July 23 Sermon: Lead Me to the Rock

Consider these questions as we look at Psalm 61 this Lord’s Day:

1. How does the psalmist's cry for God's intervention reflect the deep emotional and spiritual turmoil he is experiencing, and what significance does this hold in understanding the psalm's message?

2. What is the significance of the imagery used in the psalm, such as being led to the unmovable rock and finding refuge under God's wings? How do these images convey the psalmist's longing for God's presence and protection?

3. In what ways does the psalmist's plea for God's faithful intervention resonate with believers today, especially in moments of despair and hopelessness? How can this psalm serve as a source of comfort and encouragement in facing life's challenges?

Transcript:

There are times in life where we just feel like giving up and like there is no point in us continuing with the path that we are on. Whether these are substantial, life altering decisions or frustrations we have building up over small things. We have all gotten to the point in our lives where we want to give up or change course. We have seen situations like this in another psalm that we have looked at this summer. In that psalm we saw that the writer just wanted to give up and die but God provided rescue and sustained the psalmist that he might bring glory to his name.‌

As we get into Psalm 61 today we find that David is once again fainthearted but we see that he has a source of strength from outside himself that he can rest on. As king, there were many things that David could have trusted in. The options at his disposal were numerous but we find that it is God who is his source of strength and safety in the midst of the trials that he faces.‌

As we come to the first couple verses of this psalm today we get the idea that this is a truly personal situation that David is experiencing.

‌Now, this psalm has been used in corporate worship throughout the ages but it is clearly an individual experience that is being written to here. Notice the individual nature of the language. Here MY cry. Listen to my prayer. I call to you. MY heart is faint. David is desperate for the intervention of God in his life. We see the desperate nature of this in what is said in the first three words here: Here my cry. I don’t know how many times I’ve read those words in this Psalm but I don’t think I’ve ever really slowed down and processed those three words like I should have. I read hear my cry as just words on a page and haven’t considered the emotions of the one who wrote them down. Perhaps I am a bit callous to the plight of others or I assume people are prone to exaggeration but I admit I read over those words far to casually. The idea of crying out is something that should not be taken lightly. I actually took a moment to consider why I’m like this and I don’t think it’s just me. My thought is that I don’t take these words too seriously because we live in a time of extreme affluence and health. I think we often assume things are going to be OK, regardless of what is going on. We hear of a negative medical diagnosis and we assume there will be some sort of treatment that will make things better. We have a financial crisis of sorts but we trust that we’ll have some means to keep a roof over a head and have food to eat. The primary time where we feel a true sense of crisis is in a tragic and unexpected death. Then we expect for people to cry out.‌

When I stop to think about the idea of crying out my mind is immediately drawn to my time as a chaplain at Avera McKennan several years back. One evening I was called up to the NICU because there was a baby there that was going to die. The family had been there a few days and I don’t remember what the problem was but I do know that there really had never been any hope for this infant. The reason that I was summoned to that part of the hospital was because they were going to remove life support. I had a few moments with the young parents and we prayed and as you can imagine, they were spent. They seemed almost emotionless but it was really that they had been experiencing sleeplessness and this had been a really hard and difficult road for them. I don’t remember exactly how long I was up there with them but I do remember that the baby didn’t stay alive too long once life support was removed. When that child breathed his last the mother who had been relatively quite and without emotion cried out and I can honestly have no problem remembering exactly what it sounded like. On the list of terrible things I’ve experienced in my life, it’s most assuredly in the top three. Her cry was one of absolute despair, hopelessness, and agony.‌

While I don’t know that the psalmists cry out to God here would have sounded the same, I am sure there is the same depth of emotion and desperation in what is felt here.‌

The psalmist is crying out but we also understand that because of the direction of his cries this is not a hopeless cry. He has a belief that the LORD of heaven and earth will hear him.‌

Notice that he asks God to listen to his prayer. His hope is that these cries of his will not just echo around into the void and not be heard. He has a deep hope that God listens to him. And he has this hope even though he feels as though he is far from God. Notice what he says here. From the end of the earth I call to you. The idea here is that it feels as though God is distant from him, yet he understands that God is always close enough to here him, regardless of whether he feels God is near or not. The psalmists heart is faint yet there is a realization that God’s hearing the psalmist isn’t dependent on how he feels because God is faithful to hear his people.‌

And so, with the end of verse two and leading into verse three we see the psalmist asking to be led to the rock.

‌Notice the use of contrast here. The psalmist feels far away. He understands that he has moved. His heart is faint and the implication with that is that it is failing. In comparison with those two conditions he asks to be led to the rock. This isn’t a stone that you can pick up and throw. This is a rock that is established. Think of the rocks you see in pastures as you drive around. You see rocks that are absolutely immovable or they would have been displaced long ago to make the land to be used for other purposes but that rock absolutely cannot be moved because it is not only huge in what you can see but there is likely just as much that you can’t see. It isn’t going anywhere no matter how much you try. It has a foundation that can’t be shaken. David is easily shaken. He heart is faint and he knows that he doesn’t have the ability to rescue himself. He needs something more than his failing heart. He needs a rock that can’t be moved and a rock that is higher than himself. He understands that rock is God and that he is higher than himself.‌

And we see that David expands the imagery even more. He speaks of God as a refuge and a strong tower against the enemy. God is more than just a firm place to stand like an immovable rock. He is a refuge and a strong tower against the enemy. He provides protection from the enemy. David understands that this is what he needs more than anything and so his prayer is to have the protection of his God.

