John Calvin Commentary Psalms 61:1

"Hear my cry, O God; Attend unto my prayer." — Psalms 61:1 (ASV)

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.