Psalm 61:2 ESV Context
The 150 chapters of the Psalms are attributed to seven different writers, with close to half of them (including chapter 61) attributed to David.
Psalm 61 includes both pleas for help and declarations of worship and starts with a note that it was meant to be sung with stringed instruments.
Psalm 61:2 ESV meaning and explanation
What does Psalm 61:2 ESV mean about God’s refuge
Psalm 61:2 ESV Meaning
David begins chapter 61 with a plea of desperation, asking God to hear his cries. In verse 2 he says he is calling out “from the end of the earth,” indicating he feels alone and isolated from God.
He asks God to bring him “to the rock that is higher than I.” A rock is both a symbol of strength and immovability—something that easily contradicts how David is feeling—as well as a symbol of safety.
In a flood, higher ground is of course preferable, as is higher ground when under attack from an enemy army, since higher ground allows for more visibility of the enemy and less accessibility for capture.
Simply put, a higher rock is strong and safe. In saying that God is “the rock that is higher,” David is admitting the inherent gospel truth that God is strong and he, David, is not.
He needs the Lord to help him, for he cannot succeed on his own. This theme continues into verse 3, where David speaks of the Lord as his “refuge” and “strong tower against the enemy.”
David ends the chapter by saying that the Lord “heard my vows” (61:5) and sings praises to the Lord. David gives us a glimpse of a God who gives us safety and rest in our weakness.
Psalm 61:2 ESV Bible verse commentary
Psalm 61:2 ESV Application
Hope can be gleaned from coming to the same realization that David came to—that he, as a human, is weak, but that the Lord is powerful and able to give us the safety and rest he couldn’t achieve on his own.
While it may initially feel discouraging to realize that we can’t do it (after all, that is not a sentiment often used in encouraging greeting cards), the truth is that God can, and that instills hope.
God is not human. God is not weak. He hears and answers our cries.
We don’t need to strive so hard to be self-sufficient when the chaos threatens to overwhelm us, but we can rest in the truth that God is infinitely more capable than we are.
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Psalm 61:2 ESV prayer for strength and shelter