Psalm 61:3, 5-8; antiphon, Psalm 61:1—
In next Sunday’s introit the psalmist makes his plea for the Lord to answer his
prayer. The reason he appeals to God – the Lord has never failed him as a
refuge. No matter what the issue the Lord has been a source of hope and
strength amidst many great and present dangers.
The
petition for the king’s long life has been interpreted by many Jewish scholars
as referring to the coming Messiah. If this interpretation is so they are
fulfilled in Jesus Christ, David’s great Son.
Psalm 61 – Hope and Help when my heart
is overwhelmed
This
psalm is titled To the Chief Musician. On a stringed instrument. A Psalm of
David. David was often in trouble; we don’t know the life circumstances which
prompted this psalm. It does seem to come after he came to the throne. Because
of a reference to the end of the earth, some have thought it comes from the
time of Absalom’s rebellion or on his military campaign near the Euphrates (2
Samuel 8:3-4). Those are possible, but by no means certain settings for this
psalm.
On a stringed instrument: The word Neginah (the singular of Neginoth) may be
understood to be synonymous with the kinnor or harp: that is to say, the
instrument of eight strings probably played with a bow or plectrum.[2]
This
coming week will be the last Sunday in Easter. Easter 7 serves as a bridge
between Ascension and Pentecost. We look back to the Ascension or forward to
Pentecost.
Jesus Is with Us in His Holy Christian
Church
On the
night when He was betrayed, Jesus interceded for His Church — for His apostles
and all who believe in Him through their word — that all of His disciples “may become perfectly one” in the Father
and the Son (John 17:21–23). For Jesus became flesh and dwells among us in
order to reveal the Father and His name, to share with us the glory of His
righteousness, and to bring us to the Father in Himself. As the Father loved
the Son from “before the foundation of
the world” (John 17:24), so He loves the whole world (John 17:23, 26).
Through the apostolic witness to the Baptism, cross and resurrection of Jesus
(Acts 1:21–22), the Lord gathers His disciples throughout the world “with one accord” as one Body in Christ
(Acts 1:14). And so with one voice and by one Spirit, His Bride prays, “Come” (Revelation 22:17). And He comes to us. He gives
us “the water of life without price”
to wash our robes and quench our thirst (Revelation
22:17); He feeds us from “the tree of
life with its twelve kinds of fruit”
(Revelation 22:2).[3]
[1]
The Resurrection of our Lord Schnorr von Carolsfeld,
woodcuts © WELS Permission to use these copyrighted items is limited to
personal and congregational use.
[3] Lectionary Study provided by LCMS commission on worship
[4][4] Collect for Psalm 61, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and by the Church, Vol. I © 1994 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
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