English · KJV

Psalm 62:11

“Human Vanity and Divine Power”Psalm 62:9–12
King James Version
God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

KJV (with Strong's)
God H430 hath spoken H1696 once H259; twice H8147 have I heard H8085 this H2098; that power H5797 belongeth unto God H430.

Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain

Berean Standard Bible
God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: that power belongs to God,

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

American Standard Version
God hath spoken once, Twice have I heard this, That power belongeth unto God.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

World English Bible Messianic
God has spoken once; twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God.

Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain

Geneva Bible (1599)
God spake once or twise, I haue heard it, that power belongeth vnto God,

Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain

Young's Literal Translation
Once hath God spoken, twice I heard this, That `strength is with God.'

Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain

King James Version — Interlinear
9 Hebrew words
  1. אַחַת'a·Chatone [time]H259N-fsNoun Singular Feminine Absolute
  2. דִּבֶּרdi·Berhe has spokenH1696V-Piel-Perf-3msVerb Piel Perfect 3rd Singular Masculine
  3. אֱלֹהִים'E·lo·HimGodH430N-mpNoun Plural Masculine Absolute
  4. שְׁתַּיִםshe·ta·yimtwo [times]H8147N-fdNoun Dual Feminine Absolute
  5. זוּzuthisH2098RelParticle Relative
  6. שָׁמָעְתִּיsha·Ma·'e·tiI have heardH8085V-Qal-Perf-1csVerb Qal Perfect 1st Singular common gender
  7. כִּיkithatH3588PrtParticle Conditional
  8. עֹז'OzstrengthH5797N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absolute
  9. לֵאלֹהִיםle·lo·Him[belongs] to GodH430Prep-l ¦ N-mpNoun Plural Masculine Absoluteלֵ[belongs] toאלֹהִיםGod
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Hebrew, not the KJV's wording. Why?

This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Hebrew word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Hebrew word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “the LORD” where the gloss reads “Yahweh”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.

Words in [ ] are added by the English.

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In the KJVVerse 14,839 of 31,102 · 47.7%

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This verse

God has spoken one truth that David has heard twice over, so that it stands beyond doubt: all power belongs to God.

“God hath spoken once;”

The truth about power comes as a word revealed by God himself.

“twice have I heard this;”

The psalmist’s side of it: he has received the word, and it sounds in him with double certainty.

“that power belongeth unto God.”

The KJV supplies “belongeth” to give the sense of possession. Power is God’s own and comes from him.

Power and Mercy Belong to God

Psalm 62:9–12

Summary

Psalm 62 ends by weighing everything people lean on against God himself. Men of low degree and men of high degree alike are put on the scales and found lighter than a breath. Wealth gained by oppression and robbery is an empty place to rest, and the heart is to be kept free of even honest riches. Then David tells what God has said and what he has heard twice over: power belongs to God. Mercy belongs to him as well, and he repays every man according to his work. In four verses we learn where trust can safely rest, and why. The God who holds all strength is also the God of steadfast love, and he is perfectly just.

Who can carry the weight of our trust?

Psalm 62 is David’s song of waiting on God alone. “He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence,” he says (Psalm 62:1–2), and he tells his own soul, “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him” (Psalm 62:5). His enemies plot his downfall with deceitful words, and he tells them, “as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence” (Psalm 62:3–4). After confessing God once more as his rock and refuge (Psalm 62:6–7), he turns to everyone: “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8). Verse 9 gives the reason for trusting God alone, by showing what every other refuge weighs. The psalm doesn’t name its occasion. Its betrayal and opposition fit the hard years when Saul hunted David, or the time of Absalom’s rebellion (2 Samuel 15–18).

“Men of low degree” are the ordinary people, the humble and the poor, and “men of high degree” are the nobles, kings and powerful officials. In Israel the humble depended on the powerful for justice, protection and provision, so it was natural to look to leaders for safety. David puts both kinds of people in one sentence and gives them one verdict. The common man is “vanity”, hebel, a word whose base sense is breath or vapour and which in nearly every other place means futility. It is the word Ecclesiastes repeats in “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). The great man is “a lie”, kâzâb, a falsehood that ends in disappointment. The many offer a breath of help, and the mighty make grand promises of protection that fail the people who trust them.

