John Calvin Commentary Psalms 61

Hear my cry, O God! It is not exactly determined at what time this psalm was composed, but there seems to be some probability in the conjecture that David had been in possession of the throne for a considerable period before he experienced the circumstances of distress mentioned here.

I agree with those who refer it to the time of Absalom’s conspiracy; for, if he had not been an exile, he could not speak, as in the second verse, of crying from the ends of the earth. By using the term cry, he indicates the vehemence of his desire; and it is a word that expresses inner fervency of spirit, regardless of whether he prayed aloud or in a low and subdued tone.

The repetition used denotes his diligence and perseverance in prayer, and teaches us that we should not grow weary and become discouraged in this exercise because God may not have immediately and openly confirmed His acceptance of our petitions. Undoubtedly, by the ends of the earth, he refers to the place of his banishment, as he was cut off from access to the temple and the royal city.

Indeed, some have understood the words figuratively, as meaning that he prayed from the lowest depths of distress; but I can see no foundation for this. Later in the psalm, he calls himself King, a title he never assumed before Saul's death, and from this, we can at once infer that the time referred to was when he fled in trepidation from the fury of his son Absalom and hid himself in the wilderness of Mahanaim and other similarly solitary places.

Mount Zion was the place where the ark of the covenant had been deposited, and it was the seat of royalty. David, when banished from this, which was the principal and most desirable location, speaks as if he had been driven to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Although he lived under the shadows of a legal dispensation, he did not stop praying, even when removed to a distance from the temple. How inexcusable, then, must our conduct be—privileged as we are by God and called to draw near by the way that has been opened through the blood of Christ—if we do not break through every hindrance Satan presents to our communication with heaven?

Let those who may have been deprived of hearing the Word and receiving the sacraments, so as, in a way, to be banished from the Church, learn from David’s example to persevere in crying to God, even in these solitary circumstances. In what follows, he refers to his grief and anguish.

He adds that he was cut off from every means of escape, so that God’s grace might be more apparent in his deliverance. The Hebrew word עטף (ataph), which I have translated as vexed, occasionally means to cover or involve. This has led some to render the clause, while my heart is turned about; that is, tossed here and there, or agitated.

This is a harsh translation. Others, with more appropriateness, read, while my heart is involved in cares and troubles, or overwhelmed. I have adopted a simpler rendering, although I do not mean to deny the metaphor to which they suppose there is an allusion. The clause, undoubtedly, is inserted to indicate that trouble did not prevent him from turning to God.

We have already noted the outward trial he faced—his distance from the sanctuary—and his rising above this to direct his cry to God. In the present words, we have his confession that he was far from being stoically unfeeling, as he was conscious of a severe inner struggle with grief and mental perplexity.

Therefore, it is the duty of believers, when oppressed with heaviness and spiritual distress, to make even more strenuous efforts to break through these obstacles in their approaches to God.

His prayer is that God would bring him to the safety from which he seems excluded. By a rock or citadel, he generally means secure protection, from which he complains he is shut out, as it was impossible to reach it unless God’s hand raised him.

Looking around him, it seemed as if every place of shelter and safety was lifted high above his head and made inaccessible. He was cut off from all help, and yet, hopeless as deliverance appeared, he had no doubt of his safety, if God would only extend His hand to intervene.

The plain meaning of the passage, stripped of figurative language, is that God was able to rescue him from danger, even if all other help was withdrawn and the whole world stood between him and deliverance. This is a truth we would do well to consider seriously.

When looking for deliverance from God, we must beware of yielding to what our senses suggest. We should remember that He does not always work by visible means but delivers us when He chooses by methods that reason cannot fathom. If we attempt to prescribe any particular course of action for Him, we do nothing less than willfully limit His almighty power.

For you have been my hope. Here we may suppose either that he recalls benefits he had previously received, or that he congratulates himself on a deliverance he had just experienced. There is much probability in either supposition. Nothing encourages our hopes more than remembering the past goodness of God, and in the middle of his prayers, we frequently find David engaging in reflections of this kind.

On the other hand, the rest of the psalm is concerned with giving praise to God for His present goodness. It is reasonable to suppose that these words form the beginning of the thanksgiving. In that case, the Hebrew particle, which has been translated for or because, can be understood instead in an affirmative sense, as surely or certainly.

In the following verse, he expresses the confidence he had that he would dwell from now on in the sanctuary of the Lord. I do not entirely agree with those who think that David was still in exile from his homeland when this was written, and is simply to be understood as assuring himself of his return.

He seems rather to be rejoicing in a restoration already obtained, than soothing his grief by anticipating it in the future; and this will become even more apparent when we consider the immediate context. It is noteworthy that now, when he had returned from his banishment and was settled in his own palace, his heart was more focused on the worship of God than on all the wealth, splendor, and pleasures of royalty.

