Psalm 61

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading & Sermon — Psalm 61
• Prayer

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Sermon Title: Movement Toward the Rock

Scripture: Psalm 61

I. The Movement Toward the Rock

A. The setting: David cries from "the ends of the earth" (Psalm 61:2)

1. For a Jew, and especially for a Davidic king, Jerusalem was the center of the universe — to be at the ends of the earth meant distance from God's presence
2. Whether literal or metaphorical, the psalm speaks to all who feel far away from the Lord

B. The humility of the king: even as ruler over Israel, David acknowledges one higher than himself

1. God declared in 1 Samuel 8 that Israel rejected him as king — David understood himself as a vice regent for Yahweh
2. "Rock" referring to God appears approximately 20 times in the Psalter

C. Four labels for the rock reveal a trajectory of the soul moving closer and closer to God (Psalm 61:2–4)

1. Refuge — the rock as a hiding place in the wilderness, recalling 1 Samuel 23:28 and the "rock of escape" from Saul; God is refuge in the wasteland of sorrow and confusion
2. Strong tower — language of the city: the soul has moved from the wilderness into Jerusalem, surrounded now by the congregation; Westminster Shorter Catechism Q. 26 describes Christ as the conquering king who rules and defends his people
3. Tent — God's own tent, the tabernacle, where his special presence dwells; the soul moves from city to the house of the Lord
4. Shelter of your wings — the most intimate image, evoking the wings of the cherubim overshadowing the mercy seat and ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies; the throne of Yahweh on earth; the Selah marks a full stop at this climax

D. The movement is not self-generated — David cries, "Lead me to the rock" (Psalm 61:2)

1. Spiritual destitution draws out the cry; God uses "faraway feelings" to bring us to an end of ourselves
2. The Holy Spirit is implied — it is not by our own flesh but by the Spirit that we are led into God's presence
3. Augustine: "They that are godly are oppressed and vexed…for this purpose that when they are pressed they should cry, and when they cry that they should be heard, and when they are heard that they should laud and praise God."

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II. The Messianic Hope

A. Verses 6–7 speak of an eternal king whose years endure to all generations — this marks Psalm 61 as messianic (Psalm 61:6–7)

1. The Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel 7 promises an offspring whose throne will be established forever
2. Solomon partially fulfills the promise by building the temple, but dies — the eternal dimension is not fulfilled in any mere sinner
3. The ultimate fulfillment is in David's greater son, Jesus Christ, who is both God and man in one person

B. The movements of David toward the rock are ultimately the movements of Jesus Christ in his earthly ministry

1. Christ begins his mission literally in the wilderness after his baptism, battling Satan; he finds refuge in the Word of God
2. All four Gospels trace a trek toward Jerusalem — the strong tower, the capital city — culminating in the Triumphal Entry
3. Upon entering Jerusalem, Christ goes immediately into the temple — the tent, the house of the Lord — and cleanses it
4. He then draws near to the Holy of Holies, not with the comfort of God's wings over him, but bearing the wrath of God as the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement

C. At the cross, Christ is at the furthest "ends of the earth" from God's presence

1. The Father turns his face away; even the sun turns its face from Christ
2. Christ comes near to the holy God not sheltered by the cherubim's wings, but as the sin bearer standing before a holy God

D. Our movement toward God — from wilderness to strong tower to his very bosom — can only come through Jesus Christ

1. To approach the holy God outside of the Davidic king who fulfills this psalm is to meet his wrath
2. Through Christ the sacrifice, who drew near to God on our behalf, we can truly sing and pray Psalm 61 with joy
3. "So will I ever sing praises to your name as I perform my vows day after day" (Psalm 61:8) — possible only because the Passover Lamb has been offered