Psalm 62: Jesus is My Everything

[0:00] Well, if we could, this evening, with the Lord's help and guidance, if we could turn back to that psalm we were just singing and reading, the book of Psalms, Psalm 62.

[0:16] Book of Psalms, Psalm 62, and if we just read again the first two verses. For God alone my soul waits in silence. From him comes my salvation.

[0:28] He only is my rock and my salvation. My fortress I shall not be greatly shaken. But particularly the words, he only is my rock and my salvation.

[0:47] He only is my rock and my salvation. Where do we go when life doesn't go the way we had planned?

[1:06] What do we do when our lives are turned upside down in a moment and everything changes? How do we react when the things we thought were secure and the people we thought were permanent are suddenly taken from us?

[1:26] Where do we go? What do we do? And how do we react? And whether we consider this from a personal perspective or from a public one, we will all agree that we live in a world full of change.

[1:44] And we have all known change in our lives, whether on a personal scale, in our own homes or in our own families. Or we've known change taking place in the public arena.

[1:58] Even since last Lord's Day we have witnessed change. We have a new Prime Minister and a completely new Cabinet. We are experiencing change because we have to go through Brexit, whatever that means.

[2:13] We have a First Minister who's now proposing another second referendum. We have Syria, which is a constant concern with a continuing war.

[2:24] France is another place that's experienced chaos in the last week in that horrific accident or attack in Nice.

[2:34] And in Turkey, you wake up on Saturday morning and the place is in turmoil. And without having to leave our homes, we're being constantly reminded that we live in a world of instability and uncertainty.

[2:49] And we are repeatedly seeing the chaos and devastation which sin has caused and is still causing. And when these things happen, where do we go?

[3:01] What do we do? And how do we react? Well, when we come to Psalm 62, the psalmist reminds us that there is only one place to go and only one person to go to.

[3:16] And that is to Jesus. Because as the psalmist considered the ever-changing world that he was part of, where empires rose and empires fell, kingdoms came together and kingdoms disbanded and leaders came and leaders went.

[3:33] And yet the psalmist knew that there was only one person to whom he could look and one person to whom he could go. And that was to Jesus. Because the psalmist knew that the Jesus of Scripture is one who never changes.

[3:50] But one who always remains the same. The same yesterday, today and forever. And in the words of Psalm 62, we have the personal testimony of one of the Lord's people.

[4:03] This is his testimony. And he's testifying to the faithfulness of the Lord. The permanence of the Lord. And we can see that it's personal from the number of personal pronouns which are used throughout this short psalm.

[4:19] Because the psalmist is always saying, my. My soul. My rock. My salvation. My hope. My fortress. My glory. My refuge.

[4:30] And with every personal pronoun, the psalmist only seeks to emphasize that this person, this Jesus, he belongs to him. He belongs to him.

[4:42] And it was John Calvin who wrote about all these personal pronouns in the book of Psalms. And he mentioned it in the preface of his commentary to the book of Psalms.

[4:54] And he said there, he said, I have been accustomed to call this book, I think not inappropriately, an anatomy of all parts of the soul. He says there is not an emotion of which anyone can be conscious.

[5:10] There is not here represented as in a mirror. And Calvin's statement, it's so true and so telling of the experience of all of the Lord's people. The testimony of the Lord's people.

[5:22] That in the mirror of God's word, and especially in the book of Psalms, we not only see who Jesus is, but we also see who we are. And our need of him.

[5:34] Because the Psalms present to us an anatomy of all parts of our soul. And they address every area and every circumstance and every feeling and every emotion which we go through in our lives.

[5:47] And what this Psalm is highlighting for us, through the personal testimony of one of the Lord's people, is the assurance that despite the changing circumstances of this world, Jesus never changes.

[6:02] Jesus never changes. And it's for this reason that the Psalmist testifies to us. He's saying to us here, Jesus is my everything.

[6:15] Jesus is my everything. And we can see in this Psalm that these 12 verses, they're helpfully divided into three sections using the word Sela.

[6:29] The word Sela literally means to exalt or to praise. And they're found at the end of verse 4 and at the end of verse 8. And the word Sela, its presence in the Psalms was for those reading or singing the Psalms to stop and consider what has just been said.

[6:49] It was for them to take a pause and to exalt and to praise the Lord for his goodness. And so when we see the word Sela, the Psalmist is asking us to stop and consider the words that we've just read.

[7:02] And he says to us, reflect upon them for a wee while. Think over them. Ponder what they mean. Remember what is written. And praise God for them.

