Psalms 62:5
in Psalms 62Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
My soul, wait thou in silence for God only; For my expectation is from him.
KJV
My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
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This verse in Psalms 62
Commentary
12 notes on this verseMy soul, wait thou only upon God. When we have already practised a virtue, it is yet needful that we bind ourselves to a continuance in it. The soul is apt to be dragged away from its anchorage, or is readily tempted to add a second confidence to the one sole and sure ground of reliance; we must, therefore, stir ourselves up to maintain the holy position which we were at first able to assume. Be still silent, O my soul! submit thyself completely, trust immovably, wait patiently.
This site's exposition
Rest in God alone
on Psalms 62:5-8
What was a confession at verse 1 comes back at verse 5 as an order to his own soul. Spurgeon marks the turn at verse 8, where the man who said He alone now says O people, and hands the same posture to the whole congregation. Pour out your hearts before Him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
What dost Thou, O Idithun, Body of Christ, leaping over them? What dost Thou amid all these things? What wilt Thou? wilt faint wilt Thou not persevere even unto the end? wilt Thou not hearken, "He that shall have persevered even unto the end, the same shall be saved," though for that iniquity aboundeth, the love of many shall wax cold? And where is it that Thou hast leaped over them? where is it that Thy conversation is in Heaven? But they cleave unto earthly things, as though earthborn they mind the earth, and are earth, the serpent's food. What dost thou amid these things? ..."Nevertheless, to God my soul shall be made subject" (ver. 5). And who would endure so great things, either open wars, or secret lyings-in-wait? Who would endure so great things amid open enemies, amid false brethren? Who would endure so great things? Would a man? and if a man would, would a man of himself? I have not so leaped over that I should be lifted up, and fall: "To God my soul shall be made subject: for from Himself is my patience." What patience is there amid so great scandals, except that "if for that which we do not see we hope, through patience we look for it"? There cometh my pain, there will come my rest also; there cometh my tribulation, there will come my cleansing also. For doth gold glitter in the furnace of the refiner? In a necklace it will glitter, in an ornament it will glitter: let it suffer however the furnace, in order that being cleansed from dross it may come into light. This is the furnace, there is there chaff, there gold, there fire, into this bloweth the refiner: in the furnace burneth the chaff, and the gold is cleansed; the one into ashes is turned, of dross the other is cleansed. […]
Let us so admire the fortitude of the holy martyrs in their suffering, as to proclaim the grace of the Lord. For they did not want to be praised in themselves, but in Him of whom it is said: "In the Lord my soul shall be praised." Those who understand this do not become proud: they ask with trembling, they receive with joy: they persevere, they no longer lose. Because they are not proud, they are meek. And therefore, after he said: "In the Lord my soul shall be praised," he added: "The meek shall hear and be glad." For what would weak flesh, what a worm and decay be, unless what we sang were true: "My soul shall be subject to God, for my patience is from Him"? Indeed, so that the martyrs could endure all evils for the sake of faith, their virtue is called patience.
Let the martyr turn his back to the unfaithful and ungrateful flatterer: let him turn his face to the most kind giver, and attribute his suffering to God, not as if he had offered this to God of his own; but rather say: My soul will praise the Lord, let the meek hear and be glad. And when you say to him, What does it mean: My soul will praise the Lord? Is it praised in you then? He responds: Will not my soul be subject to God? For my patience is from him. Why then is it mine? I opened my bosom, and willingly accepted; from him is mine. And from him, and mine; and because it is from him, therefore it is more securely mine. It is mine, but it is not from me to me. To have my gift, I acknowledge the giver God. For if I do not acknowledge the giver God, God takes away his good, and my evil remains, through my will.