Lighter than vanity

Then David brings out the scales. The word for balance, môʼzên, is in the dual form and pictures the pair of pans on a weighing scale, a tool everyone knew from buying and selling and from the courts, where goods were weighed and worth was judged. Lay all of humanity on one side, low and high together, and the pan rises. They are “altogether lighter than vanity”, lighter even than a breath. This is deliberate overstatement, and its point is plain: as something to rest our final hope on, human strength weighs nothing at all. The scales are God’s, and he weighs what is real. “For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Scripture says the same thing in many places. “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm” (Jeremiah 17:5). “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?” (Isaiah 2:22). “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help” (Psalm 146:3–4). Proverbs applies it to money, which is where the psalm goes next: “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch” (Proverbs 11:28).

Why riches make a false refuge

Verse 10 turns from people to wealth, the other thing people lean on when they are afraid, and it gives three commands. “Trust not in oppression” uses ʻôsheq, injury, fraud or unjust gain, the profit made by taking advantage of others. “Become not vain in robbery” uses gâzêl, plunder, something taken by violence. The verb for “become vain” is hâbal (also written havel), and it echoes the vanity of verse 9 and of Ecclesiastes. To become vain in robbery is to take pride and confidence in stolen goods, and that confidence is as empty as the gain behind it.

The prophets of Israel condemned exactly this. Amos charged the people with selling “the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes” (Amos 2:6–7), and Micah spoke against those who “covet fields, and take them by violence” (Micah 2:1–2). “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death” (Proverbs 10:2). Gain of this kind is wrong in how it is gotten, because God is just and his law defends the vulnerable, and it is useless as a refuge.

If riches increase

The third command reaches further, to wealth that comes honestly: “if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.” The verb shîyth means to place, put or set, and lêb is the heart, which in Scripture is the seat of thought, feeling, will and deepest affection. To set the heart on riches is to give them the reliance and devotion that belong to God, so that wealth takes his place as an idol. Proverbs warns, “Labour not to be rich... for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven” (Proverbs 23:4–5). Jesus says, “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15).

Is wealth itself wrong?

The verse condemns wealth gained by oppression and robbery, and over wealth honestly gained it guards the heart. The danger lies in the heart’s posture toward riches. “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22), and yet “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Jesus puts the choice plainly: “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). He tells his disciples to lay up treasure in heaven, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19–21), and Paul writes, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1–2). Possessions held loosely are gifts, to be used well for God’s glory.

God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this

Verse 11 gives the ground for everything before it. Against the lightness of people and the emptiness of riches, David sets a word from God: “power belongeth unto God.”

“Once... twice” is a Hebrew way of speaking that stresses certainty. David means that God spoke, and the word has sounded in him again and again until it stands beyond doubt, much as we say, “I’ve told you a thousand times,” to mean that a thing is settled. The truth comes from God himself, and the psalmist has taken it fully to heart. The verb dâbar is the ordinary word for speaking, telling or mentioning, and what makes this word sure is the one who spoke it. The name for God, ʼĕlôhîym, is plural in form and, when it names the true God, is read as a plural of majesty. Here it names the one God from whom all authority comes.

The word for power, ʻôz, means strength or might, and it can also mean a stronghold, which suits a psalm that calls God a rock and a defence. Every kind of strength belongs to him and comes from him, and all other strength answers to his. The nations around Israel looked for power in their kings, their armies and their many gods, and David gives all of it to the LORD. Jeremiah prays the same truth: “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee” (Jeremiah 32:17). Because the power is his, his word reaches its goal: “it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please” (Isaiah 55:11).

Is this power to punish or power to save?

God’s power includes judging evil, and in this psalm it is first of all the power that saves. David is surrounded by enemies and lies, and he runs to God’s strength for refuge. The very next verse joins that strength to mercy and to just repayment, so this power belongs to a God who is loving and righteous, and he uses it to uphold his people and keep his promises.

Does God’s power leave room for our choices?