[7:12] Because it's only when we take time to ponder and consider what is written, then it will lead us, like the Psalmist, to exalt the name of Jesus and praise him for his wondrous works.

[7:27] And so I'd like us to obey that command this evening and see that there are three things that the Psalmist wants to testify to about Jesus. Because he wants to testify about his confidence in Jesus, verses 1 to 4, and his hope in Jesus, verses 5 to 8, and his trust in Jesus, verses 9 to 12.

[7:52] His confidence in Jesus, his hope in Jesus, and his trust in Jesus. But as we said, the overarching testimony about this servant of the Lord is that he is saying, Jesus is my everything.

[8:08] So the first of all, what we see the Psalmist testify about, he's saying, he's testifying about his confidence in Jesus. His confidence in Jesus.

[8:21] So look again with me at verse 1. He says, For God alone my soul waits in silence. From him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation.

[8:31] My fortress I shall not be greatly shaken. How long will all of you attack a man to batter him? Like a leaning wall, a tottering fence. They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.

[8:44] They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah. The singular confidence which the Psalmist had in Jesus Christ, it's expressed to us, not only in this opening statement in verse 1, but it's also expressed throughout the entire Psalm.

[9:07] Because the Psalmist opens his song of praise about Jesus with the word only, or alone, or truly. And he repeats this word again and again and again throughout his song of praise, where he says, He only, He alone, truly.

[9:24] My soul waits upon God, alone on Him, dependeth all my hope. He only my salvation is, and my strong rock is He. He only is my sure defence.

[9:36] I shall not moved be. And these expressions are such that the Psalmist is declaring that He has confidence in no other except Jesus Christ alone.

[9:49] Jesus Christ alone. I'm sure that many of us have heard of the five Reformation solas. Those five statements which were born out of the Reformation in Europe.

[10:03] A Reformation which saw the church move away from the erroneous doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. And they produced these five Reformation solas, which asserted that the true church of Jesus Christ, that's what they were to assert and uphold the position of.

[10:21] They were to teach that salvation is from sola scriptura, scripture alone. Sola fide, faith alone. Sola gratia, grace alone.

[10:32] Sola Christos, Christ alone. And soli Deo gloria, to the glory of God alone. Beautiful statements. Wonderful statements. That expressed that there is to be nothing else.

[10:46] No additives, no extras, no accessories to our salvation. It was to be from scripture alone, by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

[11:00] Well in the words of Psalm 62, we have here this Reformer. And he's affirming to us that his salvation and his confidence is in sola Christos.

[11:11] Christ alone. Christ alone. That's what he's saying to us. But you know, I love the way the Authorized Version begins this psalm. Because it reads, Truly my soul waiteth upon God.

[11:25] From him cometh my salvation. And there's something so beautiful about that word, truly. Because it expresses the psalmist's affirmation and his assurance in Jesus Christ.

[11:40] But is that not the word that Jesus used himself? He would often use it when he's speaking to other people. When he would give this affirmation and assurance that his word that he was teaching, that it was the truth and it was from the mouth of God.

[11:59] Jesus would do so by prefixing everything with the words, Verily, verily, I say unto you. Or truly, truly, I say to you. Or most assuredly, I say to you.

[12:12] And when Jesus said those words, there would be no hesitation about the origin or the authenticity or the genuineness of what he was saying. And here is the psalmist and he's affirming to us that his faith and his assurance and his confidence is in sola Christos.

[12:31] Christ alone. It's in Christ alone. But I don't know, maybe you're saying to yourself and wondering, Murdo, where is Jesus in this psalm?

[12:43] Because his name isn't mentioned once. Well, I would say that it is. And it's mentioned four times. Because every time the psalmist speaks about my salvation, he's only speaking about one person.

[12:59] And that is Jesus. Because the word salvation or Yeshua, it's translated in the New Testament as Jesus. And is that what the angel said to Mary?

[13:11] When the angel told Mary that she was going to conceive and give birth to a son, the angel said, you shall call his name Jesus.

[13:25] You shall call his name salvation. You shall call his name saviour, deliverer, rescuer, liberator, redeemer. Why? Because he shall save his people.

[13:37] He shall deliver his people. He shall rescue his people. He shall liberate his people. He shall redeem his people from what? Their sin. He shall save his people from their sin.

[13:51] And so it's no wonder that the testimony of the psalmist is that his confidence and his assurance comes from Jesus Christ alone because he has experienced that salvation from sin, that deliverance from slavery, that rescue from the power of the grave, that liberation and freedom from bondage to sin, that redemption through the blood of Christ.

