Psalm 62 and Jonah 1:17–2:10

PSALM 62

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 never be shaken.

3   How long will you assail a person,
          will you batter your victim, all of you,
          as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4   Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
          They take pleasure in falsehood;
     they bless with their mouths,
          but inwardly they curse. Selah

5   For God alone my soul waits in silence,
          for my hope is from him.
6   He alone is my rock and my salvation,
          my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7   On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
          my mighty rock, my refuge is in 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 confidence in extortion,
          and set no vain hopes on robbery;
          if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

11  Once God has spoken;
          twice have I heard this:
     that power belongs to God,
12       and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
     For you repay to all
          according to their work.

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JONAH 1:17–2:10

1:17 But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2saying, 

"I called to the Lord out of my distress, 

     and he answered me; 

out of the belly of Sheol I cried, 

     and you heard my voice.

3 You cast me into the deep, 

     into the heart of the seas, 

     and the flood surrounded me; 

all your waves and your billows 

     passed over me. 

4 Then I said, 'I am driven away 

     from your sight; 

how shall I look again 

     upon your holy temple?' 

5 The waters closed in over me; 

     the deep surrounded me; 

weeds were wrapped around my head 

6     at the roots of the mountains. 

I went down to the land 

     whose bars closed upon me for ever; 

yet you brought up my life from the Pit, 

     O Lord my God. 

7 As my life was ebbing away, 

     I remembered the Lord; 

and my prayer came to you, 

     into your holy temple. 

8 Those who worship vain idols 

     forsake their true loyalty. 

9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving 

     will sacrifice to you; 

what I have vowed I will pay. 

     Deliverance belongs to the Lord!" 

10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land.