From the end of the earth I call to You

Psalm 61 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Confidence in God’s Protection.  A Psalm of David.

Hear my cry, O God;
Give heed to my prayer.
² From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
³ For You have been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength against the enemy.
⁴ Let me dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.

⁵ For You have heard my vows, O God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name.
⁶ You will prolong the king’s life;
His years will be as many generations.
⁷ He will abide before God forever;
Appoint lovingkindness and truth that they may preserve him.
⁸ So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may pay my vows day by day.

The psalmist says: From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint.   David understood the omnipresence of God, that regardless of where he was, God could hear him, in fact God Himself was present. In Psalm 139 David says:      Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.  If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,  Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.      In today’s psalm he says: Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a refuge for me, A tower of strength against the enemy.  Let me dwell in Your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.      David was a mighty warrior. He understood the protection that walls and towers offered in battle. He knew the advantage that comes from being at a higher elevation than your enemies. Yet his confidence was in God. His security was greater in God’s care, in His tent than in any man made fortress. In Psalm 20:7 David says: Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.  In psalm 91 David says:  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”  For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence.  He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

Though David lived many years before Jesus was born, died on the cross and was resurrected, David knew his Lord and Savior. By faith, David says:   You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name.  You will prolong the king’s life; His years will be as many generations.  He will abide before God forever      These are new covenant promises, promises given by Jesus, through the cross, by faith: the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.(Hebrews 11:1)  David walked in these promises.

We too, though we cannot see with our physical eyes, though we may not hear with our ears, need to know the omnipresence of God. That there is nowhere that we can be that He cannot hear our cry. We need to have confidence, to know that God’s protection, His covering is greater than anything man can offer. Like David we need to understand that the promises and the protection of God are ours if and when we abide and dwell with Him. God never leaves us, He is never far off. It is we who leave God’s presence. It is we who sometimes choose to go places and do things apart from Him. His promises and protection are ours when we abide in Him. Yet like the psalmist we can have confidence to know that if we have strayed, if we have ventured away from God’s presence, from His covering, He still will hear us when we call.

David had great faith. He walked in the promises in faith, with confidence in all that he hoped for in the Lord, with full assurance of the things he could not see with his physical eyes. We don’t need to worry that we don’t have enough faith, that our faith is too small. Jesus says:  “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”    A mustard seed is small, not much bigger than this .   Mustard seed size faith is not big faith, it’s not the size of our faith that matters, rather it is the object of our faith that matter. Hebrews 12:1-2 says: let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.      Jesus is the object of our faith, the author and finisher of our faith. Our faith, our confidence, our assurance of all the promises and protection of God, begins and ends with and in Jesus Christ. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  

The psalmist says:  So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may pay my vows day by day.       We too should be forever grateful, forever praising God. Day by day we trust Him. Day by day we have confidence in Him. Lamentations 3:22-23 says:  The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.     God’s promises and His protection for today are ours today. Tomorrow they will be new for what lies ahead tomorrow.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior, my Rock and my Shield, precious Holy Spirit, thank You for all of Your promises and protection. Thank You that there is nowhere to far that You will not hear when I call. Holy Spirit as You abide and dwell in me through Christ, guide me, that I may abide and dwell in God’s presence. Day by day I will trust the Lord, keeping my eyes fixed on Christ, never forgetting the finished work of the cross. Day by day I will praise Your name, heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and Holy Spirit.     Amen