Psalm 61 New King James Version
Assurance of God’s Eternal Protection
To the Chief Musician. On [a]a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.
61 Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For You have been a shelter for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will abide in Your [b]tabernacle forever;
I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
5 For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
6 You will prolong the king’s life,
His years as many generations.
7 He shall abide before God forever.
Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may [c]preserve him!
8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may daily perform my vows.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
One thing I love about reading through the book of Psalms is that each Psalm usually begins with a heavy heart, and ends in praise and rejoicing.
Psalm 61 is no exception.
There are several reasons I love Psalm 61, and verse 2 is a bit part of that.
Here are some of the reasons that Psalm 61:2 is such a huge encouragement:
- No matter where we are on this earth, God hears us. There is no where we can go that God cannot reach (Psalm 139:7). This fact alone should provide comfort and encouragement.
- We all feel overwhelmed at some point or another. David says, “when my heart is overwhelmed”. Not if, when. It is completely normal for our hearts to feel overwhelmed on occasion. The key is that we need to take it to the Lord.
- God is our rock. What an encouraging and reassuring fact, to know that we have a rock which cannot be moved (Psalm 62:6).
A Prayer for When the Heart and the Hurt Is too Heavy
Psalm 61 New Living Translation
Psalm 61
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.
1 O God, listen to my cry!
Hear my prayer!
2 From the ends of the earth,
I cry to you for help
when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me to the towering rock of safety,
3 for you are my safe refuge,
a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.
4 Let me live forever in your sanctuary,
safe beneath the shelter of your wings! Interlude
5 For you have heard my vows, O God.
You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear your name.
6 Add many years to the life of the king!
May his years span the generations!
7 May he reign under God’s protection forever.
May your unfailing love and faithfulness watch over him.
8 Then I will sing praises to your name forever
as I fulfill my vows each day.
On those days when I Pray: “Lead me to the Towering Rock of Safety …”
I cannot know what is going on in your life the exact same way God does, but I do know that God knows and reveals that no one goes through life unscathed.
Some of my darkest and heaviest moments were moments of loss — the loss of one’s health, a dream job, the loss of a relationship, the loss of family members.
The Lord does not promise an easy life.
In fact, in his final discourse in the Upper Room before being betrayed, before being arrested, before the kangaroo court, before the massive beatings, before being spat upon, the public scorn and humiliation, before the crown of thorns, being slammed down on his head, the march to Calvary, John 16:33, Jesus said,
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
I am not so sure our hearts can ever get as heavy as Jesus’ did in those hours.
But when we feel as though they do, where do we go when our hearts are heavy?
Did you see the first part of John 16:33?
It says, “that in Me you may have peace.”
Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…”
Psalm 61 New American Standard Bible 1995
Confidence in God’s Protection.
For the choir director; on a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.
61 Hear my cry, 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 [a]against the enemy.
4 Let me [b]dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. [c]Selah.
5 For You have heard my vows, O God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name.
6 You will [d]prolong the king’s [e]life;
His years will be as many generations.
7 He will [f]abide before God forever;
Appoint lovingkindness and truth that they may preserve him.
8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may pay my vows day by day.
Although we may wrestle mightily with why God has allowed certain things to take place, He offers Himself as a refuge when there is no other refuge available.
He is not timid, nor scared nor unprepared for your questions, tears, or anger.
His hands are strong enough to hold us when we are certainly falling apart.
I want to encourage you to do what David did and wrote about in Psalm 62:5-8,
Psalm 62:5-8 New American Standard Bible 1995
5 My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
6 He only 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.
Pour out your heart and your hurt to God.
Meditate and Pray through each verse of Psalm 62:5-8 separately …
And when You are struggling to trust Him, like we all do, ask Him to help you trust Him.
2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”
If you find yourself struggling to pray today, I can surely empathize.
Somedays Life hurts.
It sometimes and some days leaves us utterly incapacitated and speechless.
Again, I can empathize, I want to encourage you that God never stops working.
John 5:14-17 New American Standard Bible 1995
14 Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
John 5:17 says, “In his defense Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.’”
And from our “wrecks and ruins” God does refresh, repair and restore and heal.
Isaiah 58:11-12 New American Standard Bible 1995
11 “And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your [a]desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not [b]fail.
12 “Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the [c]streets in which to dwell.
I want to pray into your wreckage and ruin for you, even if you cannot join me.
As much as these temporary moments and the world may lead you to believe I absolutely, definitely, unequivocally, want you to know you are never alone!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 40 New American Standard Bible 1995
God Sustains His Servant.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
40 I waited [a]patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the [b]miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.
4 How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And has not [c]turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.
6 [d]Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired;
My ears You have [e]opened;
Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is [f]written of me.
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your Law is within my heart.”
9 I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips,
O Lord, You know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.
11 You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
[g]Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
12 For evils beyond number have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has [h]failed me.
13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
Make haste, O Lord, to help me.
14 Let those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my [i]life to destroy it;
Let those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight [j]in my hurt.
15 Let those be [k]appalled because of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
17 Since I am afflicted and needy,
[l]Let the Lord be mindful of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 