PSALMS LESSON 59

     We will begin by giving the 61st Psalm in metre to show how
easily it could be sung.

                   THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE

                             Chapter 61

Verse 1  "Lord, hear my voice, my prayer attend, From earth's remotest
          bound I send My supplicating cry. When troubles great
          o'erwhelm my breast, Then lead me on the Rock to rest That
          higher is than I."
Verse 2  "In thee my soul hath shelter found, And thou hast been from
          foes around The tower of my defiance; My home shall thy
          pavilion be; To covert of thy wings I'll flee, And find
          deliverance."
Verse 3  "For thou, O Lord, my vows hast heard, On me their heritage
          conferred, That fear thy holy name. Long life thou to the
          king wilt give, Through generations he shall live, From age
          to age the same."
Verse 4  "Before the Lord shall he abide: O, do thou truth and grace
          provide To guard him in the way. So I thy praises will make
          known, And humbly bending at thy throne, My vows will daily
          pay."

     We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 61st Psalm.
Psalms 61:1 "{To the chief Musician upon Neginah, [A Psalm] of David.}
Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer."

     It seems that David is praying this prayer very often. This time
he goes further than just a prayer. David wants immediate attention
paid to his prayer. Attend means God whatever your answer is to this
prayer, please do not delay.. This is an urgent plea.

     Psalms 61:2 "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."

     This verse leads us to believe that this was in a time of
terrible anguish of being away from God. He is overwhelmed with grief,
because he feels that he has alienated himself from God. David loves
God more than he loves anything in this world, and this separation is
almost more than he can bear. Even though David is at this moment
unable to go to his favorite place to meet with God, he does not stop
crying out to God. He says, it does not make any difference where I am
physically, I am seeking God in my prayer. His heart is breaking. He
is overwhelmed with grief. We are like David in many ways. When it
seems that all the world has turned against us, we cry out to God.
Troubles seem to bring us closer to Him than when things are going
well. God will listen and forgive, when we have a broken and contrite
heart. David says, God, I can not seem to walk the straight and narrow
path; come and lead me to the solid rock. This Rock, of course, is
Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the Rock that cannot be moved. This
Rock is higher than us all. This is the Rock that the storm cannot
move. This is the Rock that we must all build upon. This is not like
the sand that shifts when the waves come. Praise God! The sweet Holy
Spirit led us to this Rock of our salvation. I shall not be moved,
because I have placed my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ {the Rock}.

     Psalms 61:3 "For thou hast been a shelter for me, [and] a strong
tower from the enemy."

     David is very well aware that God protected him from Goliath, God
had hidden him from Saul who sought to kill him, and God will protect
him from this peril, as well. Christians, when I see this, I think of
the hedge the Lord has built around each of us to keep us from the
enemy. I think of the blood that covers me , which keeps me out of
harm's way, I think of the name of Jesus, that he has given me
authority to use against my enemies, is my shelter. He is my strong
tower. He is my Saviour.

     Psalms 61:4 "I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will
trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah."

     David is asking to be able to go back into the tabernacle. Abide,
as we have said before, means to continually live. We could look at
the word tabernacle in a more permanent way, as well. It could mean
the dwelling place of God, and could mean heaven, as well. In a
previous lesson, we got in to the study about the wings forming a
covering or protection. Again, Selah, means pause and think on these
things. The covering of the Christian is the white robe of
righteousness washed in the blood of the lamb. The tabernacle, that
David was speaking of here, was just a type and shadow of the true
tabernacle in heaven. Hebrews 8:5 "Who serve unto the example and
shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was
about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, [that] thou make all
things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount."  The
eternal tabernacle is with God in heaven.

     Psalms 61:5 "For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given
[me] the heritage of those that fear thy name."

     Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. David has made his
commitment to God. He knows that God knows the vows he made were real.
David knows that he is heir to the promises made to Abraham. We are,
also, heirs according to the promises, if we fear God and call upon
the name of Jesus Christ. We know from the following Scripture that
there is a heritage through Abraham. Galatians 3:29 "And if ye [be]
Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise."

     Psalms 61:6 "Thou wilt prolong the king's life: [and] his years
as many generations."

     David was king for 40 years, and when he died, his son Solomon
reigned for another 40 years. David lived many years on this earth,
but I believe this is a prophetic Scripture speaking of the reign of
Jesus Christ who reigns forever and ever. The David, we have been
reading about in this lesson is David who was actually ruler for 40
years. The real Beloved of God, Jesus Christ the Righteous, shall
reign forever and ever.

     Psalms 61:7 "He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy
and truth, [which] may preserve him."

     Jesus is even now sitting at the right hand of the Father in
heaven, but His reign is never ending. Jesus is Mercy, He is Truth, He
is Eternal. The following Scripture is speaking of the reign of Jesus.
I Kings 9:5 "Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon
Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There
shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel."  The following
Scripture leaves no doubt who this is speaking of, Luke 1:32 "He shall
be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God
shall give unto him the throne of his father David:"

     Psalms 61:8 "So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I
may daily perform my vows."

     Jesus, in a sense, was a descendent of David, but He was, also,
David's Lord. Matthew 22:45 "If David then call him Lord, how is he
his son?" David, in verse 8 above, is saying that he will sing and
praise God all the days of his life. His praise is performing his vow
to God. David, in the verse above, is promising to praise the Lord
every day. David's gratitude for the Lord answering his prayer is the
reason he will praise for ever. His vow had been to God that he would
praise him, if the prayer was answered.


























                             Questions 59

1.  Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my _______.
2.  What did David mean by, {from the end of the earth}?
3.  When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the _____ that is higher
    than I.
4.  What is the general condition of David, in verse 2?
5.  When does it seem we are closer to God than other times?
6.  Who is the Rock, in verse 2?
7.  I shall not be moved, because _ have placed my _____ in the _____.
8.  What 2 things does David call the Lord, in verse 3?
9.  Who are two specific people God had protected David from?
10. What covers the Christian and keeps them from harm's way?
11. David is saying, he will abide where forever?
12. What does abide mean?
13. What are some of the things tabernacle, in verse 4, could mean?
14. What is the covert of thy wings telling us?
15. This tabernacle, in verse 4, is a type and shadow of what?
16. Quote Hebrews chapter 8 verse 5.
17. What was David an heir to?
18. Quote Galations chapter 3 verse 29.
19. How long was David king?
20. How long did Solomon reign as king?
21. How long shall Jesus Christ the Righteous reign?
22. What does 1 Kings chapter 9 verse 5 tell us of the reign of Jesus?
23. Luke chapter 1 verse 32 calls Jesus whom?
24. How often did David say, he would perform his vows?
25. What had David called Jesus?
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