Psalm 61:2

Verse 2. From the end of the earth. This may be taken two ways: either naturally, and then it is an allusion to men that are far distant and remote from help, relief and comfort: or, as I may say, ecclesiastically, with reference to the temple of God, which was "in medio terrae," "in the midst and heart of the land," where God manifested and gave tokens of his gracious presence and favour: as if he had said, "I am at the end of the earth; far from any tokens, pledges, or manifestations of the love and favour of God, as well as from outward help and assistance." John Owen.

Verse 2. The end of the earth. What place was this, the end of the earth, referring the expression to the writer of the Psalm? We know that the centre of the affections and devotions of the pious Israelite was the "holy city, Jerusalem; whither the tribes went up, even the tribes of the Lord, to testify unto Israel, and to give thanks unto the name of the Lord." The country of which this city was the capital, was to the Jew the world; it was the world within the world; the earth within the earth; the whole globe besides was to him a waste, a place out of the world; an extraterrestrial territory, beyond the limits set up by the Lord Almighty. Thus in Holy Writ what is called the world, or the earth, frequently signifieth only that part thereof which was the heritage of the chosen people... The end of the earth, then, as referred to the psalmist, would signify any place of bodily absence from the temple where the Deity had taken up his special abode, or any place whence his spiritual affections were unable to reach that temple. As referred to us, the expression signifies any sensible distance from God: for as God is the centre of life, hope, love, and joy, distance from him, of whatsoever degree, is the antipodes of the soul, a region of sterility and darkness; the Iceland of man's spirit. Alfred Bowen Evans, 1852.

Verse 2. I will cry unto thee. There is in this expression an endeavour to approach unto God; as you do when you cry after one whom you see at a distance, and are afraid he will go farther from you. It is the great work of faith to cry out after God, at a distance, when you are afraid lest at the next turn he should be quite out of sight. Crying to the Lord supposes him to be withdrawing or departing. John Owen.

Verse 2. Cry. No matter how abrupt the prayer be, so it be the representation of our hearts. Thus did David. Where doth he pray? In banishment. When? When his spirit is overwhelmed. How does he pray? He cried. Thus Hannah prayed herself into a composed state of mind. Remember, resignation is the work of the Spirit of God; and therefore you must plead for it before you have it. John Singleton (-1706), in "The Morning Exercises."

Verse 2. Cry. Crying is a substitute for speech; and also the expression of earnestness. William Jay.

Verse 2. When my heart is overwhelmed. Troubles are of various kinds; some are provoking, some are gnawing, some are perplexing, and some are overwhelming; but whatever form they assume, they are troubles, and are part of the wear and tear of life. ...Overwhelming troubles are such as sweep over a man, just as the mighty billows of the ocean sweep over and submerge the sands. These are troubles which struggle with us, as it were, for life and death; troubles which would leave us helpless wrecks; troubles which enter into conflict with us in our prime, which grapple with us in our health and strength, and threaten to conquer us by sheer force, no matter how bravely we may contend. Such trouble the psalmist knew. Philip Bennett Power, in "The I wills of the Psalms," 1861.

Verse 2. Heart. The heart is here represented to us as being overwhelmed, or, as it is otherwise translated, "covered over;" it is smothered in, unable to perform its functions with proper action, unable to throw out the blood to the extremities, to give them needed vitality and power for necessary effort. When the action of the heart is paralysed, even temporarily, it will tell upon all the members, a chill there send its cold vibration through every limb; Satan knows this well, and so all his dealings are heart dealings, efforts to paralyse the very spring of life itself. This is precisely what we ourselves have experienced; we have partially felt death within us, we have felt a gradual numbing of our heart; a gradual diminution in the quickness of its beat; a gradual closing in, and pressure of a weight upon it, and this was the overwhelming process. Philip Bennett Power.

Verse 2. Lead me to the rock that is higher than

1. The tower

, in Psalms 18:2 , is "an high tower," and the rock is here an high rock, the rock higher than I; and yet there is a way to get into the highest towers; by scaling ladders a man may get over the high walls of towers. This tower and rock were too high for David himself to get into, and therefore he sets to the scaling ladder. "Lead me to the rock, and into the tower that is higher than