[14:16] And the psalmist affirms that from him comes my salvation and no other. No other. No other.

[14:28] But what I think is so wonderful about what the psalmist says here in his opening statement is that because Jesus Christ is his salvation and Jesus Christ alone, he says that he silently waits upon him.

[14:48] He silently waits upon him. Now when the psalmist says that he's waiting upon Jesus, I don't think that he's speaking about meditation and prayer. I don't believe that he's saying that he enjoys peace and quiet meditation away from the hustle and bustle of life.

[15:03] That may be true and that may be necessary for the child of God, but that's not what the psalmist had confidence in. No, his confidence and his assurance in Jesus Christ is that he has peace with God.

[15:18] He has that inexpressible peace in his heart, that peace which passes all understanding, that peace which is so deep and so sure, that perfect peace, that peace which never changes despite the ever-changing world.

[15:37] And it's a peace which comes because Jesus is dwelling in his heart. My friend, the testimony of this Christian is that he silently waits upon God because the Prince of Peace is enthroned upon his heart.

[15:52] And come what may, he knows that his Saviour will remain faithful. He knows that his confidence in Jesus will not be shaken.

[16:04] He knows that his assurance will not wither and fade and his peace will not be stolen. All because his testimony is Jesus is my everything.

[16:16] Jesus is my everything. Which is why the psalmist confesses in verse 2, He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress, I shall not be greatly shaken.

[16:33] Now as you can see, these opening words are repeated again in verses 5 and 6. And so we'll consider their relevance and meaning in the context of verses 5 to 8 when we come to them in a moment.

[16:46] But what we ought to notice from verses 3 and 4 is that there is a complete contrast between the testimony of the Christian and the testimony of the world.

[17:01] Because it says in verses 3 and 4, How long will all of you attack a man to batter him? Like a leaning wall, a tottering fence. They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.

[17:13] They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths. But inwardly they curse. Sell out. In his treasury of David, Charles Spurgeon, he says about these verses, he says, It is always best to begin with God and then we may confront our enemies.

[17:34] Make all sure with heaven then you may grapple with earth and hell. And that's exactly what the psalmist does. Because he testifies to the confidence that he has in Jesus Christ.

[17:47] He testifies that first of all. And he does so in comparison to the confidence which the world has. The confidence which the world has, he says, is in self.

[18:00] He says the world promotes self. And it emphasizes self-sufficiency and self-reliance and autonomy. And that they are the God of their own lives.

[18:13] They are the masters of their own destiny. They are writing the story of their own future. They're making a name for themselves without God. He's saying that the world looks at the Christian and says, who do they think they are?

[18:28] They think that they're up there. So close to God and they're above everyone else and they're looking down on everyone because they think that God is in control and that he's king over the universe and that they can tell everyone that God has created everything and he upholds everything and he'll send people to hell if they don't believe in him.

[18:50] But they ask if that were the case, why does a good God allow suffering? Why is there so much chaos in this world? Why all this terrorism?

[19:03] Where is God in all of these things? What about Islamic State? What is God doing about that? And the world looks at the Christian as an easy target. That's what he's saying. They look at them and the psalmist says they look at them like a wall which is ready to fall over at the slightest push and they're like a fence which is just tottering, waving back and forth in the wind with no real solid foundation about to collapse at any moment and the psalmist says that the world will mock the Christian for saying that they have lasting confidence in Jesus.

[19:41] They'll mock the Christian for their testimony but the world claims it's a waste of time and that they have no real lasting security. It's all in their imagination.

[19:52] It's just a crutch to get them through their life because they're putting their faith in a God that they cannot see. Not in reality. They're not putting their trust in reality and truth and scientific fact and they say it's not faith.

[20:07] It's madness. It's foolishness. It's stupidity to think that there is a God who can help us and yet in spite of all that the world has to spout for the psalmist says in his testimony and the testimony of all the Lord's people that despite what they say their confidence and their salvation remains firm in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone.

