Psalms 61:3

For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
shelter	מַחְסֶ֣ה mach.Seh	H4268	a shelter (literally or figuratively) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
strong	עֹ֝֗ז 'Oz	H5797	strength in various applications (force · noun, common masculine singular absolute
tower	מִגְדַּל mig.dal-	H4026	a tower (from its size or height) · noun, common masculine singular construct
from	מִפְּנֵ֥י mi.pe.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
enemy	אוֹיֵֽב 'o.Yev	H341	hating · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Psalms 62:7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
Psalms 116:2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
Psalms 140:7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.
Psalms 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation,…
2 Corinthians 1:10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
Psalms 4:6-7 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
Isaiah 46:3-4 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 61:1-4

In these verses we may observe, I. David's close adherence and application to God by prayer in the day of his distress and trouble: "Whatever comes, I will cry unto thee (Psa 61:2), - not cry unto other gods, but to thee only, - not fall out with thee because thou afflictest me, but still look unto thee, and wait upon thee, - not speak to thee in a cold and careless manner, but cry to thee with the greatest importunity and fervency of spirit, as one that will not let thee go except thou bless me." This he will do, 1. Notwithstanding his distance from the sanctuary, the house of prayer, where he used to attend as in the court of requests: "From the end of the earth, or of the land, from the m…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 61:3

shelter . . . and strong tower--repeat the same sentiment.

John Gill on Psalms 61:3

For thou hast been a shelter for me,.... Or "refuge" (y), from avenging justice; a hiding place and covert from the storms and tempests of divine wrath; a shadow and a screen from the heat of Satan's fiery darts, and the blast of his terrible temptations, Isaiah 25:4; and a strong tower from the enemy: from Satan the devouring lion, from furious persecutors, and every other enemy; see Proverbs 18:10; and this experience the psalmist had of protection from the Rock in former times made him desirous of being led to it now. (y) "asylum", Tigurine version, Vatablus; "perfagium", Cocceius; "refugium", Michaelis.

John Calvin on Psalms 61:1-4

Psalm 61:1-4 1. Hear my cry, O God! attend unto my prayer. 2. Prom the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is vexed: thou shalt lead me to the rock which is too high for me. [401] 3. For thou hast been my hope, a tower of strength from the face of the enemy. 4. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever; I will be safe under the covert of thy wings. Selah. 1. Hear my cry, O God! It is not exactly ascertained at what time this psalm was composed; but there seems to be some probability in the conjecture, that David had been for a considerable period in possession of the throne before he fell into the circumstances of distress which are here mentioned. I agree with those who ref…

The Church Fathers

It is clear that this obligation and condition of life includes not only those who have responded so well to sound advice that they have sold their goods and distributed them to the poor, and, with their shoulders freed of every worldly burden, bear the light yoke of Christ. They also include the weaker soul, who is less capable of such glorious perfection but who nevertheless remembers that he is a Christian when he hears that he must give up Christ or lose all his possessions. He will rather lay hold on the "tower of strength against the face of the enemy" because, when he was building it by his faith, he took into account the charges with which it could be completed. He embraced the faith with the intention of renouncing this world, not in word only, because, if he bought something he was as one not possessing it, and if he used this world he was as one not using it, not placing his hope in the uncertainty of riches but in the living God.
— Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 157

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Neginah — In the title of Ps. 61, denotes the music of stringed instruments (1 Sam. 16:16; Isa. 38:20). It is the singular form of Neginoth.
Enemies · God defends against — God defends against
Privileges Of Saints · Having God for their: Tower — Having God for their: Tower
Tower · .Of divine protection — .Of divine protection
Towers · Illustrative of: God as the protector of his people — Illustrative of: God as the protector of his people

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 61:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 61:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 61:3

John Gill on Psalms 61:3

John Calvin on Psalms 61:1-4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 61:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 61:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 61:3

John Gill on Psalms 61:3

John Calvin on Psalms 61:1-4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 61:1-4

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 61:2

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 61:3