And now, my child, if you take God as your hope, he will be your help in the time of your anguish; "for anyone who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who search for him." These words were …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
His salvation was the principal matter of his expectation; let him have that from God, and he expects no more. His salvation being from God, all his other expectations are from him. "If God will save my soul, as to every thing else let him do what he pleases with me, and I will acquiesce in his disposals, knowing they shall all turn to my salvation, " Phil. i.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): My soul, wait thou only upon God. Note, The good we do we should stir up ourselves to continue doing, and to do yet more and more, as those that have, through grace, experienced the comfort and benefit of it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
My soul, wait thou only upon God,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
My soul, wait thou only upon God. When we have already practised a virtue, it is yet needful that we bind ourselves to a continuance in it. The soul is apt to be dragged away from its anchorage, or is readily tempted to add a second confidence to the one sole and sure ground of reliance; we must, therefore, stir ourselves up to maintain the holy position which we were at first able to assume. Be still silent, O my soul! submit thyself completely, trust immovably, wait patiently. Let none of thy enemies' imaginings, consultings, flatteries, or maledictions cause thee to break the King's peace. Be like the sheep before her shearers, and like thy Lord, conquer by the passive resistance of victorious patience: thou canst only achieve this as thou shalt be inwardly persuaded of God's presence, and as you wait solely and alone on him. Unmingled faith is undismayed. Faith with a single eye sees herself secure, but if her eye be darkened by two confidences, she is blind and useless. For my expectation is from him. We expect from God because we believe in him. Expectation is the child of prayer and faith, and is owned of the Lord as an acceptable grace. We should desire nothing but what would be right for God to give, then our expectation would be all from God; and concerning truly good things we should not look to second causes, but to the Lord alone, and so again our expectation would be all from him. The vain expectations of worldly men come not; they promise but there is no performance; our expectations are on the way, and in due season will arrive to satisfy our hopes. Happy is the man who feels that all he has, all he wants, and all he expects are to be found in his God.
Wait thou only upon God - There is none but him in whom thou canst safely trust; and to get his help, resign thyself into his hands; be subject to him, and be silent before him; thou hast what thou hast deserved. See on Psa 62:1 (note).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
My soul, wait thou only upon God - See the notes at Psa 62:1. There is, in the word used here, and rendered wait, the same idea of rest or repose which occurs in Psa 62:1. The meaning is, that he would commit the whole cause to God, and that his soul would thus be calm and without apprehension. For my expectation is from him - In Psa 62:1, this is salvation. The idea here is, that all that he expected or hoped for must come from God. He did not rely on his fellow men; he did not rely on himself. God alone could deliver him, and he confidently believed that God would do it. Often are we in such circumstances that we feel that our only “expectation” - our only hope - is in God. All our strength fails; all our resources are exhausted; our fellow-men cannot or will not aid us; our own efforts seem to be vain; our plans are frustrated, and we are shut up to the conclusion that God alone can help us. How often is this felt by a Christian parent in regard to the conversion of his children. All his own efforts seem to be vain; all that he says is powerless; his hopes, long-cherished, are disappointed; his very prayers seem not to be heard; and he is made to feel that his only hope is in God - a sovereign God - and that the whole case must be left in His hands. This state of mind, when it is fully reached, is often all that is needful in order that our desires may be granted. It is desirable that this state of mind should be produced; and when it is produced, the prayer is answered.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַ֣ךְ | ʾakh | only | H389 → | 161 times |
| לֵ֭אלֹהִים | lelohim | to God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| דּ֣וֹמִּי | domi | be silent | H1826 → | 30 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֑י | nafshi | O self my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִ֝מֶּ֗נּוּ | mimenu | that [is] from him | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| תִּקְוָתִֽי׃ | tikvati | hope my | H8615 → | 34 times |
אַ֣ךְonly
ʾakhH389 →161 times
לֵ֭אלֹהִיםto God
lelohimH430 →2601 times
דּ֣וֹמִּיbe silent
domiH1826 →30 times
נַפְשִׁ֑יO self my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מִ֝מֶּ֗נּוּthat [is] from him
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
תִּקְוָתִֽי׃hope my
tikvatiH8615 →34 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Micah 7:7But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
it leads to
- Lamentations 3:25–26
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
- Psalms 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
- 1 John 5:14–15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Isaiah 45:22
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
- Lamentations 3:25–26
Through
Psalms 42:11Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
it leads to
- Psalms 42:5
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him for the salvation of His presence.
- Jeremiah 30:17
But I will restore your health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD, because they call you an outcast, Zion, for whom no one cares.”
- Jeremiah 33:6
Nevertheless, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal its people and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.
- Psalms 43:5
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
- Psalms 42:5
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 62; Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 283:1; Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 284:3; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Pachomius the Great, INSTRUCTIONS 16.