David cried out to God. He asked God to pay attention to him. “He did not speak to God in a cold and careless manner.” [1] He knew his need for God, and he let God know it.
“From the end of the earth” refers to a remote and obscure location. Praise God, that heaven is equally accessible from all places. [2] The Lord gave to John the visions recorded in the Book of Revelation while he was on the Island of Patmos. God gave Ezekiel and Daniel their prophecies while they were in Babylon. God gave Paul the words of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon while he was in prison. He has also spoken to me through the Bible in lonely places.
When David’s heart was overwhelmed, he turned to the Lord. “Lead me to the rock” suggests the imagery of a man in a stormy sea groping for a rock to grab and to cling onto for survival.
Amidst the sea of trials and hardships in this world, Christ is the rock to cling to for survival.
Jesus is referred to as the rock in 1 Corinthians 10:4. When water sprang from a rock in the wilderness to quench the thirst of the Israelites, Paul wrote, “They drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”
In 1 Peter 2:4, Peter characterizes Christ as “a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God.” In 1 Peter 2:6, Jesus is “a chief cornerstone, elect, and precious.”
In Exodus 33:18-22, after Moses asked to see God’s glory, God allowed him to see His back. God asked Moses to stand on a rock. As God’s glory passed by Moses, God placed him in the cleft of a rock. God covered Moses with His hand as He passed by him. The hand and rock are a type of Christ because it is by faith in Christ that God covers our sin and gives us grace to see His glory.
Jesus Christ is our strong tower. In His Name, we are protected from the power of Satan.
“I will abide in Your tabernacle forever. I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah!” Psalm 61:4
The phrases, “Abide in Your tabernacle” and “trust in the shelter of Your wings,” convey the imagery of being in a close relationship with the Lord. Where He is! Right at His side! In John 15:4, we must abide in Christ to bear His fruit. We must have a personal relationship with Him.
Due to persecution, David could not enter the physical tabernacle of the Lord. This grieved him, but the Lord met him right where he was. In the Gospels, Jesus is often ministering to people along roadsides, on hills, at sea, and by the side of a pool.
The Greek word for “dwelt” among us in John 1:14 is “tabernacle.” Thus, John 1:14 is correctly translated, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Thus, when my family lived and worshipped in China, our tabernacle was Christ. We listened to His Word with other believers in whatever space we could find to meet together. He was with us there. He tabernacled among us. He provided for us grace and truth.
In Psalms 27:4, David spoke of abiding in God’s tabernacle forever because His tabernacle on earth was only a symbol of God’s heavenly one. Thus, Hebrews 9:8 says, “The Holy Spirit indicated that the way into the Holiest of Holies was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.” And in Hebrews 9:24: “Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”
“For You, O God, have heard my vows. You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your Name.” Psalm 61:5
God let David know that He had heard and accepted His vows by giving to David a wonderful friendship with Prince Jonathan, the son of King Saul. Jonathan was as to David a heritage because David feared the Name of the Lord. In 1 Samuel 18:1-4, Jonathan loved David as he loved himself. Jonathan made a covenant with David. David was committed to the Lord, and the Lord gave to him the heritage of others who had a similar love for God as he did.
Was Jonathan really a man of faith? In 1 Samuel 14:6-15, by faith in God, Jonathan and his armor bearer killed 20 Philistines soldiers in a small open field. “That [deed] set off a terrific upheaval in both camp and field, the [enemy] soldiers in the garrison and the raiding squad badly shaken up, the ground itself shuddering—panic like you’ve never seen before!” The Philistine army which was larger and better supplied than Israel’s was defeated that day.
“You will prolong the king’s life, his years as many generations. He shall abide before God forever. O, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him! So I will sing praise to Your Name forever, that I may perform my vows daily.” Psalm 61:6-8
David, like any other godly king, had enemies who wanted to shorten his life. After David composed this psalm, it was delivered to the chief musician. As the people of his kingdom sang Psalm 60, the lyrics assured them that God would preserve his life and that he would not abandon God. He trusted in the Lord’s mercy and truth to preserve him. Thus, he would sing praise to God’s forever.
David asked for God’s mercy and truth to preserve the king. In John 1:17, the Apostle John wrote, “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the King of kings, is the embodiment of divine truth. John 1:1 says that Jesus is the Word of God. Our Savior Jesus Christ is also the grace of God to us sinners. By Him, our sins are forgiven. In Him, we have the Holy Spirit. Thus, the king’s life and our lives are preserved by God’s mercy and truth.
After God “hears us from the ends of the earth” and brings us under the shelter of His wing, what is left for us to do? The answer is to sing of His love for us. Testify of His goodness!
Attached below is a video link to a song entitled, “Lead Me to the Rock” based on Psalm 61. This song was composed by Lynn DeShazo in 1995. I have included some of the lyrics below the link.
https://youtu.be/wRfsIZhM5fA?si=OR6WuT3Y6vEGeixg
When my heart is overwhelmed
Hear my cry, give heed to my prayer
When my eyes are dimmed with tears
Oh Father, make them clear
From the ends of all the earth
When my heart is fainting...
Lead me into safety
And lead me to the rock, the rock that’s higher
Lead me to the rock that's higher than I
You, oh Lord, have been for me
A refuge from my enemy
Let me live within Your strength
In the shelter of Your wings
And lead me to the rock, the rock that’s higher
Lead me to the rock that’s higher than I
[1] Matthew Henry’s Commentary
[2] Ibid
No comments:
Post a Comment