RR Psalm 62:11 Part 7

Shalom,

Psalm 62:11 Do not trust in extortion, and do not put vain hope in plunder. Though these things increase riches, do not set your heart on them.


This Psalm, like about half of all the Psalms, is labeled, “A Psalm of David.”   Does that mean David wrote it, as many suppose, or that David sang it, another possibility, or that it was both written and performed by others for the benefit of David, probably a minority opinion?  Whether David wrote this himself, or someone else wrote it for his benefit, David is central to the message of the Psalm attributed in some way to him.

Who needs this message more than the king?  “Don’t set your heart on wealth!”  I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor (and I’ve decided I like rich better.  Today, I’m rich by most worldly standards, and semi-rich by others.  My experience leads me to this conclusion, “Wealth lulls you into a love affair with nothing.”  My rabbi, Dan Juster, likes to say, “What do we need in this life, but a lounge chair and a lamp?”

Some of the most joy filled and satisfied people I’ve ever met have had little wealth, or even none.  The focus here is not on what you have, or don’t have, but on where your heart is.  Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The very next verse gives us our focus, and it is where we are going to end for today.  Matthew 6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore if your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.”  Keep your eyes on God.  We become what we behold.  Continually behold the presence of God and let Him transform your life.  In other words, trust in Him, and He will put everything else in order.  Shalom shalom.

Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Wed    2 Sep 2026                 20th of Elul, 5786
De 30:15-31:6            Mic 6               2 Ch 16           Rev 1              (Ac 10)