The author of this Psalm is far from Jerusalem. Though his prayers have in part been answered, and he can look forward to his return with confidence, he is still in dispiriting circumstances. He is either a king, or one closely connected with a king and deeply interested in his welfare. At first sight Psalm 61:6-7 seem to favour the latter hypothesis; but inasmuch as the stress in these verses is upon the king’s office, not upon his personality, a king might appropriately speak of himself in the third person; and this view best explains the connexion of the verses.

The Psalm belongs therefore to the time of the monarchy; for there is no real ground for supposing that one of the Maccabaean princes, of whom Aristobulus I (b.c. 105) was the first to assume the title of king, is meant. If David was the author, it may best be referred to the time when he was at Mahanaim, after the collapse of Absalom’s rebellion, but before his recall to Jerusalem.

The hope of return to “God’s dwelling-place,” which finds such touching expression in this Psalm (Psalm 61:4), lay deep in his heart as he left the city (2 Samuel 15:25); Psalm 61:3 may refer to the hairbreadth escapes of his earlier life; Psalm 61:6-7 allude to the great promise of 2 Samuel 7; the phrase ‘God’s tent’ (Psalm 61:4) may naturally be connected with the tent which David pitched for the Ark. At any rate David’s situation gives point to the Psalm and helps to explain it.

The Psalm is best divided into two equal stanzas.

i. Prayer for support and restoration to God’s dwelling-place (Psalm 61:1-4).

ii. He appeals to the experience of answered prayer and to the certainty of God’s promises to the king, and looks forward with confidence to a life of thanksgiving for God’s mercy (Psalm 61:5-8).

The Psalm has affinities with Psalms 20, 21, 27, 42, 43, 63, and with Proverbs.

In later times the Psalm was naturally adopted as a prayer of the nation in its dispersion, and the king was interpreted to refer to the Messiah. See the Targum on Psalm 61:6; Psalm 61:8.

Upon Neginath in the title may mean On a stringed instrument (R.V.), or To the accompaniment of stringed music: or possibly, Set to the song of …, some word of definition being lost. See Introd. p. xxiv.

1. my cry … my prayer] Synonynas often coupled together to express the urgency of supplication. Cp. Psalm 17:1; 1 Kings 8:28; Jeremiah 7:16; Jeremiah 11:14.

1–4. David prays that God will prove Himself a refuge as in time past, and that he may again live in His presence and under His protection in Jerusalem.

2. From the end of the earth] Perhaps, from the end of the land. But Jerusalem, the dwelling-place of God, is for him the centre of the earth. He measures his distance from it not by miles but by the intensity of his yearning to be there, in the place where the visible pledges of God’s Presence were to be found.

will I cry] R.V., will I call.

is overwhelmed] Or, fainteth (Psalm 142:3).

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I] Lead me up upon a rock that is too high for me to reach by my own unaided efforts. ‘Rock’ denotes an asylum to be reached, not an obstacle to be surmounted (Psalm 27:5). God Himself is such a Rock of refuge (Psalm 62:2; Psalm 62:6-7). David’s wanderings may have suggested the metaphor (1 Samuel 24:2; 1 Chronicles 11:15).

3. For thou hast been a refuge for me,

A strong tower from the enemy (R.V.).

He appeals to past experience. “In Thee have I taken refuge” is the constant cry with which faith approaches God (Psalm 7:1; Psalm 11:1; Psalm 16:1; Psalm 31:1; Psalm 57:1; Psalm 71:1; &c.). In Psalm 18:2 David addresses God as “my Rock in whom I take refuge.” We may see from Jdg 9:51 what ‘a strong tower’ meant literally: for the metaphor cp. Proverbs 18:10.

4. Let me sojourn in thy tent for ever:

Let me take refuge in the hidingplace of thy wings.

The words are a prayer. In his banishment he prays that he may once more be received as Jehovah’s guest, to enjoy His protection and hospitality, to dwell in the place which He has consecrated by His Presence (Psalm 15:1). In thy tent may mean no more than ‘in thy abode’: but it is natural to connect the metaphor with the ‘tent’ which David pitched for the Ark on Mount Zion (2 Samuel 6:17). Cp. Psalm 27:5-6. ‘Sojourn’ implies the relation of guest to host, and the protection which the guest in Oriental countries claims from his host. “The Arabs give the title of jâr allâh to one who resides in Mecca beside the Caaba.” Robertson Smith, Religion of the Semites, p. 77.

for ever] All my life. Cp. 1 Samuel 1:22; Psalm 23:6. And the revelation of the Gospel has made it plain that life does not end with death.

