cabalists n among the Jews have endeavoured, from this passage, to establish a Trinity in unity, they speak of
“three superior “Sephirot”, or numbers; and of them it is said, “God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this”: once and twice, lo, the three superior numbers, of whom it is said, one, one, one, three ones; and this is the meaning of “God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this; this” in it makes them one.”
n Tikkune Zohar, Correct. 38. fol. 82. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
11 God hath spoken once. The Psalmist considered that the only effectual method of abstracting the minds of men from the vain delusions in which they are disposed to trust, was bringing them to acquiesce implicitly and firmly in the judgment of God. Usually they are swayed in different directions, or inclined at least to waver, just as they observe things changing in the world; (422) but he brings under their notice a surer principle for the regulation of their conduct, when he recommends a deferential regard to God’s Word. God himself “dwells in the light which is inaccessible,” (1Ti 6:16😉 and as none can come to him except by faith, the Psalmist calls our attention to his word, in which he testifies the truth of his divine and righteous government of the world. It is of great consequence that we be established in the belief of God’s Word, and we are here directed to the unerring certainty which belongs to it. The passage admits of two interpretations; but the scope of it is plainly this, that God acts consistently with himself, and can never swerve from what he has said. Many understand David to say that God had spoken once and a second time; and that by this explicit and repeated assertion of his power and mercy, he had confirmed the truth beyond all possibility of contradiction. There is a passage much to the same effect in the thirty-third chapter of the book of Job, and fourteenth verse, where the same words are used, only the copulative is interposed. If any should prefer it, however, I have no objections to the other meaning — God has spoken once; twice have I heard this. It agrees with the context, and suggests a practical lesson of great importance; for when God has once issued his word he never retracts: on the other hand, it is our duty to ponder on what he has said, long and deliberately; and the meaning of David will then be, that he considered the Word of God in the light of a decree, steadfast and irreversible, but that, as regarded his exercise in reference to it, he meditated upon it again and again, lest the lapse of time might obliterate it from his memory. But the simpler and preferable reading would seem to be, that God had spoken once and again. There is no force in the ingenious conjecture, that allusion may be made to God’s having spoken once in the Law, and a second time in the Prophets. Nothing more is meant than that the truth referred to had been amply confirmed, it being usual to reckon anything certain and fixed which has been repeatedly announced. Here, however, it must be remembered, that every word which may have issued forth from God is to be received with implicit authority, and no countenance given to the abominable practice of refusing to receive a doctrine, unless it can be supported by two or three texts of Scripture. This has been defended by an unprincipled heretic among ourselves, who has attempted to subvert the doctrine of a free election, and of a secret providence. It was not the intention of David to say that God was tied down to the necessity of repeating what he might choose to announce, but simply to assert the certainty of a truth which had been declared in clear and unambiguous terms. In the context which follows, he exemplifies himself that deferential reverence and regard for the word of God which all should, but which so few actually do, extend to it.
We might just put together, in a connected form, the particular doctrines which he has singled out for special notice. It is essentially necessary, if we would fortify our minds against temptation, to have suitably exalted views of the power and mercy of God, since nothing will more effectually preserve us in a straight and undeviating course, than a firm persuasion that all events are in the hand of God, and that he is as merciful as he is mighty. Accordingly, David follows up what he had said on the subject of the deference to be yielded to the word, by declaring that he had been instructed by it in the power and goodness of God. Some understand him to say, that God is possessed of power to deliver his people, and of clemency imbuing him to exercise it. But he would rather appear to mean, that God is strong to put a restraint upon the wicked, and crush their proud and nefarious designs, but ever mindful of his goodness in protecting and defending his own children. The man who disciplines himself to the contemplation of these two attributes, which ought never to be dissociated in our minds from the idea of God, is certain to stand erect and immovable under the fiercest assaults of temptation; while, on the other hand, by losing sight of the all-sufficiency of God, (which we are too apt to do,) we lay ourselves open to be overwhelmed in the first encounter. The world’s opinion of God is, that he sits in heaven an idle and unconcerned spectator of events which are passing. Need we wonder, that men tremble under every casualty, when they thus believe themselves to be the sport of blind chance? There can be no security felt unless we satisfy ourselves of the truth of a divine superintendence, and can commit our lives and all that we have to the hands of God. The first thing which we must look to is his power, that we may have a thorough conviction of his being a sure refuge to such as cast themselves upon his care. With this there must be conjoined confidence in his mercy, to prevent those anxious thoughts which might otherwise rise in our minds. These may suggest the doubt — What though God govern the world? does it follow that he will concern himself about such unworthy objects as ourselves?
