The Emotions of Psalms Part 6: Psalm 62 – Feeling Impatient

Date
Yesterday
Speaker
Matthew H. Millen
Topic
Emotions, Patience
Series
The Emotions of Psalms
Book
Psalms

The Emotions of Psalms, Part 6 – Psalm 62: Feeling Impatient

Psalm 62 July 19, 2026

Introduction

Child Dedication today; raising kids is hard; difficulties of raising my own children. Want them to “get it”, be obedient, love the Lord, and do what they’re supposed to do – why do they insist on hurting themselves, why do they make foolish decision, why do they not listen?
Impatience can emerge from almost any negative emotional trigger as the situation of circumstance persists and continues to produce frustration and hurt.
3 points today – Psalmist’s Pathos, Psalmist’s Processing, Psalmist’s Pointing

Psalmist’s Primary Pathos: Impatience

Psalm 69

1 For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
3 How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah
5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
9 Those of low estate are but a breath;
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no trust in extortion;
set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
11 Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12 and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
according to his work.

Spectrum of how hurt (especially from an injustice done to you) is expressed: Saturation to Suppression
- Impatience can emerge from either end of the saturation/suppression spectrum – impatience is a secondary emotion that can often arise as a hurt progresses and remains unresolved
  - This Psalm is a lament over being hurt and overwhelmed….having failed to have victory in his own strength and efforts, the psalmist now cries out to the Lord.

Psalmist’s Processing

V1-2 = eyes on God
- Recognizes need for God from outset
  - V1 – “waits in silence” = patiently (waits) trusts without doubt, question, complaint
    - Doesn’t mean we can’t have doubts, questions, or complaints; it means we work them out with the Lord and then trust Him through those things
    - George Muller as cited by Spurgeon “The natural mind is ever prone to reason, when we ought to believe; to be at work, when we ought to be quiet; to go our own way, when we ought steadily to walk on in God’s ways.”
  - V1 “alone” V2 “only” = it is only the Lord who can save and when we are impatient we often forget this, or we blame God for not saving us the way and in the timing that we want to be saved
    - But the faithful one continues to trust and hope
  - V1 – “from him comes my salvation” = perspective reminder of where my true hope lies
  - V2 – “I shall not be greatly shaken” = we’re going to take our lumps, but our salvation is secure and we should not be “greatly” shaken, perhaps just a little shaken for a time as we work through the situation and patiently look to trust the Lord all the more
V3-4 = eyes on problem
- As we wait for God to act, temptation is to take eyes off of him and fixate on the problem
  - Problem of the people attacking
  - Problem of my own weakness (leaning wall, tottering fence)
V5-7 = *Key verses* eyes back to God, self-talk/reminder of focus
- How we speak to ourselves is critical – are we focusing our attention on the problem or are we focusing out attention on the solution (God)
- John Trapp, puritan theologian, “They trust not God at all who trust him not alone. He that stands with one foot on a rock, and another foot upon a quicksand, will sink and perish, as certainly as he that standeth with both feet upon a quicksand. David knew this, and therefore calleth earnestly upon his soul to trust only upon God.”
- V5 – “wait in silence” – moves from description of activity “waits” to imperative command (“wait”)
  - as trouble increases we must increase our intentionality and self-control to trust and rely on the Lord
- V5 – “my hope is from him”
  - Romans 15:13 “13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
- V6 – “I shall not be shaken” = as hope and trust grows, I will not be shaken at all – no more qualifier of “greatly” as in V2
  - Paul Tripp “Waiting on God is not about what you get at the end of the wait; waiting on God is what you become as you’ve waited. You see, waiting changes you. You begin to learn that there is no salvation apart from God, that there’s no rock to stand on in life apart from him, that there is no fortress to be found outside of the Lord. You learn that hope in him will never disappoint you. You learn that you can pour out whatever is in your heart to him, and he won’t reject you, and he won’t turn his back on you. You learn that power is fading, and riches are fading, and you put the rich man and the poor man in a balance, and there’s not much difference, that real power and real steadfast love belong to the Lord.”
V8-10 = recognition of truth
- V8 – Exhortation to trust in God
  - V8 – “Pour out your heart before him” – in prayer, let Him know your hurt and pain that He would reassure and strengthen you so that you may trust in Him
    - Proverbs 5-6 “5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
      - Deut. 6:5-6 (Shema) trust is connected to love which is expression of worship
  - Reminder of truth:
    - V9 – shortness of life
    - V9 – deception of wealth
    - V9 – deception of weight (glory/value)
    - V9 – deception of trusting in people in general (all will fail)
    - V10 – trap of self-sufficiency and dishonest gain
      - No pleasure no, no security in, no identity in these things
V11-12 = Eyes on God
- V11 – God is powerful
- V12 – God is (Heb. hesed) faithfully, mercifully, covenantally, loving
- V12 – God is just

Psalmist’s Pointing to Jesus

Jesus grew impatient
- Luke 9: transfiguration => boy with unclean spirit (disciples couldn’t cast out) => disciples argue over who is greatest => disciples concerned about protecting Jesus ministry => disciples wanting to bring judgment against the Samaritan village => excuses before following Jesus
- Luke 9:41 “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you?”
  - But Luke 9:21-22, 43-44 = Jesus knew His purpose and calling – He knew what the Father sent Him for and to what He was called. And He trusted in the Father

Conclusion

Joy of baptizing my children as they’ve proclaimed their trust in Jesus – but job is not done yet – continue to love and parent my children as they grow and get married and, one day, Lord willing, have children of their own
Process of parenting is not complete, yet I continue to trust in the Lord for the result
- He loves them more than I, and desires the best for them. Just as He loves me and desires the best for me, even as I frustrate Him with my own immaturity, pride, and selfishness.
You may have noticed that this Psalm doesn’t have any petition in it. The Psalmist David asks God for nothing. Clearly David is struggling through something, but he is simply processing his emotion by reminding His soul to trust in God and proclaiming the trustworthiness of God to any who would hear.
This is our call for overcoming impatience. We cannot fixate on what we want fixed. We must remind impatient soul that God is sovereign, faithful, powerful, just, loving, and perfect in His timing; we CAN trust Him, we MUST trust Him – no one else is worthy of our trust, including ourselves.
Amen. Amen.
Prayer through Psalm.