Songs of Praise: Psalm 61-62

Psalm 61-62
Be sure to read His words before the words below. Open your Bible or click the reference above to read on BibleGateway.com.

God, hear my cry; pay attention to my prayer.

I call to You from the ends of the earth

when my heart is without strength.

Psalm 61:1-2 HCSB

Here sits the psalmist at "the ends of the earth,” experiencing the very worst of despair. One author translates this verse: “from the bowel of this fractured world, I cry out my fears and longings” (Psalms Now by Leslie F. Brandt).

This is pitiful. And yet... most often... it is finally when there is no more down... that we are forced to look up. 

Sitting at the bottom we think: This can't be all there is Lord. I need a little light. Actually, I need hope in something beyond these circumstances surrounding me. Then, in looking up, there is not only a ray of sunshine but the vision of a powerful Savior. God.

God who is a:

• Fortress: any place of exceptional security; stronghold (Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary).
• Rock: a mass of stone in stability, firmness, or dependability (Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary).
• High: A lofty place or region (Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary).

What a picture has been painted for us. What a reversal of place and attitude.

Now we see an impregnable Fortress, so high it offers security. We can see the enemy before he reaches us and are distanced from the enemy on a Rock, a place of unwavering stability. And that would be God's unfailing love.

Can you see it? Have you got it pictured in your mind? Could you call it up, through prayer, when troubles rock your world, when the pit is hard and gloomy? Can you visualize yourself in a safer place?

God has promised to be there and walk with us through our troubles if we want Him there, if we call out to Him.

So for now, until heaven calls my name, well... I’ll be at the Fort, come join me.

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.

Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2 NIV

Father God, may I always look up and find shelter in Your unfailing love.