Psalms 62:11

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.

Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.

Twice, i.e. frequently, as , both immediately, as at Sinai, and by his holy prophets from time to time. That power belongeth unto God; that power is God’ s 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.

Psalms 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, Exodus 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] He is well able to punish the wicked, Ezra 8:22.

(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. Proverbs 6:16-19.) The union of power and love is proved to the poet by the fairness and justice mentioned in the last clause.

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: אחת דבר אלהים שתים זו שמעתי 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. כי וז לאלהים ki oz lelohim, "That strength is the Lord's;" that is, He is the Origin of power. 2. ולך אדני חסד 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, Psalms 62:1-2. II. The mischievous but vain attempts of his enemies, Psalms 62:3-4. III. He encourages himself and others in the same confidence, Psalms 62:5-9. IV. That no trust is to be put in men, nor riches, Psalms 62:9-10. V. The grounds of our confidence in God, Psalms 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.

9–12. Trust in God, I say, and not in man or in material force. God’s strength and love are the guarantee for the punishment of the wicked and the reward of the righteous.

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

11, 12. God hath spoken—Here is a formal affirmation of a direct revelation from God.