This psalm says nearly the same thing twice, once near the beginning and again near the middle, and the small difference between the two carries weight. 2"He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken," David says at verse 2. At verse 6 he says it again, 6"I shall not be shaken," with the word "greatly" gone. David's confidence did not begin complete and stay fixed. It deepened during the prayer itself, from an honest admission that he could still be shaken somewhat to a settled conviction that he could not be shaken at all.
The Hebrew word for "alone" runs through the psalm like one insistent note. 1"For God alone my soul waits in silence." This is a silence that quiets every voice, David's own anxious striving included, so that the only thing left standing in the room is God. It is the one posture that matches what David claims, that salvation was always going to come from God and never from anything he could produce by staying busy or loud about his own defense.
David's enemies are close. 3"How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall?" The next verse shows they are close enough to smile at his face and curse him underneath: 4"They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse." A leaning wall needs little force to finish falling, and his enemies sense weakness and push at what already looks unstable. In the next breath the refrain returns unchanged.
Then David turns outward to everyone listening. 8"Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him." Silence before God means bringing the whole heart honestly into his presence and not performing composure for anyone else, the difference between managed feelings and feelings surrendered.
The psalm goes on to weigh every rival source of security a person might reach for. 9"Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion." Put the poorest and the most powerful on the same market scale, and neither tips it. 10"If riches increase, set not your heart on them." That last warning is aimed as much at God's people as at any outside enemy, since wealth gained honestly can capture a heart as thoroughly as wealth gained by force.
The psalm closes with a word David says he heard from God, twice over for emphasis: 11"power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love." Power without steadfast love would give no one a reason to trust it, and steadfast love without power would have no strength behind its promises. David's God holds both, strong enough to matter and kind enough to trust.
What began as a private, embattled confession, still admitting it could be greatly shaken, ends as settled doctrine meant for a congregation to sing. The leaning wall never fell. It stopped leaning on itself and leaned entirely on a rock that was never going to move.
Ask what you have been leaning on that was already tilting.
Prayer
Father, our souls have waited in noise more than in silence, gripping at our own defense instead of resting in yours. For you alone let our souls wait. Where people close to us bless with their mouths and curse within, be our rock and refuge. Teach us to trust you at all times and to pour out our hearts honestly. In Jesus' name, amen.