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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
62:11-12 God's Word Is Certain. To say once . . . twice is to indicate that the idea is sure, namely, that to God belong both power (by which he can carry out his will; contrast v. 9) and steadfast love (in which he has pledged himself to the faithful, and for which they may safely trust him). God will render to a man according to his work; i.e., a person's "work" shows whether his faith is real or counterfeit (the attackers are probably Israelites), and God will sort out who is who. This is therefore a ground of confidence for the believer and a warning to the unfaithful.
62:12 render to a man according to his work. The Greek translation of this phrase is almost identical to the Greek of Prov. 24:12 (the Hb. is different, but conveys the same idea), and Paul uses it in Rom. 2:6. If Paul is speaking specifically to a Jew who passes judgment in Rom. 2:1 (which seems likely), then he is reminding such a person that mere Jewishness does not guarantee eternal life; one must embrace the covenant and prove the genuineness of one's faith by one's deeds (i.e., along the lines of the original intent of both Ps. 62:12 and Prov. 24:12). If, however, Paul is speaking to moralizers without respect to their place in the covenant, then he is using Ps. 62:12 as an instance of the more general principle of God's just judgment. The idea that the final judgment will use believers' deeds to vindicate the reality of their faith appears in Matt. 12:33-37; 16:27; John 5:28-29; James 1:12; Rev. 20:13; and possibly (though debatably) in Rom. 2:13; 2 Cor. 5:10; and Gal. 6:7-8.