There is an obvious reason, then, for the Psalmist coupling these two things together, his power and his clemency. They are the two wings wherewith we fly upwards to heaven; the two pillars on which we rest, and may defy the surges of temptation. Does danger, in short, spring up from any quarter, then just let us call to remembrance that divine power which can bid away all harms, and as this sentiment prevails in our minds, our troubles cannot fail to fall prostrate before it. Why should we fear — how can we be afraid, when the God who covers us with the shadow of his wings, is the same who rules the universe with his nod, holds in secret chains the devil and all the wicked, and effectually overrules their designs and intrigues?
The Psalmist adds, Thou wilt certainly render to every man according to his work. And here he brings what he said to bear still more closely upon the point which he would establish, declaring that the God who governs the world by his providence will judge it in righteousness. The expectation of this, duly cherished, will have a happy effect in composing our minds, allaying impatience, and checking any disposition to resent and retaliate under our injuries. In resting himself and others before the great bar of God, he would both encourage his heart in the hope of that deliverance which was coming, and teach himself to despise the insolent persecution of his enemies, when he considered that every man’s work was to come into judgment before Him, who can no more cease to be Judge than deny himself. We can therefore rest assured, however severe our wrongs may be, though wicked men should account us the filth and the off-scourings of all things, that God is witness to what we suffer, will interpose in due time, and will not disappoint our patient expectation. From this, and passages of a similar kind, the Papists have argued, in defense of their doctrine, that justification and salvation depend upon good works; but I have already exposed the fallacy of their reasoning. No sooner is mention made of works, than they catch at the expression, as amounting to a statement that God rewards men upon the ground of merit. It is with a very different design than to encourage any such opinion, that the Spirit promises a reward to our works — it is to animate us in the ways of obedience, and not to inflame that impious self-confidence which cuts up salvation by the very roots. According to the judgment which God forms of the works of the believer, their worth and valuation depend, first, upon the free pardon extended to him as a sinner, and by which he becomes reconciled to God; and, next, upon the divine condescension and indulgence which accepts his services, (423) notwithstanding all their imperfections. We know that there is none of our works which, in the sight of God, can be accounted perfect or pure, and without taint of sin. Any recompense they meet with must therefore be traced entirely to his goodness. Since the Scriptures promise a reward to the saints, with the sole intention of stimulating their minds, and encouraging them in the divine warfare, and not with the remotest design of derogating from the mercy of God, it is absurd in the Papists to allege that they, in any sense, merit what is bestowed upon them. As regards the wicked, none will dispute that the punishment awarded to them, as violators of the law, is strictly deserved.
(422) “ Ad varias mundi inclinationes.” — Lat. “ Selon les divers changements qu’on voit au monde.” — Fr.
(423) “ D’une pure douceur et support debonnaire dont il use, il fait qu’icelles soyent acceptees de lui,” etc. — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(11) Once; twice.The usual Hebrew mode of emphasising a numerical statement, and one growing naturally out of the structure of the verse, which loves a climax. (Comp. Pro. 6:16-19.) The union of power and love is proved to the poet by the fairness and justice mentioned in the last clause.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11, 12. God hath spoken Here is a formal affirmation of a direct revelation from God.
Once, twice, have I heard A Hebraism for many times; as if he would say, It is a familiar doctrine of the old dispensation that I am about to declare. See Job 33:14; Job 40:5. The Septuagint reads it “ Once God hath spoken; I have heard these two things.”
Power mercy This is the matter of the revelation, that God is a God both of power and love. Wherefore let offenders tremble at the power that will dash in pieces all their schemes of iniquity and punish all their sin, and let humble and contrite hearts take courage and trust in his love.
For thou renderest So that thou renderest. That is, the consequence of this power and love of God is, that he will render to every man according to his work. His attributes, his mercy, no less than his power and justice, compel to this juridical distinction and judgment. See Rom 2:6; Rev 2:23.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
What particular reference the Psalmist hath to God’s speaking, is not said; but surely never did the Lord give a more decided evidence of his power, than in speaking in and by his Son in the redemption of sinners. God’s word, and God’s oath, and both in Christ, are those immutable things which poor sinners have as a strong consolation to flee unto, in the blessed assurance of redemption by Jesus. Heb 6:17-18 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 62:11 God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power [belongeth] unto God.
