Psalm 61
The Overwhelmed Heart, Still Confident in God
The Overwhelmed Heart, Still Confident in God
Psalm 61. This Psalm begins a new series, running from Psalm 61 – 68.1 This is a Psalm of David, and it was likely composes when David was in exile, fleeing from Absalom. It describes the expressions a heart that is overwhelmed yet trusting God as their refuge. Prophetically, this describes the condition of the faithful Jewish remnant in the great tribulation.
PSALM 61
To the chief Musician. On a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.
1 Hear, O God, my cry; attend unto my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth will I call unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: thou wilt lead me on to a rock which is too high for me.
3 For thou hast been a refuge for me, a strong tower from before the enemy.
4 I will sojourn in thy tent for ever; I will take refuge in the covert of thy wings. Selah.
vv.1-4 God the Refuge of the Outcast Remnant. The faithful remnant calls out to God to hear their prayer (v.1). They speak in v.2 of being at “the end of the earth”, although some translations read “end of the land”. This shows that Psalm 61 is set in a time when the remnant is out of the land, or at least far from Jerusalem. This would correspond with the last three and a half years of the prophetic week, when much of the remnant will be hiding in the mountains (Matt. 24:16). The faithful feel that they are overwhelmed (the word giving the sense of sinking down), but they have confidence that God would “lead me on to a rock”, like a secure refuge from the raging waves of the sea. They can look back on past deliverances (v.3), how God had been a refuge in the past, like a “strong tower from the enemy”. God is compared to three kinds of refuge: a high rick (v.2), a strong tower (v.3), and covering wings (v.4). The faithful are confident that God would protect them forever.
5 For thou, O God, hast heard my vows; thou hast given me the inheritance of those that fear thy name.
6 Thou wilt add days to the days of the king: his years shall be as many generations.
7 He shall abide before God for ever: bestow loving-kindness and truth, that they may preserve him.
8 So will I sing forth thy name for ever, performing my vows from day to day.
vv.5-8 Confidence and Encouragement. The remnant are confident that God has heard their vows, and will bring them through the trials into their full inheritance, as those who fear God’s name. They are like Ruth, who came without any claim to an inheritance. The “king” in vv.6-7 is of course David historically, but prophetically it speaks of Christ. What we see here is that the faithful see that the king has passed through similar trials, and that God has delivered Him, and this is an encouragement to the faithful. The hearts of the remnant are wrapped up with the blessing of their King! The results is joy, devotion (paying of vows, which has the thought of praise), and thanksgiving from the faithful, “for ever… from day to day”.