חָסֶד

חָסֶד

Psalm 62  Nonne Deo?


1
For God alone my soul in silence waits; *
    from him comes my salvation.


2
He alone is my rock and my salvation, *
    my stronghold, so that I shall not be greatly shaken.


3
How long will you assail me to crush me,
all of you together, *
    as if you were a leaning fence, a toppling wall?


4
They seek only to bring me down from my place of honor; *
    lies are their chief delight.


5
They bless with their lips, *
    but in their hearts they curse.


6
For God alone my soul in silence waits; *
    truly, my hope is in him.


7
He alone is my rock and my salvation, *
    my stronghold, so that I shall not be shaken.


8
In God is my safety and my honor; *
    God is my strong rock and my refuge.


9
Put your trust in him always, O people, *
    pour out your hearts before him, for God is our refuge.

10
Those of high degree are but a fleeting breath, *
    even those of low estate cannot be trusted.


11
On the scales they are lighter than a breath, *
    all of them together.


12
Put no trust in extortion;
in robbery take no empty pride; *
    though wealth increase, set not your heart upon it.


13
God has spoken once, twice have I heard it, *
    that power belongs to God.


14
Steadfast love is yours, O Lord, *
    for you repay everyone according to his deeds.
King David had worship leaders with musical groups who wrote sacred songs, likely composed the music, and sang them in worship. One such was Jeduthun, whose name is on Psalms 39, 62 and 77.
Psalm 62 is appointed for Sunday, January 22. It’s “a psalm of David,” but that does not mean romantically that David the Shepherd Boy composed it while he was all alone tending his father’s sheep out in the fields, nor that David sang it soothingly to King Saul while strumming on his harp to calm Saul’s troubled mind. Rather, David on the throne is being troubled by his enemies, and the psalm proclaims David's trust in God for his wellbeing, his strength, his salvation.
Liturgically, we’ll chant or read the psalm after the Old Testament lesson, but it will be sheer rote, we’ll pay no mind whatsoever to what we are saying. What a shame. But Epiphany is an apt season to notice. To mind. This is a psalm of faith, powerful, beautiful and encouraging. "Enemies" take various forms, not only human enemies, but grief, despair, illness, hopelessness, loneliness, poverty, fear, loss... In the face of life’s troubles, God is our stronghold, our rock, our refuge, our salvation. Two of my own favorite things about the psalm are verse 13, which begins and ends with God, both in the Hebrew and in our English translation; and in verse 14 is my favorite Hebrew word, chesed -- which is lovingkindness. 
About verse 13. God speaks once and I get two things out of it. The first is explicit: the words about God’s strength for me when I need God. That’s encouragement, assurance. The second is tacit: the realization that God loves me enough to speak to me in the first place. That’s epiphany: chesed -- lovingkindness.
TW+