David acknowledges his vulnerabilities and God’s sustaining power through this vivid picture of a leaning wall.
How long will you assail a man, That you may murder him, all of you, Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence? (v.3) In this verse, King David, who reigned as the second king of Israel from around 1010 BC to 970 BC, pours out a sense of vulnerability, likening himself (or possibly any person facing hostility) to a weakened structure under constant attack. The image of a “leaning wall” or a “tottering fence” indicates extreme fragility; it suggests that his enemies see him as easy to topple. Yet this cry also implies that the attackers fail to recognize that David places his trust in God, a fortress who steadfastly upholds Him (Psalm 62:2).
By questioning, “How long…?” David reveals the ongoing nature of opposition, which can happen in life when adversaries imagine they have the power to destroy a person’s standing. This kind of persistent aggression might resonate with the trials of Jesus in the New Testament, where those who opposed Him plotted ceaselessly (Mark 14:1). Despite outside pressures, David’s broader context in Psalm 62 invites God’s people to find rest in the Lord, recognizing that the Lord’s sustaining power transcends what seems precarious (Psalm 62:5-6). Although verse three focuses on enemy aggression, the rest of the psalm emphasizes steadfast divine protection.
David’s metaphor also reminds believers that what appears fragile to the world may stand strong by faith. It underscores the reality that human efforts to overthrow someone who trusts in the Lord can be as fruitless as trying to knock down a structure that is ultimately secured by an unshakable foundation (Matthew 7:25). Even when the circumstances look dire, the faithful are grounded in God’s protection and cannot be truly destroyed by human plotting or force.
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Psalms 62:3 meaning
How long will you assail a man, That you may murder him, all of you, Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence? (v.3) In this verse, King David, who reigned as the second king of Israel from around 1010 BC to 970 BC, pours out a sense of vulnerability, likening himself (or possibly any person facing hostility) to a weakened structure under constant attack. The image of a “leaning wall” or a “tottering fence” indicates extreme fragility; it suggests that his enemies see him as easy to topple. Yet this cry also implies that the attackers fail to recognize that David places his trust in God, a fortress who steadfastly upholds Him (Psalm 62:2).
By questioning, “How long…?” David reveals the ongoing nature of opposition, which can happen in life when adversaries imagine they have the power to destroy a person’s standing. This kind of persistent aggression might resonate with the trials of Jesus in the New Testament, where those who opposed Him plotted ceaselessly (Mark 14:1). Despite outside pressures, David’s broader context in Psalm 62 invites God’s people to find rest in the Lord, recognizing that the Lord’s sustaining power transcends what seems precarious (Psalm 62:5-6). Although verse three focuses on enemy aggression, the rest of the psalm emphasizes steadfast divine protection.
David’s metaphor also reminds believers that what appears fragile to the world may stand strong by faith. It underscores the reality that human efforts to overthrow someone who trusts in the Lord can be as fruitless as trying to knock down a structure that is ultimately secured by an unshakable foundation (Matthew 7:25). Even when the circumstances look dire, the faithful are grounded in God’s protection and cannot be truly destroyed by human plotting or force.