11 Minute Read
Psalm 61 (LSB) Lead Me to the Rock
For the choir director. On a stringed instrument. Of David.
- MT Psalm 61 = LXX Psalm 60 (superscription counted as v. 1, so English v. 8 = MT v. 9 = LXX 60:9).
Psalm 61:1–4 (LSB) Refuge in the Shelter of Your Wings
1 Hear my cry of lamentation, O God;
Give heed to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For You have been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength before the enemy.
4 Let me sojourn in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.
- Hear my CRY. Like many psalms, this begins and Tears, and ends with Praise.
- From the end of the earth I Call to you, when my heart is faint.
- God is near to the broken hearted.
- David was far from home, in trouble, and felt like quitting.
- He longed to go “home.”
- Adam Clarke – “But who can bear prosperity? How many hearts filled with heavenly ardour in affliction and persecution have grown cold under the beams of the sun of prosperity!”[1]
- David is overwhelmed he is without strength and appeals to another.
- Plea for help, turn from Crisis to Trust
- Tears should drive us to prayer not from it.
- James 5:13 (LSB) 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray….
- Rock is Strong
- Tower is Protected
- Tent is a place of Rest
- Wings are loving Protection.
- Vv. 3–4 “a refuge … a tower of strength … the shelter of Your wings” – the same rock-and-refuge confession David makes in 2 Samuel 22:2–3 (= Psalm 18:2):
- 2 Samuel 22:2–3 (LSB) 2 He said, “Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; 3 My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence.
Psalm 61:5–8 (LSB) He Will Sit Enthroned Before God Forever
5 For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name.
6 You will add days to the king’s life;
His years will be from generation to generation.
7 He will sit enthroned before God forever;
Appoint lovingkindness and truth that they may guard him.
8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
As I pay my vows day by day.
- When we find ourselves in a desperate situation, we must remind ourselves of what God promises, to remind us of something we can hope for. Both promises made by God, and promises we made to God.
- Vv. 6–7 “add days … forever and ever” – the king’s life prolonged forever is the same royal grant of Psalm 21:4:
- Psalm 21:4 (LSB) 4 He asked life of You, You gave it to him, Length of days forever and ever.
- Confident that he is Heard.
- Confident in his desire to be completely devoted.
- Do you ever feel that way? Devoted?
- Desiring to be more so?
- We fill ourselves with a fresh confidence when we give ourselves afresh to worship and devotion to the Lord.
- Confident in an Inheritance
- Ultimately fulfilled in Chris as the son of David who will reign on his thrown forever.
- Only he – could be said His years will be from generation to generation.
- Faithful guard – Against enemies and from his own sinfulness.
- Commitment. Verse 5 and Verse 8. – Vows.
- Genesis 31:11–13 (LSB)
11 “Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’
12 “He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.
13 ‘I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your kin.’”
- Tre and I made commitments, vows, to each other on Aug 31 2007. Since then, the daily life, the trials, the journeys, we continually commit ourselves to those goals.
- When you made your vow to the Lord, that wasn’t the end. There are going to be times, just like in a marriage, where you are going to need to hear hard things. Say sorry, committing to do better. Showing continual commitment to those vows.
- Not that every time one of you acts a fool there’s a divorce, it’s just appropriate to recommit, remind yourself of the vow to the Lord.
Psalm 62 (LSB) God Is a Refuge for Us
For the choir director. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
- MT Psalm 62 = LXX Psalm 61 (superscription counted as v. 1, so English v. 12 = MT v. 13 = LXX 61:13).
Psalm 62:1–2 (LSB) My Soul Waits in Silence for God
1 Surely my soul waits in silence for God;
From Him is my salvation.
2 Surely He is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.
- “Rock … salvation … stronghold” – Davidic refuge formula; cf. 2 Samuel 22:2–3 (= Psalm 18:2):
- 2 Samuel 22:2–3 (LSB) 2 He said, “Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; 3 My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence.
- Psalm 18:2 (LSB) 2 Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
- James Hamilton - That confidence in turn has David declaring his trust in Yahweh alone in Ps 62. The particle אך, which can be rendered “alone,” “surely,” or “only” (so KJV) occurs six times in Ps 62, prompting Charles Spurgeon to refer to it as the “only” psalm.[2]
- Psalm 61 – the rock, A refuge, A tower… You ARE the only salvation, you (alone) are My Rock, My Salvation, My Stronghold.
- Exclusive and personal
Psalm 62:3–4 (LSB) How Long Will You Assail a Man?
3 How long will you assail a man,
That you may murder him, all of you,
Like a leaning wall, like a fence thrust down?
