Psalms 62:11

11 One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: “Power belongs to you, God,

Psalms 62:11 in Other Translations

11 God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.

11 Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,

11 God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times: Power, O God, belongs to you;

11 God said this once and for all; how many times Have I heard it repeated? "Strength comes Straight from God."

11 God hath spoken once, Twice have I heard this, That power belongeth unto God.

11 God has spoken once. I have heard it [said] twice: "Power belongs to God.

11 God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: strength belongs to God,

11 God, I have heard you say two things. One is that you, God, are strong.

Psalms 62:11 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 62:11

God hath spoken once
One word of his is more to be confided in, and depended on, than all the men and things in the world. The meaning is not that God hath only spoke once; he has spoke often; he spoke all things out of nothing in creation; he spoke all the words of the law at Mount Sinai; he spoke by the prophets under the Old Testament dispensation, and by his Son in the last days, and still by the ministers of the Gospel: but the sense is, that what God has once spoken stands; it is irreversible and immutable; it is firm, sure, and unalterable; he does not repent, he cannot lie, nor will he alter the thing that is gone out of his lips; and therefore his word is to be trusted to, when men of high degree are a lie;

twice have I heard this;
that is, many times, as Kimchi explains it: the Targum refers this, and the preceding clause, to the delivery of the law:

``one law God spake, and twice we heard it from the mouth of Moses the great scribe;''

but the meaning is, that the psalmist had heard of two things, and was well assured of the truth of them, and which were the foundation of his trust and confidence; one is mentioned in this verse and the other in ( Psalms 62:12 ) ; the first is,

that power [belongeth] unto God;
great power, even almighty power, as appears from the creation of all things out of nothing, the preservation of them in their beings, the government of the world, the redemption of his people by Christ, the work of grace upon their hearts by his Spirit, the perseverance of the saints, their deliverance from their enemies, and the destruction of them. The ancient Cabalists ^F14 among the Jews have endeavoured, from this passage, to establish a Trinity in unity, they speak of

``three superior "Sephirot", or numbers; and of them it is said, "God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this": once and twice, lo, the three superior numbers, of whom it is said, one, one, one, three ones; and this is the meaning of "God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this; this" in it makes them one.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 Tikkune Zohar, Correct. 38. fol. 82. 1.

Psalms 62:11 In-Context

9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.

10 Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

11 One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: “Power belongs to you, God,

12 and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”; and, “You reward everyone according to what they have done.”

Cross References

• 1. S 1 Chronicles 29:11; Revelation 19:1