For the hidingplace (R.V. covert) of thy wings cp. Psalm 57:1, note; Psalm 27:5, “in the hidingplace of his tent shall he hide me”; Psalm 31:20, “Thou shalt hide them in the hidingplace of thy presence.” So the Targ. here in the shadow of Thy Presence (lit. Shechinah).

5. host heard my vows] Vows accompanied by prayers.

thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name] Me is not in the original; and it is best to supply the remoter object of the verb from the complement of the nearer object, and render with LXX, (Vulg.), Jer., P.B.V., thou hast given (their) possession to them that fear thy name. ‘Possession’ is the term regularly used of Israel’s ‘occupation’ of the land of Canaan (Deuteronomy 2:19; Deuteronomy 3:18; &c.; Psalm 37:9; Psalm 37:11; Psalm 37:22; Psalm 37:29; Psalm 37:34). The collapse of Absalom’s rebellion has restored the true and loyal Israelites, who shewed their fear of God’s name by adhering to the king of His choice, to the possession of their rightful inheritance, from which they were in danger of being expelled.

It is best to regard the perfects not as ‘perfects of confidence’ that his prayers will surely be heard, but as referring to past experience. The insurrection has been crushed: but the king awaits restoration (Psalm 61:4).

5–8. Such prayers David can offer in confidence, for his prayers have already been partially answered. He can look forward in faith to the fulfilment of the promises God has made to His king, and he will spend the rest of his life in grateful thanksgiving.

6. Thou wilt prolong the king’s life] Lit., Thou wilt add days to the days of the king. Cp. 2 Kings 20:6. From speaking of the people (Psalm 61:5), David passes to speak of himself. His life had been in danger: but now the danger was over. At first sight the words may seem to be those of another, speaking of David, rather than those of David speaking of himself. But he thus uses the third person because he is speaking of himself in his capacity of king, referring to the promises made to the king as such. Cp. Jeremiah 38:5, where Zedekiah says, “The king is not he that can do anything against you” = I, though king, cannot &c.

and his years] R.V., his years shall be as many generations. This verse is not a prayer, and the text ought not to be altered to turn it into a prayer. It is a confident appeal to God’s promise and purpose. The long life which was one of Jehovah’s special blessings under the old covenant (Exodus 23:26; 1 Kings 3:11; Proverbs 3:2, and often), and which was a natural object of desire when the hope of a future life was all but a blank, was promised specially to the king (Psalm 21:4). The language is partly hyperbolical, like the salutation “Let the king live for ever” (1 Kings 1:31; Nehemiah 2:3); partly it thinks of the king as living on in his descendants (2 Samuel 7:13; 2 Samuel 7:16; 2 Samuel 7:29; Psalm 89:29; Psalm 89:36); but words which in their strict sense could apply to no human individual, become a prophecy of One greater than David; and thus the Targum here interprets ‘king’ by ‘King Messiah.’ See Introd. p. lxxiv ff; and Introd. to Psalms 21.

7. He shall abide before God for ever] Rather, He shall sit enthroned before God for ever, an allusion to the promise of eternal dominion to the house of David, ‘in the presence of God,’ enjoying His favour and protection. See 2 Samuel 7:16 (read with LXX before me), 26, 29; Psalm 21:6; Psalm 89:36 b: and for the pregnant sense of ‘sit’ cp. Psalm 9:7.

O prepare &c.] Appoint lovingkindness and truth that they may guard him. Cp. Psalm 40:11; 2 Samuel 15:20; Psalm 42:8; Psalm 89:14. God’s covenant love and faithfulness to His promise are like guardian angels to the king; and the reflection of these attributes of God in his own character and administration will be the safeguard of his throne (Proverbs 20:28).

The word prepare (‘appoint’) is ignored by some of the Ancient Versions (Jer. Aq. Symm.), and variously rendered by others. It is in itself suspicious both for its form and for its position, and perhaps should simply be omitted. Possibly it may be a corruption of the word for ‘continually’ (Psalm 40:11), or of an emphatic they (‘Lovingkindness and truth shall continually—or, even they shall—guard him’). Such a statement agrees better with Psalm 61:6-7 a than a prayer does.

8. The preservation of a life demands lifelong thanksgiving. Cp. Psalm 50:14. If David is the speaker in Psalm 61:6-7, the return to the first person in this resolution is entirely natural: otherwise the transition is harsh.

Very pathetic is the paraphrase of the Targum. “So will I pay my vows in the day of the redemption of Israel, even in the day when King Messiah is anointed to reign.”