Text -- Psalms 61:1-5 (NET)

Psalm 61

61:1 For the music director; to be played on a stringed instrument; written by David. O God, hear my cry for help! Pay attention to my prayer! 61:2 From the most remote place on earth I call out to you in my despair. Lead me up to an inaccessible rocky summit! 61:3 Indeed, you are my shelter, a strong tower that protects me from the enemy. 61:4 I will be a permanent guest in your home; I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. (Selah) 61:5 For you, O God, hear my vows; you grant me the reward that belongs to your loyal followers.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 61:1

¹ sn Psalm 61. The psalmist cries out for help and expresses his confidence that God will protect him.

NET Notes: Psa 61:2

¹ tn Heb “from the end of the earth.” This may indicate (1) the psalmist is exiled in a distant land, or (2) it may be hyperbolic (the psalmist feels alienated from God’s presence, as if he were in a distant land).

² tn Heb “while my heart faints.”

³ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.

⁴ tn Heb “on to a rocky summit [that] is higher than I.”

NET Notes: Psa 61:3

¹ tn Or “for.”

² tn Or “have been.”

³ tn Heb “a strong tower from the face of an enemy.”

NET Notes: Psa 61:4

¹ tn Heb “I will live as a resident alien in your tent permanently.” The cohortative is understood here as indicating resolve. Another option is to take it as expressing a request, “please let me live” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

² sn I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.

NET Notes: Psa 61:5

¹ tn Heb “you grant the inheritance of those who fear your name.” “Inheritance” is normally used of land which is granted as an inheritance; here it refers metaphorically to the blessings granted God’s loyal followers. To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for his revealed reputation which in turn motivates one to obey God’s commands (see Ps 86:11).