People make real choices and answer for them, and all of it happens under God’s rule. Our ability to act and the outcome of what we do are subject to his power, so his purposes stand even when people set themselves against him. “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” (Proverbs 16:9), and “in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

Mercy belongs to him, and he repays every man

David adds a second truth to the first: “Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy.” The word is cheçed, one of the richest words in the Old Testament, rendered elsewhere as lovingkindness or steadfast love. It is God’s active, faithful and enduring love, shown above all to the people he has bound to himself by covenant. To say that mercy “belongeth” to him places it in his own being, just as verse 11 placed power there. The God who holds all strength is the God of steadfast love, and both are his by right.

Then comes justice: “for thou renderest to every man according to his work.” The verb shâlam here means to repay or make good, bringing a matter to its proper end, whether in reward or in punishment. Every person’s deeds will meet their due. Moses sang of the same God: “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4). Paul states the principle for the day of judgment: God “will render to every man according to his deeds” (Romans 2:6).

The word “for” joins the two halves of the verse. Mercy and justice live together in God as parts of one perfect character. His justice means that the wrongs of verse 10, the oppression and the robbery, will be answered, and that is a comfort to anyone who has suffered them. His mercy means that he is ready to forgive. Holding both together keeps us from a soft picture of God that ignores sin and from a harsh one that forgets his compassion.

Does “according to his work” mean salvation is earned?

This verse sets out God’s justice over every human deed, and Scripture gives salvation as a gift of grace received through faith in Jesus Christ: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5). The judgment of every deed is real, and in believers good works are the evidence and fruit of faith, as James says: “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17–18). Mercy stands first in the verse, and mercy is how those who cannot meet God’s just demands find forgiveness and righteousness.

Christ, in whom power and mercy meet

Everything in these verses comes to its fullness in Jesus. Where men of low and high degree are vanity and a lie, he is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) and “the Amen, the faithful and true witness” (Revelation 3:14). “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). When all else is weighed and found light, he is “the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24), the rock on which the wise man builds a house that stands through the storm (Matthew 7:24–25).

Every gain of his was righteous, and he took the opposite road from oppression: “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

The power that belongs to God was at work in him. All things were created by him, and by him all things consist (Colossians 1:16–17). His miracles over sickness, demons, storms and death showed his authority, and his resurrection is the greatest display of God’s power, the same power Paul says is at work toward us who believe (Ephesians 1:19–20). The gospel is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Romans 1:16), and the risen Christ says, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). So Paul could write, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).

Mercy and justice meet at the cross. Jesus is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), whom God set forth “to be a propitiation through faith in his blood”, so that he might “be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:25–26). The same Jesus will come as Judge and do what verse 12 says: “behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12).

Where the weight of our hope can rest

These verses take every false weight off the scale. The people we admire and the people around us are as light as a breath, and wealth of every kind is too light to hold up a heart. What remains is God, who has spoken. Power is his, so there is nothing too hard for him. Mercy is his, so his strength is turned toward his people in steadfast love. Justice is his, so every wrong will be answered and every deed is seen. David heard this twice over and wrote it down, and the call of verse 8 stands beside it for us: “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.”

Last revised

Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Psalm 62:8–12. He set out his notes in a three-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.

1662–1714 · 5 verses
Passage under commentPsalm 62:8–12
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details

Here we have David's exhortation to others to trust in God and wait upon him, as he had done. Those that have found the comfort of the ways of God themselves will invite others into those ways; there is enough in God for all the saints to draw from, and we shall have never the less for others sharing with us.

I.He counsels all to wait upon God, as he did, Psalm 62:8. Observe,

1.To whom he gives this good counsel: You people (that is, all people); all shall be welcome to trust in God, for he is the confidence of all the ends of the earth, Psalm 65:5. You people of the house of Israel (so the Chaldee); they are especially engaged and invited to trust in God, for he is the God of Israel; and should not a people seek unto their God?

2.What the good counsel is which he gives.

(1.)To confide in God: "Trust in him; deal with him, and be willing to deal upon trust; depend upon him to perform all things for you, upon his wisdom and goodness, his power and promise, his providence and grace. Do this at all times." We must have an habitual confidence in God always, must live a life of dependence upon him, must so trust in him at all times as not at any time to put that confidence in ourselves, or in any creature, which is to be put in him only; and we must have an actual confidence in God upon all occasions, trust in him upon every emergency, to guide us when we are in doubt, to protect us when we are in danger, to supply us when we are in want, to strengthen us for every good word and work.

