His enemies pounded on him like a relentless battering ram. The songwriter felt like a leaning wall. With unceasing determination, their only goal was to “thrust him down from his high position”–and so, they hammered at him, again and again. And, with each blow, he felt like a tottering fence. Such is the picture painted of the songwriter’s situation in Psalm 62.

There are some common analogies we use to describe times of trouble. We’ll talk of being tossed about in stormy seas. Or we’ll describe difficult times in terms of going through the fire with the heat increasingly turned up. But I don’t know that I’ve heard of trials or suffering likened to being a “leaning wall” or a “tottering fence” (62:3). But how accurate a description is that?

Times when you’re knocked back on your heals. Not enough to be taken off your feet, but certainly more than enough to cause you to feel like you’ve lost your balance. Situations pounding you, over and over, with just enough force to cause you to stagger and then reel, feeling like you’re on the verge of losing control and about to fall flat on your face. Still upright, but the weight of the burden you’re carrying is what seems to be chaotically propelling you and you’re not quite sure what direction you’re headed in. Times when you’ve lost your equilibrium.

And the remedy for lost equilibrium? The songwriter finds it in a silent soul.

For God alone, O 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, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.    Selah

(Psalm 62:5-8 ESV)

The songwriter would maintain his equilibrium by calling out to the only One who could set his teetering world upright. The only One who could source hope in the midst of despair. The only One big enough, present enough, and powerful enough to provide solid ground in any shaky situation.

Maintaining equilibrium is possible when we still our souls and focus on God alone. Perhaps easier said than done, but true nonetheless.

Waiting quietly before Him. Meditating on Him. Praying to Him. Trusting in Him. It all serves to calm the ground shaking beneath us. To protect from the battering rams of circumstance that are pounding relentlessly against us. To stabilize our heart, mind, and soul as we try to deal with the seemingly unceasing uncertainty ever before us.

God is our refuge. He is our mighty rock. He is our unfailing fortress.

And He is our salvation. Not just salvation from our past sin, but salvation in our present situation.

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him.

Trust in Him at all times, O people.

By His grace. For His glory.