[20:35] I remember years ago hearing a story about a worker on a ship. I should probably call him a sailor and he was a Christian and every morning when all the other sailors or workers would come into the cafeteria for their breakfast this Christian would be already sitting there reading his Bible and when the others saw him they would come over with their trays and they would sit down and they would take it as an opportunity to mock him and to tease him about his faith and his confidence in Jesus but instead of trying to argue with him the Christian just said nothing and this would take place on almost a daily occurrence that was until one day the ship encountered a severe storm and the captain urged his workforce to ensure that everything was securely fastened down but the storm was getting so severe that many of the sailors on the ship they began to fear for their lives so much so that they were found under the tables in the cafeteria praying to God for help and of course as you would expect the Christian walks in to check the cafeteria and the first thing all these terrified sailors say to him is we might drown why aren't you praying to your

[22:01] God to help and all the Christian said to them was I pity anyone who leaves their praying until now and he could only say that because his confidence was in Jesus Christ his confidence was in Christ and Christ alone and you know my friend that is the testimony of the Christian that their confidence is not in this ever changing world but in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone and so we've seen that the psalmist has testified to his confidence in Jesus but secondly we see that he testifies to his hope in Jesus his hope in Jesus look at what he says in verse 5 he says for God alone oh my soul wait in silence for my hope is from him he only is my rock and my salvation my fortress I shall not be shaken on God rests my salvation and my glory my mighty rock my refuge is God trust in him at all times oh people pour out your heart before him

[23:13] God is a refuge for us Selah and so what we see in these verses is that the psalmist is not only testifying to his confidence in Jesus Christ as his saviour but he's also testifying to his hope in Jesus Christ as his saviour and as we said verses 5 and 6 they're just a repetition almost a repetition of verses 1 and 2 in which the psalmist he's reaffirming his testimony to us by again reminding us that he is waiting upon Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone because he affirms to us that he has experienced the salvation of the Lord he reaffirms that Jesus is in his heart and that he has confidence in Jesus and that he has peace with God a peace which is like no other that this world can give and what's remarkable is that the testimony of the psalmist it's the same testimony as the psalmist in Psalm 71 where he begins his psalm and all he can say is oh Lord my hope and confidence is placed in thee alone and it makes me think that this is the testimony of all of the

[24:31] Lord's people whatever century we're in it's still the testimony of the Lord's people our hope and confidence is placed in him alone because even the apostle Paul he affirmed that Jesus is our hope and our confidence he said that we too need to hold fast to the hope set before us we need to hold on to our hope because our hope our Jesus he says is the anchor of our soul which is both sure and steadfast oh my friend it's no wonder that the psalmist says my hope is from him my hope is from him but he doesn't stop there because he reemphasizes why he has hope and confidence in Jesus Christ and he says he only he alone he only my salvation is and my strong rock is he then he goes on to say in verse six he only is my rock and my salvation my fortress

[25:39] I shall not be shaken on God rests my salvation and my glory my mighty rock my refuge is God and in these words the psalmist reveals to us he reveals to us the anatomy of his undying soul and all we see is a soul that is full of Jesus it's a soul that has been taken over by Jesus it's a soul which is overflowing with Jesus because Jesus is resident in his heart where his love for Jesus is almost indescribable which is why he's using all these metaphors to try and portray Jesus to us as the anchor of his soul and he tells us he is my hope he is my rock he is my salvation he is my glory he is my mighty rock he is my refuge he is my everything he is my all in all and the wonder of it is he says he is mine he is mine and I am his and I am his and what he's telling us is that it's personal it's individual it's almost private where Jesus has met with him personally

[27:03] Jesus has spoken to him through his word personally Jesus has dealt with him and his sin personally Jesus has brought him to know about his love and his forgiveness and his mercy and his grace personally and when Jesus does that oh there is nothing in this world that will ever be able to take it from them nothing in this world because he is your hope and your confidence my friend have you not found that to be true in your own experience where Jesus has met with you and he's spoken to you and he's dealt with you personally and now as a Christian your Christianity it's not a religion because a religion it's based upon outward forms and fashions it's based upon do's and don'ts it's based upon slavery and subordination but that's not Christianity oh no it's far more than that it's far deeper than that it's far more personal than that because in

[28:07] Jesus Christ it's not a religion oh it's a relationship a relationship with a living person Jesus my friend he's alive he ever lives and that's what makes him so unique and so precious that's what makes him the anchor of our soul that's what makes him so precious to the Christian but the testimony of this Christian is that he not only considers Jesus as the anchor of his soul he also considers him as the rock of his salvation the rock of his salvation as every sailor knows the anchor is useless unless it's fastened to the rock was it not the hymn writer who asked the question will your anchor hold in the storms of life when the clouds unfold their wings of strife when the strong tides lift and the cables strain will your anchor drift or firm remain and it was then that the hymn writer he went on to confess in the chorus we have an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure while the billows roll fastened to the rock which cannot move grounded firm and deep in the saviour's love and that's what the psalmist is testifying here that Jesus is the rock of his salvation because on three occasions the psalmist he refers to

