Psalm 61

A certain little boy greatly missed his father, who was separated from the family for a long time by military duty. But the boy was comforted by a picture of his dad that sat in a frame on his nightstand. When he was frightened at night, he would stare at the picture and imagine his daddy was watching over him. It did not work one night. His mother, hearing his weeping, came into his room and asked what was wrong. Through tears, he answered, “I want daddy to come out of the frame.”

This brief but beautiful psalm is tailored to teach us what to do when God seems far away.

David shows us what to do when God seems far away. In a word, pray. YOU CAN NEVER BE SO FAR AWAY THAT GOD CANNOT HEAR YOU WHEN YOU CALL. “Wherever we are,” wrote MATTHEW HENRY, “we have liberty to draw near to God, and may find a way open to the throne of grace.”

How should you pray when God seems far away? Psalm 61 gives two answers.

PRAY WITH CONFIDENCE IN WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE

The book of Psalms was the hymnal of the Jews. But as you read the psalms, it is obvious that this hymnbook was also a prayer book. It not only taught them how to worship. It also taught them how to pray. More specifically, by singing these psalms, the Jews gave expression to the prayers of the heart for which they could not find words. Psalm 61 is a great example of how private needs can be communicated to God through corporate worship. Verses 1-4 teach us to pray with confidence that God will hear and help.

ASK GOD TO HEAR YOU

The psalm begins with words of lamentation. Verse 1 says, “Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer.” These opening words teach an important lesson about the nature of true prayer. David cried to God. The word “cry” refers to a loud, piercing scream. The word was most often used to describe a cry of joy. But here it expresses agony, not ecstasy. It is an urgent, desperate cry – an SOS distress signal. Why did David cry to God in prayer? Verse 1 answers with two words: “hear” and “listen.” David is not going through an empty ritual of “saying his prayers.” Venting does not satisfy. Getting it off his chest does not help. He needs God to hear his cry. He needs God to listen to his prayer. He needed God to pay attention and take heed to what he heard. This is what prayer is about. It is not about saying the right words. It is about getting to the right ear.

GOD CAN HEAR YOU FROM THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. David says, “From the ends of the earth I call to you.” What is “the ends of the earth”?

David felt distanced from God. And he describes this spiritual reality in geographic terms. He says it is as if he has found himself at the most remote part of planet earth. Yet from the ends of the earth, David called on the Lord.

GOD CAN HEAR YOU WHEN YOUR HEART IS FAINT. Verse 2 says, “I call to you when my heart is faint.” The KJV translates this phrase, “when my heart is overwhelmed.” Indeed, there are times when the heart becomes overwhelmed by the circumstances of life. But this is about more than an emotional response to difficult circumstances. It is total exhaustion. It is when one’s whole being runs out of energy. It is to be without hope, courage, or strength. When the heart is faint, you become tired physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It is bad enough to be at the ends of the earth. But it is not so bad when your heart is filled with hope, strength, and courage that tell you, “Hold on, we’re coming out of this.” But when the heart is faint, it makes being at the ends of the earth even worse. Yet David says, “from the ends of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.”

ASK GOD TO HELP YOU

GOD’S PROTECTION

In verse 2b-3, David uses three wonderful pictures to describe how God protects his own.

GOD IS A ROCK

Verse 2b says, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” This prayer request both confesses human inadequacy and affirms divine sufficiency. David needed a rock because he was weak.

Where is this rock? Who is the rock? David gives us a hint by using the definite article. He prays to the rock, not a rock. It is God himself. Twenty-two times in the Psalms, God is called a rock. He is called a rock three times in Psalm 62 alone. In Psalm 62, verses 2 and 6 read: “He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.” And verse 7 says, “On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.” God is our rock. He has proven this by sending us his Son to hold on to for eternal life.

MY HOPE IS BUILT ON NOTHING LESS THAN JESUS’ BLOOD AND RIGHTEOUSNESS I DARE NOT TRUST THE SWEETEST FRAME BUT WHOLLY LEAN ON JESUS’ NAME

ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK I STAND ALL OTHER GROUND IS SINKING SAND

GOD IS A REFUGE

In verse 3, David gives two reasons why he asks God to lead him to a high rock. The first reason is because God had already proven himself to be his refuge. A refuge is a place of safety from danger. It was an ancient “panic room,” a safe house where one fled to escape advancing enemies. This is our God. Psalm 46:1 says: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 is a testimony of corporate deliverance. But this is a testimony of personal deliverance. David says, “For you have been my refuge.” When there was nowhere else to turn, David found a hiding place in God. And when he fled to God, he discovered that no one but God can keep you when you cannot keep yourself. God is a refuge.

