The Wisdom Journey

No Other Option but God (Psalms 60–62)

• Stephen Davey

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When life pushes past your limits, where do you run first? We walk through Psalms 60–62 to trace David’s journey from defeat to dependence, showing how confession, clear promises, and “God alone” trust rebuild courage when feelings are faint and circumstances refuse to budge.

We start with the battlefield backdrop of Psalm 60, where an early defeat exposes deeper spiritual fracture. David doesn’t spin the loss; he owns it, prays for restoration, and points to God’s banner—the rallying signal that shows wounded hearts where to find safety and direction. From there we unpack why anchoring to God’s promises outruns the rise and fall of our emotions. If God cannot lie, then forgiveness and hope stand on bedrock, not on the mood of the day. That shift from feelings to promises is not theory; it is survival for a soul that wants to stand again.

Then we move into Psalm 61’s cry, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,” and explore what it means to live on granite instead of clay. Dependence is not weakness; it is wise architecture. Finally, Psalm 62 confronts backup-plan spirituality with a single stubborn word: alone. God alone is our rock, salvation, and fortress—not God plus bank accounts, reports, or reputation. We talk about how “alone” simplifies decisions, quiets panic, and strengthens patience, turning setbacks into stepping stones toward a steadier, braver faith.

If you’re navigating lingering needs, recurring battles, or a heart that feels faint, this conversation offers a path forward: confess clearly, run to the banner, hold to the promise, and stand on the Rock. Listen now, share it with a friend who needs courage today, and if it helps you, subscribe and leave a review so others can find their footing too.

The first of Stephen's two volumes set through the Book of Revelation is now available. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQ3XCJMY

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SPEAKER_00:

Can you trust God with your needs? Well, the world will say no, you need to deal with your issues yourself. Your circumstances will mislead you because your needs may persist longer than what seems reasonable. But the truth is, you can confidently entrust your needs to God. When your faith is in him alone, you can wait faithfully for his provision. Today's lesson is called No Other Option But God. Here's Stephen.

SPEAKER_01:

