Psalm 61

He is our Refuge and He Reigns Forevermore

This week we start a run in a series of spirit-lifting and soul-soothing Psalms, which invite us to gaze upon the might of God and his grace towards us. That does not mean these are songs for those whose lives are perfect and clean. Far from it. They are prayers for those battling and clawing through the trials of life. Because they lift our eyes to the one who is with us in it all.

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.

¹ Hear my cry, O God;
    listen to my prayer.

² From the ends of the earth I call to you,
    I call as my heart grows faint;
    lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
³ For you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the foe.

⁴ I long to dwell in your tent for ever
    and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
⁵ For you, God, have heard my vows;
    you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

⁶ Increase the days of the king’s life,
    his years for many generations.
⁷ May he be enthroned in God’s presence for ever;
    appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.

⁸ Then I will ever sing in praise of your name
    and fulfil my vows day after day.

This is a prayer rooted in a sincere trust in God’s unyielding power and unwavering faithfulness. But it also emanates from a faint heart. And that is where this Psalm opens.

David speaks of his heart growing faint. The word elsewhere describes that which is feeble. David’s strength is fading and dissipating. He is weak and struggling to muster the energy in the face of a fierce foe.

His prayer is then simple and memorable:

David sees his insufficiency for the fight. He knows his own inadequacy for the battle. This is a prayer of profound and humility. For true humility does not just acknowledge our own weaknesses and inabilities but it confesses and trusts a power greater than itself. Here David and his people call on the Exalted One who sits enthroned over the heavens.

What does it mean that God is a rock? The very next verse explains it. He is the refuge and strong tower for his people. “Rock of ages, cleft for me/ Let me hide myself in Thee.” God is the impenetrable rock, in whom we find our everlasting stronghold. No weapon or army or scheme from the Enemy can prevail against our God. David has known this in his own experience and so flees to the rock higher than he.

But it is something richer and more personal. In v4, he records his longing not just to be defended by God but to just be with God. When speaking of the “tent”, it is a reference to the tabernacle, which was where the people encountered God in worship. It was the precursor to the temple, the centre of the people’s spiritual life. And this worship is relational. He longs to be under the wings of God. He invokes here the picture of a bird protecting its offspring. For a young child, there is nowhere safer in the world than the loving embrace of their parents. Here David yearns for the fatherly protection of God.

The prayers change course in the second half, as David moves from God’s power to God’s faithfulness.

The prayers in vv6-7 for the king are rooted in the promise God made to David in 2 Samuel 7.12-13:

When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

God pledged that he would raise up someone in the line of David, whose throne would last forever. This King would not be defeated by the Enemy or death. His rule and reign would stretch through every generation because he would dwell in the presence of God.

David was praying for the true King, one who would be born to a virgin and placed in a manger for there was no space for them in Bethlehem. An angel would announce that “he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1.33). He would be rejected, mocked, spat upon, flogged and crucified. But he would also rise as the triumphant King over death and the devil. And he is the one who is now ascended to the right hand of the Father, ruling and reigning as our Rock and Redeemer over all creation.

And so the people who know God as our refuge are those who with David (v8) commit ourselves to everlasting worship of the everlasting King Jesus!

Glory be to God the Father, under whose wings we find shelter and love.

Glory be to God the Son, who is enthroned forever.

Glory be to God the Spirit, who leads us to the Rock higher than I.

Ever three and ever One.