‌His prayer is that he would dwell in his tent forever. He wants to have fellowship with God. His language previously was one of feeling distant from the LORD but he wants to be near to him and to dwell with him. And the imagery gets even more intimate as he desires to take refuge under the shelter of his wings.‌

This is such powerful imagery for us, isn’t it? We can easily imagine a mother bird offering protection for a chick and it evokes emotional thoughts of protection for us but let’s consider this image a little more deeply. The psalmist feels far from God and yet he desire to be closer to him. He wants to dwell in his tent forever, bringing up imagery for us of the tabernacle. If we zero our thoughts in on that image instead of just any old tent then we need to think about what wings might be in view here. On the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle were cherubim with their mighty wings. And so, this idea of being under the shelter of God’s wings gives us the familiar image of a bird and her chicks it could very likely be pointing to the much stronger wings of those cherubim who were in service of almighty God. Both images are powerful and let us know the love that God has for us as his people. He loves us as his children and keeps us safe.‌

And with that imagery before us we go from the idea of being far from God and needing to be brought near to him to an extreme confidence in the faithfulness of God.

‌David is confident that God has heard him and his promises of faithfulness to him. Despite whatever is going on for David he has continued to understand his need for God. I mentioned a few weeks back that one of the things that I am most moved by in the Psalms as I study them is the fact that no matter what the writers of these prayers seem to be experiencing they understand that what they need is God. When they are pushed to the limits they don’t think that there is another rock or another refuge, they realize that the Lord of heaven and earth is all they’ve got and he’s their only hope.‌

And we see this here in the fact that David speaks of these vows he’s made to be faithful to God, even when he has just said that he is calling out to God from the ends of the earth. He feels far from God but he still desires to be faithful to him because he understands that God has first been faithful in his promises. He has given the psalmist a heritage of those who fear his name. With that truth in mind this psalm takes a bit of a turn. David has been crying out to God in difficulty and despair and now he is going to pray a prayer for himself as king.

‌As we look at this, it is important to understand that this is not simply a selfish prayer by the psalmist for himself. As king of Israel he was the center of things for the people of God. He was the anointed one of God. The prayer to have life prolonged isn’t a hope that he’ll get a bunch of days to live his best life and accumulate and enjoy all the pleasures of this life. The prolonged life of the king was a sign of God’s covenant faithfulness to his people. This also goes beyond national pride in the way that we would understand it. In the psalms especially speaking of God’s faithfulness to the king carries messianic undertones. Remember, David is not just a king, he is the one who is in line to THE KING. What helps me to understand this best is to think about where the Psalms lie in the Bible. They are pretty much right in the middle of your Bible. The language in them points back to the promises of God and his faithfulness to them and they also point forward to an expectation of God’s faithfulness coming in the messiah. With David we get the idea that God has been faithful and will be faithful. He has come from the promised prophetic line to the seed of the woman and the line is going out from him.‌

And so, while David is praying this for himself as king it is also a prayer of messianic expectation. Not that he believed he was the messiah or that his physical life would be perpetual but instead there is a greater hope and it is all because of a belief that God is a God with steadfast love.‌

And it is in these final three verses where we see how the Lord Jesus Christ unlocks this psalm for us. The descendent of David came to be near to his people. They rejected him and he bore the wrath of God for the sin of his people but the prayer of David here came to pass. The true king was resurrected and he ascended to the right hand of the father. His life was prolonged forever and he forever reigns as king. His years have endured for generation to generation. He is enthroned forever and it is a sign of the steadfast, covenant faithfulness of all mighty God to his people. Because we have the gift of eternal life in him we shall ever sing praises to his name and we are called to live lives of holiness in faithfulness to him for the faithfulness that he has shown to us.‌

And as we think of how we can bring this psalm home for us today I want to go back to the emotion we felt at the beginning of this psalm. Regardless of how well off our lives are now and how removed from difficulty and tragedy we are today, there is a time coming when we will face it. When those times come what will we do? There are so many ways that we can go but there is only one true hope and one true answer for what we face. To be led to the rock that is higher than I. Everywhere we turn there are answers to the problems we face. Those answers range from everything to ignoring the problems to alternative spiritual paths to turning to chemicals to ease to the pain. When we are pushed to the limits there is no limit to the options in front of us. But, because we are God’s own, we can trust that when we pray to be led to the rock that is higher than us who is a fortress we can trust that our covenant God will shelter us in his wings. And so, may our cries go up to God, knowing that we have a rock who is our strong tower and our refuge through the storms of life and the attacks of the enemy.