properly · verb, qal infinitive construct, 1st person common singular
tabernacle
בְ֭אָהָלְךָVe.'a.hal.kha
H168
a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
ever
עוֹלָמִ֑יםo.la.Mim
H5769
properly · noun, common masculine plural absolute
trust
אֶֽחֱסֶ֨ה'e.che.Seh
H2620
to flee for protection · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
covert
בְסֵ֖תֶרve.Se.ter
H5643
a cover (in a good or a bad · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
wings
כְּנָפֶ֣יךָke.na.Fei.kha
H3671
an edge or extremity · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Selah
סֶּֽלָהSe.lah
H5542
suspension (of music) · interjection
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
Psalms 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Psalms 17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
Psalms 27:4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold t…
Psalms 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Ruth 2:12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
Psalms 15:1 LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
Psalms 57:1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until…
Psalms 63:7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
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…
I will abide--So I desire to do (compare Psa 23:6).
trust in the covert, &c.--make my refuge, in the shadow (compare Psa 17:8; Psa 36:7).
John Gill on Psalms 61:4
I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever,.... Under the protection of the Lord, as in a shepherd's tent, or as in one belonging to a general of an army, where are fulness and safety; See Gill on Psalm 27:5; or else the tabernacle of the congregation is meant; the house of God, the place of divine and public worship, where he desired and determined always to continue, Psalm 23:6; or else the tabernacle which was prefigured by that below, where he knew he should dwell to all eternity. Kimchi, by "for ever", understands a long time; and Jarchi explains it both of this world and of the world to come; which is true, understanding the tabernacle of the church below, and the church above;
I will tr…
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
"A sojourner I will be in Your tabernacle even unto ages" [Psalm 61:4]. You see how he, of whom we have spoken, is he that cries. Which of us is a sojourner even unto ages? For a few days here we live, and we pass away: for sojourners here we are, inhabitants in Heaven we shall be. You are a sojourner in that place where you are to hear the voice of the Lord your God, "Remove." For from that Home everlasting in the Heavens no one will bid you to remove. Here therefore a sojourner you are. Whence also is said in another Psalm, "A sojourner I am with You and a stranger, as all my fathers were." Here therefore sojourners we are; there the Lord shall give to us mansions everlasting: "Many are," He says, "the mansions in My Father's house." [John 14:2] Those mansions not as though to sojourners He will give, but as though to citizens to abide for everlasting. Here however, brethren, because for no small time the Church was to be on this earth, but because here shall be the Church even unto the end of the world: therefore here He has said, "A dweller I will be in Your tabernacle even unto ages.". ..Well, of a few days you would choose that the temptations should be: but how would She gather together all Her sons, unless for a long time She were to be here, unless even unto the end She were to be prolonged? Do not envy the rest of mankind that hereafter shall be: do not, because you have already passed over, wish to cut down the bridge of mercy: be it here even for ever. And what of temptations, which needs must abound, by how much the more offenses come? For Himself says, "Because iniquity has abounded, the love of many shall wax cold." [Matthew 24:12] But that Church, which cries from the ends of the earth, is in these circumstances whereof he speaks in continuation. "But he that shall have persevered even unto the end, the same shall be saved." But whence shall you persevere?..."I shall be covered up in the veiling of Your wings." Behold the reason why we are in safety amid so great temptations, until there come the end of the world, and ages everlasting receive us; namely, because we are covered up in the veiling of His Wings. There is heat in the world, but there is a great shade under the wings of God.
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.
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).
Hurled out of the land of the Lord in the more limited sense
(Note: Just as in Num 32:29. the country east of Jordan is excluded from the name "the land of Canaan" in the stricter sense, so by the Jewish mind it was regarded from the earliest time to a certain extent as a foreign country (חוצה לארץ), although inhabited by the two tribes and a half; so that not only is it said of Moses that he died in a foreign land, but even of Saul that he is buried in a foreign land (Numeri Rabba, ch. viii. and elsewhere).)
into the country on the other side of the Jordan, David felt only as though he were banished to the extreme corner of the earth (not: of the land, cf. Psa 46:10; Deu 28:49, and frequent…
The poet longs for God’s presence and seeks entrance into God’s home on earth for divine protection and care. To be received into God’s sanctuary (literally tent) is the greatest good (see 15:1; 23:6; 24:3-6). The Hebrew word translated sanctuary recalls the Tabernacle and the tent that David built for the Ark (1 Chr 15:1). See also study note on John 1:14. • The shelter of your wings symbolizes God’s protection and care (see Pss 9:9; 17:8).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 61:4
I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.
I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever. Let me once get back to thy courts, and nothing shall again expel me from them: even now in my banishment my heart is there; and ever will I continue to worship thee in spirit wherever my lot may be cast. Perhaps by the word tabernacle is here meant the dwelling place of God; and if so, the sense is, I will dwell with the Lord, enjoying his sacred hospitality, and sure protection.
"There would I find a settled rest, While others go and come; No more a stranger or a guest, But like a child at home."
He who communes with God is always at home. The divine omnipres…