[29:47] Jesus as his rock or his mighty rock he says my rock my mighty rock and this metaphor of the lord as a rock that's quite common throughout the psalms our opening item of praise in psalm 95 the psalmist he invites us to come and to sing to the lord and make a cheerful noise to the rock of our salvation in psalm 18 the psalmist declares the lord lives and blessed blessed be my rock and let the god of my salvation be exalted the well-known words of psalm 40 highlight the same sentiments where the psalmist confesses he took me from a fearful pit and from the miry clay and on a rock he set my feet establishing my way and even in the precious psalm in psalm 61 that precious psalm there the psalmist says lead me to the rock that is higher than I and what we see with all these examples is that

[30:59] Jesus is the rock and of course the rock is representative of stability it's not like the leaning wall or the tottering fence it's solid it has a firm foundation it's secure it's unmovable it's unchangeable it's not swayed and swung by the changing tides of the age but it remains the same yesterday today and forever and what's interesting is that the apostle Paul used the same metaphor in the new testament when Paul was speaking about all the failures of the children of Israel in the wilderness and he said that they all ate spiritual food and they all drank from that spiritual rock the rock which followed them then he says and that rock was Christ that rock was Christ but what I find interesting about what Paul said was when he said that the rock followed them it followed them the rock followed them and you know the fact that the rock followed them gives this beautiful image of constant stability of permanent security eternal refuge because everywhere the children of Israel went throughout their wilderness journey the rock was with them the rock was there when they had to endure the heat of the desert the rock was there when they went over the steep mountains the rock was there when they went through the dark valleys the rock was there when they reached the banks of the river Jordan about to cross over the rock was still there the rock was always there the rock never changed it never altered it never crumbled but it was always this permanent fixture in the experience of the children of Israel and my friend is that not true for every child of God that whatever this wilderness journey has for us and whatever may come our way whether it's temptation in the heat of the desert or the blessing on the mountaintop experience or the dark valleys of pain and sorrow the rock which is Christ never changes he never changes he remains for the Christian my salvation and my rock my glory and my refuge and you know I always find it fascinating when I meet a Christian who has dementia

[33:49] I remember meeting a godly woman a few years ago when I was doing my training and I was in first year on my placement in Amherdine and I met a godly woman but unfortunately she had dementia to the point that she didn't know who she was or who her family was or where she was and like most dementia sufferers she would repeatedly ask the same questions again and again but when I was sitting with her one night her daughter who was there whispered to me and said say to her the words I am the rose of Sharon from the song of Solomon say those words to her I am the rose of Sharon and so I did and I was amazed that when she began she then began to quote the whole of chapter 2 from the song of Solomon I am the rose of Sharon the lily of the valleys as the lily among thorns so is my love among the daughters and she went on and on and on and it reminds me of what the psalmist is testifying to here that this life which is full of pain and full of sorrow and deterioration and decay and it can take so many good things from us even our own mind but what it can never take from us is the rock from which we were hewn that precious rock because that rock will remain our hope and our confidence throughout our wilderness journey and the endless days of eternity he only is my rock and my salvation my fortress

[35:46] I shall not be shaken and so we've seen that the psalmist has testified to his confidence in Jesus he's testified to his hope in Jesus but lastly I'd like us to see that the psalmist testifies to his trust in Jesus his trust in Jesus look at verse 9 those of low estate are but a breath those of high estate are a delusion in the balances they go up they are together lighter than a breath put no trust in extortion set no vain hopes on robbery if riches increase set not your heart on them once God has spoken twice have I heard this that power belongs to God and that to you O Lord belongs steadfast love for you will render to a man according to his work the last section of Psalm 62 is introduced by emphasizing the futility of putting your trust in men whether they are rich or poor of course the negative this negative emphasis in verse 9 it's contrasted with the positive call from verse 8 to come and trust in Jesus where he says trust in him at all times

[37:03] O people pour out your heart before him God is a refuge for us Selah and what we ought to see from these verses is that because the psalmist has now given his testimony he has testified to the salvation in Jesus Christ alone and the hope and confidence which he has in him the psalmist now wants to apply all that he has said to the reader to the hearer and ask them where is your heart in relation to Jesus where is your heart in relation to Jesus and in this closing plea the psalmist applies his teaching by issuing some advice because in verse 8 he calls us to trust in Jesus at all times to pour out our heart before him because he is our refuge he is our rock and our salvation and that's what the psalmist has already testified to be true but in verses 9 and 10 the psalmist calls us not to trust in man or worldly gain and he says do not set your heart on them and so the advice he gives is simple pour out your heart to Jesus but don't set your heart on riches and in effect the psalmist is giving the same advice advice as Jesus gives us because