He testifies in other parts of his writings that in the worst calamities he endured, he experienced nothing comparable to the bitterness of being excluded from the ordinances of religion. Now he considers it a greater pleasure to lie as a supplicant before the altar than to sit on the throne of a king.

By the words that immediately follow, he shows that he did not, like too many uninformed people, attach a superstitious importance to the mere outward forms of religion, adding that he found his safety under the shadow of God’s wings. Uninformed people might imagine God as necessarily confined to the physical tabernacle, but David only used this symbol of the Divine presence as a means to elevate the spiritual exercises of his faith.

I would not deny that there might be an allusion to the cherubim when he speaks of the shadow of God’s wings. However, we must remember that David did not rely on carnal ordinances, the elements of the world, but rose through them and above them to the spiritual worship of God.

For thou, O God! hast heard my vows. He here shows the grounds on which he had spoken of his abiding under the wings of God. The sudden joy he experienced arose from God having heard his prayers and made light spring out of darkness.

By his vows we must understand his prayers, according to a common figure of speech by which the part is taken for the whole, as he made vows when he prayed. In general, he would acknowledge himself indebted for his restoration entirely to an interposition of Divine power, and not to any skill he had shown in gaining time to gather his forces, nor to any assistance he had derived, either from the favor of the priests or the exertions of his soldiers.

Had the letter ל, lamed, been prefixed to the Hebrew word יראי, yirey, which is rendered fearing, there would have been no reason left to doubt that the following words were a general assertion, to the effect that God has given the inheritance to those who fear him.

As it is, they may be interpreted to mean that God had given David the inheritance of those who fear him. Still, I prefer attaching the more general sense to the words and understand them as suggesting that God never disappoints his servants, but crowns with everlasting happiness the struggles and distresses that may have tested their faith.

They convey an implied criticism of the unwarranted confidence indulged in by the wicked when favored, through divine forbearance, with any interval of prosperity. The success that flatters them is merely imaginary and quickly vanishes.

But inheritance—the word David uses here—suggests that the people of God enjoy a kind of prosperity more solid and enduring; their momentary and short-lived troubles only have the effect of promoting their eternal welfare.

He praises God that those who fear His name are not left with the meager privilege of rejoicing for only a few days, but are secured in a permanent heritage of happiness. This truth cannot be questioned.

The wicked, having no possession by faith of the divine benefits they may happen to share, live from day to day, as it were, on plunder. It is only those who fear the Lord who have the true and legitimate enjoyment of their blessings.

You shall add days upon days to the king etc. David cannot be considered as using these words of congratulation with an exclusive reference to himself. It is true that he lived to an extreme old age, and died full of days, leaving the kingdom in a settled condition and in the hands of his son, who succeeded him; but he did not exceed the period of one man’s life, and the greater part of it was spent in continual dangers and anxieties.

There can be no doubt, therefore, that the series of years, and even ages, of which he speaks, extends prospectively to the coming of Christ, since the very condition of the kingdom, as I have often remarked, was that God maintained them as one people under one head or, when scattered, united them again. The same succession still continues in relation to us. Christ must be viewed as living in his members to the end of the world. To this Isaiah alludes when he says, Who shall declare his generation or age? — words in which he predicts that the Church would survive through all ages, despite the incessant danger of destruction to which it is exposed through the attacks of its enemies and the many storms assailing it. So here David foretells the uninterrupted succession of the kingdom down to the time of Christ.

He shall abide before the face of God for ever. This is only a simpler way of expressing what he had said before, I will abide in your tabernacle for ever. He refers to the security and peace which he would enjoy under the protection of God, who would effectually preserve his life.

By the face of God, must be understood the fatherly care and providence which he extends to his people. So numerous are the dangers which surround us, that we could not stand a single moment if his eye did not watch over our preservation. But the true security for a happy life lies in being persuaded that we are under divine government.

There follows a prayer that God would appoint mercy and truth for preserving the king. And this admits of two meanings. As clemency and truth are the best safeguards of a kingdom, it would not be entirely unreasonable to suppose that David prays here to be endowed with these dispositions, as a means of establishing his throne.

But the other meaning is perhaps preferable, that God would gird himself with clemency and truth for the preservation of the king. The Hebrew term מנה, manah, signifies not only to prepare, but to set over, or appoint; and he speaks as if the true defense of the kingdom was only to be found in the mercy and faithfulness of God.

He uses the expression prepare, or command, to indicate how easily God can provide the means necessary for preserving his people.

In the concluding words, he expresses his resolution to persevere in the constant celebration of the praises of God, with a view to fulfilling the vows he had made. This, in turn, may lead us to remark on the agreement that ought always to exist between the two parts of invocation: for David, while he applied to God for help under the pressure of calamity, showed himself uniformly grateful when he had experienced deliverance.