Tehilim Perek 62

Welcome to NachDaily, covering the entire TANACH, one perek at a time. I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, and today we’ll be discussing Tehilim, Chapter 61.

This is another prayer wherein Dovid expresses his deep emunah, faith, in God. Dovid worked intensely in the area of personal prayer, talking to Hashem about whatever was on his heart and mind every day of his life.

There are three parts to this chapter.

In the first part, Dovid speaks about his enemies who are constantly trying to kill him, asking God to destroy them. “For God alone I wait for my salvation.”

In the second part of the chapter starting from verse 6, Dovid admonishes himself to trust in Hashem. “For God alone my soul waits.” He again expresses deep faith in the power of prayer, trusting that God will answer his pleas.

In the third section, Dovid speaks about the futility of stealing. Even though it may seem as if dishonest people are succeeding, we shouldn’t be tempted to follow in their ways because true power comes only from God. Ultimately, Hashem rewards us according to our deeds.

The last verses, 12 and 13 says:

אַחַ֤ת ׀ דִּבֶּ֬ר אֱלֹהִ֗ים שְׁתַּֽיִם־ז֥וּ שָׁמָ֑עְתִּי כִּ֥י עֹ֝֗ז לֵאלֹהִֽים׃ וּלְךָֽ־אֲדֹנָ֥י חָ֑סֶד כִּֽי־אַתָּ֨ה תְשַׁלֵּ֖ם לְאִ֣ישׁ כְּֽמַעֲשֵֽׂהוּ׃

One thing God has spoken; two things have I heard: that might belongs to God, and faithfulness is Yours, O Lord, to reward each man according to his deeds.

The Meforshim all ask what is meant by: “One thing God has spoken, but two things I’ve heard?”

This refers to the second of the Ten Commandments. When God said, “You shouldn’t have any false Gods because I do kindness up to one thousand generations,” Dovid heard a double implication.

One, Hashem judges all of us according to our deeds, referring to reward and punishment.

Two, God is kind. True chessed belongs to Hashem.

This may seem like a simple statement, but there is a tremendous amount of depth to it. This is one of the major tenets of Judaism. We are only judged based on our own actions, they way that we used the gift of free will, and not on outside circumstances. We often play the blame game, seeing ourselves as innocent victims, but the ball is in our court to decide how we would like to deal with events. God therefore judges each of us on our own sliding scale.

This is not meant to frighten us, but to allow us to feel free and liberated. We are not victims of circumstance, but should feel empowered, knowing that we can make the necessary changes or adaptations needed to fulfill our missions in this world.

Ultimately, Dovid said, he doesn’t need to fear because God will judge each of us on our own merits. I can therefore take responsibility for myself, reassured that God is good.

May we merit Dovid’s attribute of having a larger vision of life and self, trusting the goodness of God and the world around us.

Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.