Charles Spurgeon

They return in the evening, snarling like dogs and prowling around the city.

“Here verse six is repeated, as if the songster defied his foes and revelled in the thought of their futile search, their malice, their disappointment, their rage, their defeated vigilance, their wasted energy.”

They scavenge for food, and growl if they are not satisfied.

“Let them wander up and down for meat. Like dogs that have missed the expected carcass, let them go up and down dissatisfied, snapping at one another, and too disappointed to be quiet and take the matter easily. And grudge if they be not satisfied.”

But I will sing of Your strength and proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning. For You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

“But I will sing of thy power. The wicked howl, but I sing and will sing. Their power is weakness, but thine is omnipotence; I see them vanquished and thy power victorious, and for ever and ever will I sing of thee.”

To You, O my strength, I sing praises, for You, O God, are my fortress, my God of loving devotion.

“Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing. What transport is here! What a monopolising of all his emotions for the one object of praising God! Strength has been overcome by strength; not by the hero's own prowess, but by the might of God alone.”

You have rejected us, O God; You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us!

“Before the days of Saul, Israel had been brought very low; during his government it had suffered from internal strife, and his reign was closed by an overwhelming disaster at Gibeon.”

You have shaken the land and torn it open. Heal its fractures, for it is quaking.

“Thou hast made the earth to tremble. Things were as unsettled as though the solid earth had been made to quake; nothing was stable; the priests had been murdered by Saul, the worst men had been put in office, the military power had been broken…”

You have shown Your people hardship; we are staggered from the wine You made us drink.

“Thou hast showed thy people hard things. Hardships had been heaped upon them, and the psalmist traces these rigorous providences to their fountainhead.”

You have raised a banner for those who fear You, that they may flee the bow. Selah

“Here the strain takes a turn. The Lord has called back to himself his servants, and commissioned them for his service, presenting them with a standard to be used in his wars. Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee.”

Respond and save us with Your right hand, that Your beloved may be delivered.

“That thy beloved may be delivered. David was the Lord's beloved, his name signifies "dear, or beloved, "and there was in Israel a remnant according to the election of grace, who were the beloved of the Lord; for their sakes the Lord wrought great marvels…”

Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

“Having looked at home with satisfaction, the hero king now looks abroad with exultation. Moab, so injurious to me in former years, is my washpot. The basin into which the water falls when it is poured from an ewer upon my feet.”

Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

“As yet the interior fortresses of Edom had not been subdued. Their invading bands had been slain in the valley of salt, and David intended to push his conquests even to Petra the city of the rock, deemed to be impregnable.”

Have You not rejected us, O God? Will You no longer march out, O God, with our armies?

“Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? Yes, the chastising God is our only hope. He loves us still. For a small moment doth he forsake, but with great mercy does he gather his people.”

Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.

“Give us help from trouble. Help us to overcome the disasters of civil strife and foreign invasion; save us from further incursions from without and division within. Do thou, O Lord, work this deliverance, for vain is the help of man.”

With God we will perform with valor, and He will trample our enemies.

“Through God we shall do valiantly. From God all power proceeds, and all we do well is done by divine operation; but still we, as soldiers of the great king, are to fight, and to fight valiantly too.”

From the ends of the earth I call out to You whenever my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee. He was banished from the spot which was the centre of his delight, and at the same time his mind was in a depressed and melancholy condition; both actually and figuratively he was an…”

From the ends of the earth I call out to You whenever my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

“IT is supposed by many that David wrote this Psalm at the time when he fled from his son Absalom. That trial was one of the most grievous of all the afflictions of David's greatly-checkered life.”

For You have been my refuge, a tower of strength against the enemy.

“For thou hast been a shelter for me. Observe how the psalmist rings the changes on, Thou hast, and I will, —Ps 61:3-6. Experience is the nurse of faith. From the past we gather arguments for present confidence.”

For You have heard my vows, O God; You have given me the inheritance reserved for those who fear Your name.

“For thou, O God, hast heard my vows. Proofs of divine faithfulness are to be had in remembrance, and to be mentioned to the Lord's honour.”

Increase the days of the king’s life; may his years span many generations.

“Thou wilt prolong the king's life; or, better, "days to the days of the King thou wilt add." Death threatened, but God preserved his beloved. David, considering his many perils, enjoyed a long and prosperous reign. And his years as many generations.”

May he sit enthroned in God’s presence forever; appoint Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness to guard him.

“He shall abide before God for ever. Though this is true of David in a modified sense, we prefer to view the Lord Jesus as here intended as the lineal descendant of David, and the representative of his royal race.”

Then I will ever sing praise to Your name and fulfill my vows day by day.

“So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever. Because my prayer is answered, my song shall be perpetual; because Jesus for ever sits at thy right hand, it shall be acceptable; because I am preserved in him, it shall be grateful.”

In God alone my soul finds rest; my salvation comes from Him.

“Truly, or verily, or only. The last is probably the most prominent sense here. That faith alone is true which rests on God alone, that confidence which relies but partly on the Lord is vain confidence.”

He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress; I will never be shaken.

“He only is my rock and my salvation. Sometimes a metaphor may be more full of meaning and more suggestive than literal speech: hence the use of the figure of a rock, the very mention of which would awaken grateful memories in the psalmists's mind.”

Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.

“My soul, wait thou only upon God. When we have already practised a virtue, it is yet needful that we bind ourselves to a continuance in it.”

He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will not be shaken.

“CALVIN translates this verse, “My soul, be thou silent before God.” Rest calm and undisturbed. Thine enemies are round about thee, and have sore beset thee thy troubles do surround thee like strong bulls of Bashan; but rest, my soul, in God.”