(2.)To converse with God: Pour out your heart before him. The expression seems to allude to the pouring out of the drink-offerings before the Lord. When we make a penitent confession of sin our hearts are therein poured out before God, 1 Samuel 7:6. But here it is meant of prayer, which, if it be as it should be, is the pouring out of the heart before God. We must lay our grievances before him, offer up our desires to him with all humble freedom, and then entirely refer ourselves to his disposal, patiently submitting our wills to his: this is pouring out our hearts.

3.What encouragement he gives us to take this good counsel: God is a refuge for us, not only my refuge (Psalm 62:7), but a refuge for us all, even as many as will flee to him and take shelter in him.

II.He cautions us to take heed of misplacing our confidence, in which, as much as in any thing, the heart is deceitful, Jeremiah 17:5-9. Those that trust in God truly (Psalm 62:1) will trust in him only, Psalm 62:5.

1.Let us not trust in the men of this world, for they are broken reeds (Psalm 62:9): Surely men of low degree are vanity, utterly unable to help us, and men of high degree are a lie, that will deceive us if we trust to them. Men of low degree, one would think, might be relied on for their multitude and number, their bodily strength and service, and men of high degree for their wisdom, power, and influence; but neither the one nor the other are to be depended on. Of the two, men of high degree are mentioned as the more deceiving; for they are a lie, which denotes not only vanity, but iniquity. We are not so apt to depend upon men of low degree as upon the king and the captain of the host, who, by the figure they make, tempt us to trust in them, and so, when they fail us, prove a lie. But lay them in the balance, the balance of the scripture, or rather make trial of them, see how they will prove, whether they will answer your expectations from them or no, and you will write Tekel upon them; they are alike lighter than vanity; there is no depending upon their wisdom to advise us, their power to act for us, their good-will to us, no, nor upon their promises, in comparison with God, nor otherwise than in subordination to him.

2.Let us not trust in the wealth of this world, let not that be made our strong city (Psalm 62:10): Trust not in oppression; that is, in riches got by fraud and violence, because where there is a great deal it is commonly got by indirect scraping or saving (our Saviour calls it the mammon of unrighteousness, Luke 16:9), or in the arts of getting riches. "Think not, either because you have got abundance or are in the way of getting, that therefore you are safe enough; for this is becoming vain in robbery, that is, cheating yourselves while you think to cheat others." He that trusted in the abundance of his riches strengthened himself in his wickedness (Psalm 52:7); but at his end he will be a fool, Jeremiah 17:11. Let none be so stupid as to think of supporting themselves in their sin, much less of supporting themselves in this sin. Nay, because it is hard to have riches and not to trust in them, if they increase, though by lawful and honest means, we must take heed lest we let out our affections inordinately towards them: "Set not your heart upon them; be not eager for them, do not take a complacency in them as the rest of your souls, nor put a confidence in them as your portion; be not over-solicitous about them; do not value yourselves and others by them; make not the wealth of the world your chief good and highest end: in short, do not make an idol of it." This we are most in danger of doing when riches increase. When the grounds of the rich man brought forth plentifully, then he said to his soul, Take thy ease in these things, Luke 12:19. It is a smiling world that is most likely to draw the heart away from God, on whom only it should be set.