GOD IS A STRONG TOWER

This is the second reason David gives for why he asked God to lead him to a high rock. God had been “a strong tower against the enemy.” A strong tower serves the same purpose as refuge. But there is a difference. A refuge is where you turn for safety when the enemy chases you away from the city. But a strong tower is where you turn for safety when the enemy attacks the city. A strong tower was a place of defense built onto the wall of the city. The watchman would stand guard in the strong tower. And when the enemy attacked, the strong tower was a strategic battle station, where you could reach the enemy without the enemy reaching you. A refuge was a safe place to hide. A strong tower was a safe place to fight. This is our God.

Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”

GOD’S PRESENCE

Verse 4 highlights two ways the presence of God helps us.

GOD’S PRESENCE SATISFIES

Verse 4a says, “Let me dwell in your tent forever.” The “tent” David mentions was more than a tent. It was the tabernacle. The tabernacle was where the Lord met with his people. Before the temple was erected, the tabernacle was the house of God. David asks to dwell in the tent of God.

Psalm 27:4 “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”

JAMES MONTGOMERY BOICE wisely counsels: “Never fear to be intimate with God. God desires to be intimate with you and is only hurt when you remain at a distance or draw back from his presence.”

GOD’S PRESENCE SUSTAINS

“Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings.”

In verse 3, David testifies, “You have been my refuge.” Now he prays, “Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings.” A mother bird would permit her babies to eat and play in an open space. But when she saw a predator or a storm coming, she would call her babies to herself. As they fled to the mother bird, she would open her wings, and they would hide under the shelter of her wings.

PRAY WITH CONFIDENCE IN WHAT THE LORD WILL DO

In verses 1-4, David draws near to God by remembering past blessings. In verses 5-8, David draws near to God by anticipating future blessings.

ACKNOWLEDGE THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD

Verse 5 “For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.”

This verse does more than look back again at what the Lord has already done. It is a declaration of God’s unwavering faithfulness in every season of life. David mentions two ways the faithfulness of God has been demonstrated in his life.

Verse 5a says: “For you, O God have heard my vows.”

Verse 5b says: “you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.” The name of God reflects his nature, character, and authority. So great is the name of God that it is to be feared.

TRUST THE PROMISES OF GOD

Verses 6-7 “Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations! May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!”

David prays for himself and beyond himself.

David prays, “Prolong the life of the king.” This is the fundamental request the people prayed for the king. The stability of the nation was based on the life of the king. So it was natural for them to pray that the life of the king would be prolonged.

David humbly prays this for himself.

At the end of verse 7, David prays, “appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him.” A king needs strong and faithful guards to protect him. But David prays that God would appoint two special guardians: “steadfast love and faithfulness.” These are twin attributes of God that bring assurance that God will never leave us nor forsake us. Psalm 23:6 says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

David trusted that God would keep his promise. All the more, so should we. Jesus is the ultimate proof that God will keep his word.

PRAISE THE NAME OF GOD

Psalm 61 begins with a lamentation. But it ends with a celebration.

Verse 8 “So will I ever sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day.”

The key to this closing verse is its opening word, “So.” This little word binds prayer and praise together.

Grateful praise is the appropriate response to answered prayer.

AUGUSTINE wrote: “They that are godly are oppressed and vexed in the church or congregation for this purpose: that when they are pressed, they should cry; and when they cry, that they should be heard; and when they are heard, that they should laud and praise God.”

With a sense of determination, David concludes, “So will I ever sing praises to your name.” The answer to David’s prayer had not yet come. Still he predetermines his response. In fact, he determines his response before the prayer ends. When God answers, he will sing praise to his name. This is the second time the name of God is mentioned in this psalm. Verse 5 speaks of the fear God’s name deserves. Verse 8 speaks of the joy God’s name elicits. When God brings you out, you ought to joyfully serenade his great name. David was a skilled musician and a sweet singer. But he did not choose to sing to God on the basis of his musical gifts and talents. Answered prayer should result in songs of praise, whether you can sing or not.

Psalm 92:1 says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night.”

I CAN HEAR THE SAVIOR SAY, “THY STRENGTH INDEED IS SMALL!” CHILD OF WEAKNESS, WATCH AND PRAY, FIND IN ME THINE ALL IN ALL.”

JESUS PAID IT ALL, ALL TO HIM I OWE; SIN HAD LEFT A CRIMSON STAIN HE WASHED IT WHITE AS SNOW.