Yet
my soul keepeth silence unto God; of him
cometh
my salvation.
✙ Psalm 62:1 ✙
I'm using the Geneva Bible today to render what I think is closer to the true meaning of Psalm 62:1. The NRSV begins, "For God alone..." but the Hebrew word translated here as "alone" (or "only") is actually "but" or "nevertheless" or "yet." The Psalmist, like Martha in the kitchen, is distracted by many things. We can almost picture, just before Psalm 62 opens, that she has been rebuked by the Lord, who shows her a better example:
Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.
—Luke 10:41-42
Hence the sudden beginning, as though we're already in the middle of a thought. "[I am distracted by too many things,] yet for God, my soul will keep its peace—only God can be the source of my wholeness."
I hope to remember this today and in the future. When I am distracted or overwhelmed, it's never too late to start out a prayer with a But....
But it's for you that I will keep still, Lord. Only you can make me whole, and only you can see me to the end of my journey. So for you I will wait, lest I be tempted to come to my own end. Amen.
