THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: God's Nurture Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith

LXI: Overcoming Spiritual Fatigue In Serving God Amid Formidable Foes

(Psalm 61:1-8)

I. Introduction

A. One's spiritual trials caused by his enemies can sometimes seem humanly overwhelming, threatening burnout.

B. Psalm 61:1-8 offers a lesson in handling this matter, so we view the psalm for our insight and edification:

II. Overcoming Spiritual Fatigue In Serving God Amid Formidable Foes, Psalm 61:1-8.

A. The introductory remarks in the English Bible comprise the first verse in the Hebrew text (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 1027), so we stay with the verse numbering system of the English Bible for clarity with this lesson.

B. We thus translate Psalm 61:1-8 as follows:

1. "Hear my cry, O Elohim; listen to my prayer," Psalm 61:1.

2. "From the ends of the earth I call unto You as my heart grows faint. Lead me to the rock cliff (sur, B. D. B., A Heb.-Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 849) that is higher than I (am)," Psalm 61:2.

3. "For You have existed (hayah, Ibid., Kittel; Ibid., B. D. B., p. 224-228) as a Shelter from the rain, storm, danger (mahsseh, Ibid., p. 340) for me; a Strong Tower of refuge (migdal, Ibid., p. 153-154) against the enemy," Psalm 61:3.

4. "I long to dwell in Your tabernacle forever and take refuge in the hiding place (seter, Ibid., p. 712) of Your wings. Selah," Psalm 61:4.

5. "For it is You (emph. pron.), O Elohim, Who had hearkened to my vows; You gave me the heritage of those who revere Your Name," Psalm 61:5.

6. "Increase the days of the king's life, his years for many generations," Psalm 61:6.

7. "May he be enthroned in the presence of Elohim forever; appoint Your loyal love and faithfulness to protect him," Psalm 61:7.

8. "Then I will forever sing praise to Your Name and fulfill my vows day after day," Psalm 61:8.

C. We note significant observations and applications of this psalm (as follows):

1. As the introductory remarks form the first verse of this psalm in the Hebrew text, we know that David, the author, was expressing figuratively that he was experiencing spiritual fatigue in feeling overwhelmed by his enemies, seen in his claim that he was calling to God from the ends of the earth (where he never actually went in his earthly life) in verse 2a, and that his heart, or, inner man, was growing faint, verse 2b.

2. To handle this fatigue before his foes, David first recalled past precedents of God's help (verse 3) for hope that God would still help him in his present overwhelming trial (verse 4). This appeal to past precedents is Biblically sound: if God has helped one in the past, He must logically want him to succeed in the present.

3. Also, David reports his confidence that God has heard his vows made in hope of the Lord's helping him out of trouble (verse 5a; Zon. Pict. Ency. Bible v. Five, p. 890), and David recalled that, due to God's anointing him to be king by the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 16:1-13), God was also causing true believers who revered the Lord's Name to follow David's leadership. The prepositional phrase "heritage of those who revere Your Name" (v. 5) is an objective genitive, meaning God had made those who revered Him also loyally follow David as David's "heritage" from the Lord; Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 839. This reveals that if God appoints one to a ministry, God also gives him the upright, loyal followers he needs.

4. Greatly encouraged by dwelling on these edifying truths, David petitioned the Lord for a long, productive reign as king regardless of his foes, the opposite of his initial spiritual fatigue in ministry back in verse 1.

Lesson: To handle spiritual fatigue of humanly overwhelming trials from his foes, David asked God for help, trusting that the Lord Who had faithfully helped him in his past would do so even now, trusting thereby that God would answer his prayer, and recalling that God Who had appointed him to lead Israel as king had thereupon granted to him as his heritage a following of godly people who would also help him offset the threats of his foes.

Application: If humanly overwhelmed by foes in spiritual assignments, may we call to the Lord in prayer for help, believing that He Who has faithfully helped us in the past will continue to do so now, trusting He will heed our prayers and counting on His appointment of us to the office we have that is under attack that we will be sustained by Him and by other godly people He wants to follow our lead in serving Him. In this way, we overcome the threat of seemingly overwhelming foes that threaten to cause us to be burned out in our service efforts for the Lord.