Psalm 061

Introduction

Psalms 54 to 60 were similar to one another because each of them was a lamentation written by David when he was faced with enemies. And some of those psalms made clear in their title that they were inspired by the time when David was hiding from Saul who wanted to take his life: when the Ziphites betrayed him to Saul; when the Philistines captured him while he was on the run from Saul; when he had to hide in a cave; and when Saul sent men to murder him in his bed. Psalm 61 is another lamentation; and while the title doesn’t identify the background to the psalm, many of the commentators believe it was written at a later period in David’s life, after he was installed as king over God’s people. And so, it’s a royal lament, when David calls on the Lord to help his anointed king.

Verses 1 to 2

In verse 1 he calls on the Lord to hear his cry and to listen to his prayer. Since he’s crying to the Lord for help, that tells us that he’s in some sort of trouble, but he doesn’t say what the trouble is. He could be referring to the time when his son, Absalom, turned against him and he had to flee from Jerusalem for safety and for a period of time, he had to live far from home in the wilderness. Or he could be referring to a time when he went away from Jerusalem to fight against enemy nations. Whatever the exact circumstances, he’s in some kind of trouble and therefore’s he’s crying aloud to the Lord to hear and answer his prayer for help.

In verse 2 he says that he calls to the Lord ‘from the ends of the earth’. By that phrase he merely means that he was far away from Jerusalem, which for David and the Israelites was the centre of the world. Whether he had left Jerusalem because of Absalom or because he was on some kind of military campaign, he was far away from home. And wherever he was, he called to the Lord.

And he called to the Lord because his heart was growing faint. He’s overwhelmed by his circumstances and he’s feeling weak with worry and he’s almost at the point of despair because of what was happening to him. And in his prayer to the Lord, he asks the Lord to lead him to the rock ‘that is higher than I’. The image of a rock conveys the idea of safety and security, because a rock is solid and secure. You can hide behind a rock for protection, when your enemies are firing at you. You can shelter behind a rock when a storm is blowing. And a rock that is high up is a place of safety which is out of the reach of his enemies. David is not thinking of a literal rock; he’s thinking of the Lord who is a rock and a refuge for his people. And he’s a rock who is highly exalted and who rules and reigns in heaven over all things on earth. And so, David is crying to the Lord for protection.

This is David’s prayer in verses 1 and 2. Hear my cry. Listen to my prayer. From this faraway place, I’m calling to you. I’m feeling faint and overwhelmed. I cannot cope on my own. Let me find peace and safety and security from you. Perhaps you have had to do the same from time to time. The circumstances of your life have become overwhelming. You’re under pressure. You’re in despair. And so, you cry to the Lord to hear you and to help you.

Verse 3

The reason David turns to the Lord like this and trusts in him for help is set out for us in verse 3 where David remembers how in the past the Lord has been his refuge and a strong tower against his foe. In the past, God has sheltered David from trouble. In the past, God has been a like a high tower for David, a place o protection that is high above his enemies. And since the Lord has been his refuge and fortress in the past, he trusts in the Lord to help him again. Since he’s helped us in the past, we know we can count on him in the present.

Verse 4

Verse 4 is really another prayer, because he’s saying to the Lord: This is what I long for. This is what I want. Will you do this for me?

And what does he long for? To dwell in God’s tent for ever and to take refuge in the shelter of your wings. When he refers to God’s tent, he’s thinking of the tabernacle, isn’t he? The tabernacle was God’s special tent, his dwelling place among his people. But David doesn’t only want to visit the tabernacle, the way God’s people would visit it for one of the annual feasts. He wants to dwell there for ever, enjoying the presence and the protection of the Lord always. We’ve come across the image of the mother bird before, who gathers her chicks under her wing to keep them warm and dry and safe. And so, David longs for the Lord to shelter him from danger the way a mother bird shelters her young. However, it’s possible that he’s not thinking here of the wings of a bird; instead he might be thinking of the wings of the cherubim in the tabernacle. Do you remember the golden cherubim which sat on either side of the ark of the covenant with their wings spread out over it? Whether he’s thinking of the wings of a bird or the wings of those angels, the point is the same: he’s praying for protection.

