Psalm 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry to you, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. This psalm, like very many others, begins with tears and ends with praise. It is very often so, in coming to a throne of grace day by day. Many a believer has gone down upon his knees with a broken heart, and has risen with it healed and fully cured. I. DAVID'S RESOLUTION. "I will cry unto Thee." Now, the term "cry" is of very frequent use in Scripture, and it is very expressive. It signifies earnestness — it signifies desire for relief; it is the expression of want. A child cries, a child cries long before it can speak: and how prevailing is that cry! How a mother's heart yearns at the cry of her infant! II. THE CIRCUMSTANCES. "When my heart is overwhelmed." You see the circumstances here are most serious. He might have taken up the language of Hezekiah and said, "Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me." But still, although he was overwhelmed, he pursued the right course. For what is the remedy in affliction? "Is any afflicted? Let him pray" — "pray." It is, perhaps, reasonable, and to a certain extent natural, that men under the pressure of affliction should go down upon their knees, Many a tear has been dried so; and the deeper the sorrow, the more reason there is to cry to God. III. But, you see, not only the circumstances, "When my heart is overwhelmed," but "From the end of the earth" — IS WHATEVER PLACE YOU MAY BE. The psalmist mentions the end of the earth, however distant he might be from that which was the appointed place of prayer, the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, where the saints were in the habit of assembling together. We know now under the Gospel dispensation, that wherever there is a place of prayer, the most obscure position cannot cut off the communication between a spiritual heart and Heaven. How blessed is this! For our encouragement, how very numerous are the instances recorded in the Word of God of definite prayers on the part of God's saints, and definite answers on the part of God! No fewer than eighty-eight distinct prayers of men of God, and eighty-eight distinct answers from the Lord, are recorded in the Old Testament; and no fewer than forty-eight instances of the same kind occur in the New Testament. And, doubtless, these are only just sprinkled in that we may be encouraged, whenever we find them, to see that there is a reality about it — that God's saints of old have endeavoured to cultivate this state and condition, and that God has marked it by His especial favour. IV. WHAT THE PSALMIST PRAYED FOR — "Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I." This gives us an idea of safety in the midst of trial, and support when one is almost ready to be swallowed up. Now, the rock that you and I must look to is the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and to Him the Holy Spirit must lead us. We need to be led, or we shall never come to Him. And observe in the next verse to the text the way in which the psalmist draws his encouragement. "For Thou hast been a shelter to me, and a strong tower from the enemy." You see, the experience of the past may confirm our hope for the future, for He is the "same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever," and "they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee." (J. W. Reeve, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. |
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