[38:30] Jesus says to us in the sermon on the mount do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust are corrupt and thieves break in and steal but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust are corrupt and thieves cannot break in and steal and then Jesus asks the question or he makes the statement where your treasure is there will your heart be also where your treasure is there will your heart be also and the psalmist is asking us where is your heart in relation to Jesus where is your heart is Jesus everything to you or is he just something to you something you do on a lord's day or is he nothing to you where is your heart he's asking in relation to Jesus but then the psalmist concludes by saying something very interesting in verses 11 and 12 he says once god has spoken twice have i heard this that power belongs to god and that to you oh lord belongs steadfast love for you will render to a man according to his work and when he says god has spoken once the psalmist is drawing attention to the fact that the word of god never changes jesus never changes it doesn't alter because he's like a rock the word doesn't change what god says is firm it's infallible it's inerrant it's unchanging and through that word god has spoken twice he has spoken through preachers and through providence he's spoken through our lives and into our lives and that we hear the word twice or even many times we hear him calling us many times and the message we hear in god's unchanging word is that even though we live in a world of full of change full of decay and deterioration and death the word we hear is a precious word we hear the word speaking to us through our lives and through the gospel but we also hear that jesus christ the rock of our salvation who's the same yesterday today and forever despite the ever changing world that we're part of the psalmist says that the message which is worth listening to the message which is worth responding to is the message which he says is of god's power and god's love god's power and god's love and as you know my friend the message of god's power and god's love is the message of the gospel it's the message of god's salvation in and through jesus christ alone a salvation which is full and freely offered to you full and freely offered to you and so having told us his testimony he's testified to jesus that his confidence is in jesus his hope is in jesus his trust is in jesus having told us that jesus christ is everything to him in this world that is full of change and decay the psalmist only wants to leave us with one question where is your heart in relation to jesus where is your heart in relation to jesus in our hallway

[42:30] in the manse you're very welcome to come and see it there's a picture in the hallway from a hymn by an american businessman from the 19th century called horatio spafford and when you come and see it you can also have a cup of tea too but the words of the hymn they were born out of tragedy as horatio spafford he lost all four of his daughters at sea when their ships sank in the atlantic and yet in the midst of his overwhelming loss and his changing circumstances and all that was going on in his experience spafford was enabled to write those beautiful words when peace like a river attendeth my way when sorrows like sea billows roll whatever my lot that was taught me to say it is well it is well with my soul but my friend spafford was only able to say that it was well with his soul because to him jesus was his everything jesus was his everything but how is it with your soul is it well with your soul can you say and leave here like this psalmist testifying jesus is my everything jesus is my everything may the lord bless these thoughts to us let us pray oh lord our gracious god we give thanks for a great and a precious saviour help us lord we pray to lean upon him oh not to trust in ourselves or another but to trust in jesus christ and jesus christ alone that our confession would be as the psalmist said he only my salvation is and my strong rock is he he only is my sure defense much moved i shall not be oh that we would be firm and founded upon the rock the rock that is christ jesus because we live in a world of change a world that is ever changing that we do not know even what lies before us in this week that is ahead of us but we give thanks to thee that thou art one who does know and thou art one who will be a sure and steadfast hope for us come what may or do us good we pray thee keep us on the journey and go before us for jesus sake amen we shall conclude by singing those last few verses of psalm 62 psalm 62 the scottish psalter verse 9 to the end of the psalm surely mean men are vanity and great men are a lie in balance laid they holy are more light than vanity trust ye not in oppression and robbery be not vain on wealth set not your hearts when as increased is your gain down to the end of the psalm of psalm 62 to god's praise surely mean men men are bound with peace and great men are alike in

[46:30] balance with the holy arm more light than fantasy stairs keeps in love Reveal not this.

[47:02] Oh, well said, Lord, your heart's red light, in peace it is your name.

[47:19] God hath it spoken once to me, yea, this I heard again, that power to Almighty God alone thou power'st in.

[47:54] Yea, mercy also unto thee belongs the Lord alone.

[48:09] For thou according to his word rewardest everyone.

[48:27] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore.

[48:38] Amen.