4 Surely they have counseled to thrust him down from his high position;
They find pleasure in falsehood;
They bless with their mouth,
But inwardly they curse. Selah.
- It’s a foolish thing to seek to harm who God has backed.
- These men said one thing and hoped for his downfall.
- V. 4 “bless with their mouth … inwardly they curse” – cf. Psalm 28:3; NT echo in James 3:9–10:
- Psalm 28:3 (LSB) 3 Do not drag me away with the wicked And with workers of iniquity, Who speak peace with their neighbors, While evil is in their hearts.
- James 3:9–10 (LSB) 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
- Everything is brought into the light anyway. How foolish for these enemies of David. Surely God will pay attention and truth prevail.
Psalm 62:5–8 (LSB) Trust in Him at All Times, O People
5 Surely wait in silence for God, O my soul,
For my hope is from Him.
6 Surely He is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah.
- V. 8 “pour out your heart before Him” – cf. 1 Samuel 1:15; Lamentations 2:19:
- 1 Samuel 1:15 (LSB) 15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before Yahweh.
- Lamentations 2:19 (LSB) 19 Arise, cry aloud in the night At the head of the night watches; Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to Him For the life of your infants Who are faint because of hunger At the head of every street.”
- Sometimes we need to remind ourselves to do what we already know. Like David does here.
- Christian – He is your stronghold.
- He is the ever present refuge.
Psalm 62:9–10 (LSB) Men Are a Breath; Riches Are No Refuge
9 Surely men of low degree are merely vanity and men of rank are a lie;
In the balances they go up;
They are together lighter than a breath of vanity.
10 Do not trust in oppression
And do not put vain hope in robbery;
If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.
- V. 9 “vanity / breath” (hebel) – cf. Psalm 39:5–6, 11; Ecclesiastes 1:2:
- Psalm 39:5–6 (LSB) 5 Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing before You; Surely every man, even standing firm, is altogether vanity. Selah. 6 Surely every man walks about as a shadow; Surely they make an uproar in vain; He piles up riches and does not know who will gather them.
- Psalm 39:11 (LSB) 11 With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity; You consume as a moth what is precious to him; Surely every man is vanity. Selah.
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 (LSB) 2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
- V. 10 riches – echoed in 1 Timothy 6:17:
- 1 Timothy 6:17 (LSB) 17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.
- Series link – 1 Corinthians 3:21:
- 1 Corinthians 3:21 (LSB) 21 So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you,
- Life is a vapor. Less than a vapor.
- So it’s foolish to trust in sinful things, robbery, slander.
- Wealth can not deliver. It’s only money.
- Seek the Lord.
Psalm 62:11–12 (LSB) Power and Lovingkindness Belong to God
11 Once God has spoken;
Twice I have heard this:
That strength belongs to God;
12 And that to You, O Lord, belongs lovingkindness,
For You repay a man according to his work.
- V. 11 “Once … twice” – numerical-saying form; cf. Job 33:14; 40:5:
- Job 33:14 (LSB) 14 Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one perceives it.
- Job 40:5 (LSB) 5 Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add nothing more.”
- Strength belongs to Him. That’s good to know.
- V. 12 “You repay a man according to his work”:
- Quoted in Romans 2:6 – wording follows LXX (Psalm 61:13 LXX): plural “works” with LXX vs. MT singular “his work”; same LXX wording as Proverbs 24:12:
- Romans 2:6 (LSB) 6 who will repay to each according to his works:
- Proverbs 24:12 (LSB) 12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” Does not He who weighs the hearts understand? And does not He who guards your soul know? And will not He render to man according to his work?
- Quoted in Matthew 16:27 (LSB sets it in small caps) – Greek singular (πρᾶξιν, “conduct”), closer to the Hebrew:
- Matthew 16:27 (LSB) 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay each one according to his deeds.
- Alluded to in 2 Timothy 4:14 – Greek plural (ἔργα), the LXX wording:
- 2 Timothy 4:14 (LSB) 14 Alexander the coppersmith showed me much harm; the Lord will award him according to his deeds.
- Alluded to in 1 Peter 1:17 and Revelation 22:12 – Greek singular (ἔργον), like the Hebrew:
- 1 Peter 1:17 (LSB) 17 And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your sojourn,
- Revelation 22:12 (LSB) 12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to his work.
- That fact should comfort the believer and warn the unbeliever.
- Series link – 1 Corinthians 3:8:
- 1 Corinthians 3:8 (LSB) 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
[1] Clarke, Adam. The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes. New Edition, vol. 3, Faithlife Corporation, 2014, p. 415.