III.He gives a very good reason why we should make God our confidence, because he is a God of infinite power, mercy, and righteousness, Psalm 62:11, Psalm 62:12. This he himself was well assured of and would have us be assured of it: God has spoken once; twice have I heard this; that is, 1. "God has spoken it, and I have heard it, once, yea, twice. He has spoken it, and I have heard it by the light of reason, which easily infers it from the nature of the infinitely perfect Being and from his works both of creation and providence. He has spoken it, and I have heard once, yea, twice (that is, many a time), by the events that have concerned me in particular. He has spoken it and I have heard it by the light of revelation, by dreams and visions (Job 4:15), by the glorious manifestation of himself upon Mount Sinai" (to which, some think, it does especially refer), "and by the written word." God has often told us what a great and good God he is, and we ought as often to take notice of what he has told us. Or, 2. "Though God spoke it but once, I heard it twice, heard it diligently, not only with my outward ears, but with my soul and mind." To some God speaks twice and they will not hear once; but to others he speaks but once, and they hear twice. Compare Job 33:14. Now what is it which is thus spoken and thus heard? (1.) That the God with whom we have to do is infinite in power. Power belongs to God; he is almighty, and can do every thing; with him nothing is impossible. All the powers of all the creatures are derived form him, depend upon him, and are used by him as he pleases. His is the power, and to him we must ascribe it. This is a good reason why we should trust in him at all times and live in a constant dependence upon him; for he is able to do all that for us which we trust in him for. (2.) That he is a God of infinite goodness. Here the psalmist turns his speech to God himself, as being desirous to give him the glory of his goodness, which is his glory: Also unto thee, O Lord! belongeth mercy. God is not only the greatest, but the best, of beings. Mercy is with him, Psalm 130:4, Psalm 130:7. He is merciful in a way peculiar to himself; he is the Father of mercies, 2 Corinthians 1:3. This is a further reason why we should trust in him, and answers the objections of our sinfulness and unworthiness; though we deserve nothing but his wrath, yet we may hope for all good from his mercy, which is over all his works. (3.) That he never did, nor ever will do, any wrong to any of his creatures: For thou renderest to every man according to his work. Though he does not always do this visibly in this world, yet he will do it in the day of recompence. No service done him shall go unrewarded, nor any affront given him unpunished, unless it be repented of. By this it appears that power and mercy belong to him. If he were not a God of power, there are sinners that would be too great to be punished. And if he were not a God of mercy there are services that would be too worthless to be rewarded. This seems especially to bespeak the justice of God in judging upon appeals made to him by wronged innocency; he will be sure to judge according to truth, in giving redress to the injured and avenging them on those that have been injurious to them, 1 Kings 8:32. Let those therefore that are wronged commit their cause to him and trust to him to plead it.

Historical interpretation

Historical reception

1 surviving comment on this verse from the historical church.

1 quote · AD 430
d. AD 430Augustine of HippoPost-NiceneSourceExposition on Psalm 62
What follows? "Once has God spoken, these two things I have heard, that power is of God [Psalm 62:11], and to You, O Lord, is mercy, for You shall render to each one after his works" [Psalm 62:12]...."Once has God spoken." What do you say, Idithun? If you that had leapt over them art saying, "Once He has spoken;" I turn to another Scripture and it says to me, "In many quarters and in many ways formerly God has spoken to the fathers in the prophets." [Hebrews 1:1] What is, "Once has God spoken"? Is He not the God that in the beginning of mankind spoke to Adam? [Genesis 3:17] Did not the Selfsame speak to Cain, to Noe, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to all the Prophets, and to Moses? One man Moses was, and how often to him spoke God? Behold even to one man, not once but ofttimes God has spoken. Secondly, He has spoken to the Son when standing here, "You are My beloved Son." [Matthew 3:17] God has spoken to the Apostles, He has spoken to all the Saints, even though not with voice sounding through the cloud, nevertheless in the heart where He is Himself Teacher. What is therefore, "Once has God spoken"? Much has that man leapt over in order to arrive at that place, where once God has spoken. Behold briefly I have spoken to your Love. Here among men, to men ofttimes, in many ways, in many quarters, through creatures of many forms God has spoken: by Himself once God has spoken, because One Word God has begotten....For it could not be but that God did Himself know that which by the Word He made: [John 1:3] but if that which He made He knew, in Him there was that which was made before it was made. For if in Him was not that which was made before it was made, how knew He that which He made? For you can not say that God made things He knew not. God therefore has known that which He has made. And how knew He before He made, if there cannot be known any but things made? But by things made there cannot be known any but things previously made, by you, to wit, who art a man made in a lower place, and set in a lower place: but before that all these things were made, they were known by Him by whom they were made, and that which He knew He made. Therefore in that Word by which He made all things, before that they were made, were all things; and after they have been made there are all things; but in one way here, in another there, in one way in their own nature wherein they have been made, in another in the art by which they have been made. Who could explain this? We may endeavour: go ye with Idithun, and see.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

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