This will not seem like a big deal to those Protestants who think that Israel was saved by works. But for the Reformed, Psalm 62 plows yet another truck-sized hole in the crumbling edifice of their idea of sola fide (to say nothing about wounding so-called total depravity).
Once God has spoken, twice have I heard this: Strength belongs to God, to you, Lord, faithful love; and you repay everyone as their deeds deserve. (vv. 11-12 NJB; emphasis added)
Verse 12 is unambiguous: we are not judged by whether we have faith or not; we are judged by what we have done. Now, this of course does not mean that faith is unnecessary. Of course it is. But St. James said it: faith without works is dead. We must live holy lives of charity, loving God and our neighbors. Verse 11 hammers it home by emphasizing what he is about to say in verse 12.
So how does this affect the notion of total depravity? It does so in the sense that the psalmist does not expect a judgment of wrath for his deeds. This implies that his deeds are pleasing to God, and that he will be rewarded. But this is completely contradictory to “total depravity,” according to which no one at all does good.
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