Ver. 11. God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this ] The Septuagint have it thus, Once spoke God, these two things have I heard; that is, say some, in the second commandment, where mention is made of God’s jealousy and mercy, Exo 20:5-6 . Others, Once and again spoke God, and I have heard it. Or, God spoke once, I heard him twice, viz. by an after deliberate meditation upon what I had heard; I preached over the sermon as it were again to myself, and so heard it a second time.
That power belongeth unto God
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 62:11-12
11Once God has spoken;
Twice I have heard this:
That power belongs to God;
12And lovingkindness is Yours, O Lord,
For You recompense a man according to his work.
Psa 62:11-12 This last strophe addresses the theological issue of how it is that the unrighteous prosper (cf. Job; Psalms 37, 73). The Mosaic law attributed wealth, health, and success to covenant obedience (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 27-30). The two ways (cf. Psalms 1; Deu 30:15; Deu 30:19) also asserts the same. However, in reality, often the wealthy are exploitative, greedy, ruthless, devious manipulators who embody the essence of the Fall: more and more for me at any cost!
We live in an unfair world. God has promised to set it straight. There is a judgment day. One day we will reap what we have sown (cf. Job 34:11; Psa 28:4; Pro 24:12; Ecc 12:14; Jer 17:10; Jer 32:19; Mat 16:27; Mat 25:31-46; Rom 2:6; Rom 14:12; 1Co 3:8; 2Co 5:10; Gal 6:7-10; 2Ti 4:14; 1Pe 1:17; Rev 2:23; Rev 20:12; Rev 22:12)! A book that has helped me in this area is Hannah Whithall Smith’s The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life.
Psa 62:11 This is an idiom for a well known, often expressed, truth in three parts (i.e., power, covenant loyalty, and recompense). Because of the Fall, some humans will experience YHWH’s power; some His lovingkindness! Our actions show who our Father is!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. How are Psa 62:1; Psa 62:5 different from Psa 62:8?
2. Who is Psa 62:3 c referring to?
3. Why should Psa 62:8 be a separate strophe?
4. Who does Psa 62:9 address? How is it related to Psa 49:2?
5. List the points of what God has spoken and the psalmist has heard several times.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
once; Twice. Compare Job 33:14; Job 40:5. Put for many times.
power = strength.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
spoken: Job 33:14, Job 40:5
power: or, strength, Psa 68:34, Psa 68:35, Isa 26:4, Mat 6:13, Mat 28:18, Joh 19:11, Rev 19:1
Reciprocal: Exo 3:4 – Moses 1Ch 29:12 – power 2Ch 20:6 – in thine hand 2Ch 25:8 – God hath power Job 4:12 – a thing Job 9:19 – he is strong Job 33:13 – giveth not account Job 37:23 – excellent Psa 59:9 – his strength Psa 66:7 – ruleth Psa 89:13 – a mighty arm Pro 18:11 – General Dan 2:20 – for wisdom Dan 2:37 – power Nah 1:3 – great Mat 19:26 – but Luk 8:32 – besought Rom 13:1 – there 1Co 3:6 – God Rev 18:8 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 62:11. God hath spoken once; twice, &c. That is, God hath spoken it, and I have heard it once, yea, twice; that is, frequently, as Job 33:14. He hath declared, and I have understood it, by the light of reason, which easily infers it from the nature of the infinitely perfect Jehovah, and from his works of creation and providence: he hath shown, and I have learned it by the events which have taken place concerning myself in particular: and the light of revelation, communicated in dreams and visions, and various other ways, hath manifested it, and especially at Sinai, and by his holy prophets from time to time; that power belongeth unto God That power is his prerogative; and, consequently, that all creatures, either against him or without him, are poor, impotent things, in which no man can trust without certain disappointment; but that he is almighty, and can do every thing; and that with him nothing is impossible; and therefore that he, and he alone, is fit to be trusted.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
62:11 God hath spoken {i} once; twice have I heard this; that power [belongeth] unto God.
(i) He has plainly born witness to his power, so that no one needs to doubt it.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Human power is weak, but divine power is mighty. God’s loyal love is likewise great. He will distribute justice to everyone. Therefore it is important that human beings trust in God rather than in other people and their works.
People are constantly deciding whether to trust in what they can see. In this psalm David helps us see that God Himself is a much better person to trust than any mortal man. We should trust God, who remains faithful forever, because human beings pass away quickly.