Verse 5

And once again, the reason David turns to the Lord like this and trusts in him for help is set out for us in the next verse. This time it’s verse 5: ‘For you have heard my vows, O God.’ When the Israelites were in trouble, or when they needed something from the Lord, they would ask for his help and they would vow to praise the Lord once he had answered them. Perhaps they would come to the tabernacle and offer up a thanksgiving sacrifice to thank the Lord for answered prayer. And so, when David says the Lord has heard his vow, it means that Lord has heard and answered his prayer when he sought the Lord’s help and made a vow to praise the Lord.

He’s probably referring again to past help. So, just as the Lord has been his refuge in the past and his strong tower in the past, so in the past the Lord heard his prayer for help, when he made vows to praise the Lord. And because the Lord has helped him in the past, he trusts in the Lord to help him with his present trouble. And he also says in verse 5 that the Lord has given him the heritage of those who fear the Lord. When he refers to the heritage, he’s thinking about the land of Israel, which the Lord graciously and freely gave to his people and which they inherited from him as a gift. So, since God had blessed him in the past by giving him life in the Promised Land of Canaan, he knows he can trust in the Lord for this present trouble.

And, of course, the Apostle Paul uses the same logic in Romans 8, doesn’t he? He refers to the wonderful way that God helped us and saved us in the past, when he did not spare his Son but gave him up for us and for our salvation. And since God did that for us in the past, then we can count on him for the present and the future. Paul writes: ‘How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?’ In the past, he did not spare his Son. And since he has loved us like that in the past, there’s nothing he won’t do for us now. That’s what we need to remember and believe when life is hard and we’re overwhelmed by circumstances and when we’re in despair. We need to remember the greatness of God’s love, demonstrated at the cross. And that will encourage us in the present.

Verses 6 and 7

Verses 1 and 2 contained David’s prayer: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Verse 4 contained another prayer: let me dwell in your presence. And verses 6 and 6 contain another prayer:

Increase the days of the king’s life,
his years for many generations.
May he be enthroned in God’s presence for ever;
appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.

David prays for long life for the king. He’s referring to himself — isn’t he? — since he was God’s anointed king at that time. And since he’s writing about a time when his life was in danger from an enemy who was trying to take his life, it makes sense for him to ask the Lord for long life. So, don’t let my enemy succeed; don’t let him kill me; let me live. And he asks the Lord to appoint love and faithfulness to protect him. The word for love here denotes God’s covenant love, his steadfast love, his never-ending love. And David is depicting God’s steadfast love and faithfulness as guards, appointed by God to stand watch over him. God will help him, because God has promised to love him with a never-ending love; and God, who is faithful, always keeps his promises.

David, of course, is referring to himself as king. And the Lord heard his prayer and kept him safe so that he lived a long life and died an old man. However, it’s also possible that David is thinking, not of a single king, but of the kingship. In that case, he’s asking the Lord to give him a dynasty. That is, he’s asking the Lord to ensure that one of his descendants will rule on the throne for generations to come. And if that’s what David was asking for, then God answered that prayer too, because each of the kings of Judah was descended from David. It was different in the northern kingdom of Israel, but in the southern kingdom of Judah, the king was always descended from David.

Verse 8

And in verse 8 David vows to praise the Lord. So, increase the days and years of my life. And if you do, I’ll spend my days and years praising you, declaring to others what you have done for me.

Application

David prayed for long life for the king. And while the Lord gave David long life and a long succession of kings who came after him, David was also speaking as a prophet and he was referring to God’s True Anointed King, who is Jesus Christ the Lord.

And so, in the fulness of time, the angel announced to Mary that the Lord will give her son the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever and his kingdom will never end. And though the Lord Jesus died and was buried, he was raised from the dead and exalted to heaven to rule at God’s right hand. And so, the Lord heard and answered David’s prayer in verse 6 by raising Jesus Christ from the grave. And the Lord heard and answered David’s prayer in verse 7 when Jesus Christ was enthroned in heaven where he rules for ever and for ever.

And from his throne in heaven, he rescues his people on earth from Satan’s tyranny and he brings them into his kingdom of grace. And just as he died and was raised, so all of his people will be raised from the dead to live with him and to reign with him for ever.

And while we wait to be gathered to our eternal home, we can go to God in prayer, to ask for his help and protection, because the God who is a high rock and a refuge and strong tower is our God, who did not spare his Son, but who gave him up for us. And therefore, since he has loved us like that in the past, there’s no good thing he won’t do for us now.