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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 62

1 For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David. For God alone I patiently wait; he is the one who delivers me. 2 He alone is my protector and deliverer. He is my refuge; I will not be upended. 3 How long will you threaten a man like me? All of you are murderers, as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence. 4 They spend all their time planning how to bring their victim down. They love to use deceit; they pronounce blessings with their mouths, but inwardly they utter curses. (Selah) 5 Patiently wait for God alone, my soul! For he is the one who gives me hope. 6 He alone is my protector and deliverer. He is my refuge; I will not be shaken. 7 God delivers me and exalts me; God is my strong protector and my shelter. 8 Trust in him at all times, you people! Pour out your hearts before him. God is our shelter. (Selah) 9 Men are nothing but a mere breath; human beings are unreliable. When they are weighed in the scales, all of them together are lighter than air. 10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression. Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery. If wealth increases, do not become attached to it. 11 God has declared one principle; two principles I have heard: God is strong, 12 and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love. For you repay men for what they do.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 62:12 and Matthew 16:27

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

In Matthew, Jesus says that the son of man will repay each person for their deeds, reflecting a common interpretation of Psalm 62, which says that God repays people for what they do. Matthew uses language from Jewish tradition to stress divine fairness.

Passages

Psalm 62:12

Hebrew Bible
10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression. Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery. If wealth increases, do not become attached to it. 11 God has declared one principle; two principles I have heard: God is strong, 12 and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love. For you repay men for what they do.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Matthew 16:27

New Testament
25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. 26 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28 I tell you the truth, there are some standing here who will not experience death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

"... Two New Testament allusions to Proverbs reflect a general biblical literacy more than any specific manner of interpreting the text. When both Jesus in Matthew 16:27 and Paul in Romans 2:6 apparently cite part of Proverbs 24:12 (“Will not [God] repay a man according to his work?”), it is doubtful that either was reflecting on the context of these words in Proverbs. Rather, the language of Proverbs has influenced the rhetoric of Jesus and Paul. That is, both speak in the idiom of the Old Testament. We should note that similar language also appears in Psalm 62:12 ..."
Tremper Longman and Peter Enns, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings (Inter-Varsity, 2008), 569.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Psalm 62:12 and Matthew 16:27

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