On our wisdom journey today, we're beginning here at Psalm 60. Now, the heading or the superscription here at the top of this Psalm tells us that David is the author. It also tells us the name of the tune is Shushan, which is Hebrew for Lily of the Testimony. Now we don't know what that melody line sounded like. We have no notes preserved for us in Scripture, only the lyrics, but evidently it related to the context of battle. This was a war-time song, so it probably sounded a little more like a marching band than the sound of a flute. We're also given here a rather long description, when he, David that is, strove with Aram Naharaim and with Aram Zovah, and when Joab, on his return, struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt. That's a rather long introduction. All of these events are recorded back in the book of 2 Samuel. While David's army was far from Jerusalem and engaged with these enemy kings mentioned here, Israel's enemy, the Edomites, attacked Jerusalem and evidently had some early victory. So David immediately sent his army commander, Joab, to respond. And then David sits down and he writes this psalm. Here in verse 1, David writes, O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses, you've been angry. Oh, restore us. This indicates that David knew the defeat back in Jerusalem, that battle. That was because of some unconfessed sin or rebellion among the people. Back in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, Moses warned Israel that unconfessed sin would hinder their success. It would invite the discipline of God, and God's going to keep his word. So David here is representing the people, and he takes these circumstances to the Lord in confession and in seeking restoration. And in this great psalm before us here, David models for us three responses that can turn defeat into victory. And they apply, by the way, to every believer today who suffers some kind of spiritual defeat. Here's the first point I want to make. Recognize your defeat and find reassurance from the Lord. Now in verse three, David writes, You have made your people see hard things. You've given us wine to drink that made us stagger. Now, wine in Scripture can be a symbol of either God's blessing or of God's judgment. Here it speaks of judgment. So when you feel your defeat, you recognize it. You take it to the Lord humbly in confession. Here's the reassurance in verse 4. You have set up a banner for those who fear you, that they may flee to it from the bow. This banner refers to a flag raised up on a pole during battle. It served as a signal to the soldiers. It could communicate either rallying them or some instructions as to when they're to move, when they're to flee, pointing them perhaps to a place of safety. So David is saying this. When I'm bruised and bloody and failing in my battle with sin and the world and my own flesh, when I confess to God my defeat, well, I see the banner raised, signaling to me where I can flee, where I can run for refuge. Secondly, recognize your defeat, but keep an eye on the promises of God. In verse 5, David asks God to deliver his people, and he believes God's going to do it because he trusts God's promise to keep his word, to deliver his beloved ones when they call on him. Numbers chapter 23 and verse 19 tells us that God cannot tell a lie. His promises can be trusted completely, including his promise of forgiveness when we confess our sin. See, the battle for the believer is really a battle over doubts in the mind about what we think about sin, what we think about forgiveness, what we think about ourselves, even what we think about God. If we don't learn and repeat God's promises in our heart daily, we're going to lose hope. We're going to begin to despair. So, beloved, claiming forgiveness for your sin isn't really a matter of how you feel, but what God has promised. His word tells us that if we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So claim that that promise and then move on. You're going to have another battle as you continue fighting the good fight against sin, the flesh, and the world and the devil. Now that leads me to the third response that David is going to model here for us. And here it is in principle form. Recognize that defeat is just another reminder that you need to walk with God. Now remember, David is writing this psalm as General Joab is going over there to confront the Edomites. The heading of this psalm gives us the ultimate result. Back in that superscription, it tells us Joab struck down 12,000 of Edom in the valley of Salt. So keep this in mind. Victory follows, David's humble confession on behalf of his nation, and also his declaration of trust in the Lord. Now here in Psalm chapter 61, David takes us on a journey of prayer. He begins by describing again that battle in our mind. And that battle we we all have with our feelings. Beloved, let me just say here that when we talk about being fallen, when we talk about being fallen creatures, that everything about us is fallen and in need of restoration, let me tell you that means our feelings are fallen as well. Don't trust them to guide your life. David, right here in this psalm, feels spiritually distant. He feels weak. He doesn't tell us why. He just says here at the end of verse 2, My heart is faint. Jonah used this same word, by the way, to describe how he felt in the belly of that fish. Now, I'm not sure what it feels like to feel faint, but if I were in the belly of a fish, I think I'd feel faint as well. Well, rather than wallow in his weakness here, David cries out to God, verse 2, he says, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Oh, I love that phrase. In other words, I need I need to build my life on someone higher, someone uh stronger than I am. I don't know about you, beloved, but I I feel about as solid as the modeling clay my children used to play with. That Plato. We need a rock. We need our lives connected to the granite strength of our rock, our living God. This journey of prayer is not exclusive to David. You you can take this journey anytime you need to, as often as you need to, as you submit your unsteady, faint feelings to the immovable rock, as you as you uh live in dependence on the Lord. And that also means that your hope is going to be in nothing else, no one else. God isn't one of your options in life. God is your only option. David makes that clear now in Psalm 62 with a little two-letter Hebrew word that's going to appear several times, and it's translated here alone or only. He writes in verse 1, for God alone, my soul waits in silence. From him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. David repeats that down in verses five and six. 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. You know, I've met a lot of people over the years who say they're trusting in the Lord, but in reality, they're also trusting in their bank account or their medical reports or their relationships on earth. I've I've had people tell me that they believe in Jesus, but in reality, Jesus is really just one of many things they've stuffed into the backpack of their lives, so to speak. They're just trying to cover all the spiritual bases. So Jesus is just one of many options for them, and they want to make sure they've covered uh all the bases they need to cover. Well, David understands that God is his only option. It isn't God plus some other way. It isn't God plus some other source of strength. It's God and God alone. Well, how about you? When it comes to salvation, are you trusting in Christ plus your good works, plus baptism, plus church membership, uh good good deeds, whatever? When it comes to living your life as a Christian, do you have one eye on the opinion of the world and and one eye on God's word? When it comes to taking a step of faith, do do you look around at circumstances or do you look to the Spirit of God communicating his truth through his word alone? Let me encourage you, beloved, uh make God your only option today, your only hope today, your only source of strength today. And when you do, today, you'll find underneath your heart and life that solid foundation, that the granite of God. And you can say with David, lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you, O God, are my refuge, my strong tower. Well, until next time, beloved, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

SPEAKER_00:

Thanks for listening to The Wisdom Journey with Stephen Davey. To learn more about us and access all of our Bible teaching resources, visit wisdomonline.org. Our phone number is 866-482-4253. And you can email us at info at wisdomonline.org. Stephen developed this daily program to help you know what the Bible says, understand what it means, and apply it to your life. So please join us next time to continue the wisdom journey.