Psalms 61:1

PSALM 61

PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING OF AN EXPELLED KING ON HIS WAY BACK TO THE THRONE.[1]

PRAYER FOR A KING.[2]

THE EXILED KING PRAYS FOR RESTORATION.[3]

A PRAYER OF A DISTRAUGHT KING.[4]

A HYMN OF CONFIDENCE.[5]

THE ROCK THAT IS HIGHER THAN I.[6]

SUPERSCRIPTION: FOR THE CHIEF MUSICIAN; ON A STRINGED INSTRUMENT.

A PSALM OF DAVID.

It will be seen from the titles which various scholars have given this psalm that the ascription to David as the author is generally assumed to be true; and as for the occasion, several view the time of David's absence from Jerusalem during Absalom's rebellion as correct.

This beautiful psalm, from the very earliest ages of the church, "Has been sung daily at Matins,"[7] as "A Morning Prayer." There are few religious hymnals today that do not have a song based on this psalm. "The Rock that is Higher than I," by E. Johnson, is an example.[8]

There are a number of erroneous interpretations proposed for this psalm. Leupold listed the following: (1) This is the prayer of a sick man. (2) It is the prayer of the nation of Israel. (3) It is a liturgical prayer for use at the festival of the covenant. "Such views are out of harmony with express statements in the text."[9]

There are also a number of different occasions, or dates, which have been proposed. Addis dated it during the Babylonian exile, or afterward, due to his misunderstanding of "the ends of the earth" (Psalms 61:2), and the mention of "tent" in Psalms 61:4.[10] Several scholars, mentioned by Delitzsch, dated the psalm even later, during the times of Cyrus the Persian, or of the Ptolemies, or the Seleucidae, but he denounced them all as "worthless bubbles."[11]

By far, the most reasonable understanding of this psalm sees it as written by David, most probably at the time of Absalom's forcing him to flee across the Jordan River to Mahanaim.

This little pearl of a psalm is very short, but very beautiful. The three divisions proposed by Leupold will be followed here.

(1) An exile's prayer for help (Psalms 61:1-3).

(2) His plea to dwell with God forever (Psalms 61:4-5).

(3) His prayer for "The King" (Psalms 61:6-8).

AN EXILE'S PRAYER FOR HELP

Psalms 61:1-3

"Hear my cry, O God;

Attend unto my prayer.

From the end of the earth will I call unto thee when my heart is overwhelmed.

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a refuge for me,

A strong tower from the enemy."

"Hear my cry ... attend my prayer" (Psalms 61:1). No situation can be bad enough that it does not call for prayer. When a man is through with praying, that man is through with any life that matters. As James stated it, "Is any among you suffering, let him pray" (James 5:13).

"From the end of the earth" (Psalms 61:2). "This need not refer to a remote area, the distance is magnified by the yearning to be back home."[12] To the Jew, anything east of the river Jordan would have been so designated. The Biblical note that Moses died "in a foreign land"[13] is proof of this.

"The rock that is higher than I" (Psalms 61:2). "This means the rock that is too high for me, the rock that I cannot reach unaided."[14] And just Who is that Rock? "This Rock is Christ."[15] For ancient Israel, the Rock was a symbol of the love and protection of God, a figure of the security, serenity and protection provided for the believer by the Lord. For this generation, "Our Lord Jesus Christ is the true Rock for human souls."[16]

"When my heart is overwhelmed" (Psalms 61:2). "There are times when many of us are in anguish because of the feeling that God is displeased with us, or that we are separated from Him; and the rebellion of our own children, and the ingratitude and treachery of those whom we have trusted have simply overwhelmed us."[17] Such was the situation that pressed upon the heart of David.

"For thou hast been a refuge for me, a strong tower" (Psalms 61:3). This is the first of two reasons (the other is in Psalms 61:5) that the psalmist advances as reasons why God should hear him. His past experience had been such that David might confidently expect the continuation of God's help.