What Did You Hear?

Psalm 62:11-12

One thing God has spoken,
    two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
     and that you, O Lord, are loving.
Surely you will reward each person
    according to what he has done.

These verses which are the final two verses of Psalm 62, offer somewhat of a riddle-like challenge to those who search and study the Scriptures.  There are several interpretations of the verses, as to the reference to God speaking his law once to Moses and the Moses speaking it twice to the people, therefore the reference to God speaking one thing, but the psalmist saying he heard two things.

We know God has spoken more than once and that truth is easily seen because he spoke more than one thing during creation. He also spoke the law to Moses, just as he spoke his message through the prophets.  In the last days, he speaks to us through his Son. 

The core meaning of God's message is in what is heard and what we can learn from the things God says to us.  Notice in the first part of this psalm, there is repeated reference to all that God means to the writer, David.  In the opening verses, for example, David confesses, "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him." Later in the chapter David confesses that hope comes from God and that God is our fortress.  It all is summed up by David when he says again, "My salvation and my honor depend on God." It is safe to say that we have many lessons to learn from David's relationship with God and how much God means to him. 

Then come the verses which we have printed above.  "One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard."  Tell us, David, what did you hear?

1.  "That you, O God, are strong."  David could write volumes on the power and strength of God. In his experiences with God, ranging from David's younger life when he killed Goliath, to his later life as the king over the Israelites, David could testify that God is powerful. 

For those of us who read the gospel narratives and learn of the life, the death and resurrection of Jesus, and then see the spread of the early church, and the preaching ministry of Paul, we can see the power of God in its fullness.  We read terms like "God's power to save," and know that power is applied to sinful mankind that cannot save himself. Not only that, God blesses us with his power through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

2.  "And that you, O Lord, are loving."  Regardless of all the other things we learn about God, the fact that he loves us is paramount.  His love for us continues in spite of where we are, where we have been, or what we have done. He loves us to the point of giving his Son to die, paying the price for our sins. 

Those are the two things David heard.  God is strong and powerful, and God is loving.  Placing our trust and obedience in such a merciful God is our only way to eternal life. The last sentence of the verse says, "Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done."

God is powerful......God loves you.  What more do we need?

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