Psalm 61 - The Righteous One, when an outcast, looking for the day of his Restoration.

On Neginah (like Neginoth, unknown), and "by David," and perhaps sung at Mahanaim, (Tholuck). In this life, every member of the Church has varied lot - now at rest, then troubled; now hopeful, then fearful; now a conqueror, then a combatant.

Seated as he is on the Rock of Ages, immovably seated, he sees at one time a fair sky and a bright sun; then, the thick cloud spreads gloom over nature; soon, the beam struggles through again, but soon all is mist once more.

Such being the sure complexion of our sojourning here, we rejoice to find sympathy evidenced by our God who knows our frame, and evidenced by the fact that he so often turns in the Songs of Zion from one state of mind to another, and from aspect of our case to another.

Here is the Head and his members in a state of loneliness. As if suggested by the case of dispersed Israel, language (in verse 2) is adopted such as we find in Deut 30:41 and Neh 1:9.

Our Lord could use such a Psalm in the days of his humiliation, looking to the Father, as in John 14:28 "the Rock higher than I," higher than the man Christ Jesus, higher than all his members. This Rock casts its shadow over those beneath it.

The "Selah" at verse 4 gives us time to look upon the believing one's quiet repose under the wings of God, and then we hear the calm acknowledgement of verse 5, which may remind us of Psalm 22:25. The tone of the Song changes; everything after is hope, sure anticipation, a future of bliss realised as already at hand.

"He shall sit (on the throne) before God for ever," verse 7.

Let us especially notice "Mercy and truth" (v7) are the attributes which preserve him. Now, "mercy and truth" are the prominent features of Redemption-blessing; God saying "Live,"and yet to do this without retracting the sentence, "You shall die."

Christ's pillar-cloud was "mercy and truth;" the Christian's pillar-clouds is the same.

Christ, by harmonising, magnified these perfections of Godhead; the Christian magnifies them by pointing the Father to them as harmonised. So this prayer is answered: "O prepare mercy and truth; let them preserve him!"

Perhaps the unusual word, "appoint," "prepare," may have been chosen to suggest a reference to manna, the wilderness-provision.

Give a manna-like provision of mercy and truth. This is our everlasting food while we dwell before God!

Another thing worthy of brief notice is verse 6, "The King."

David's title was "King" though a wanderer in Judah's deserts; David's Son, too, had the same name and title; and in the right of their Head, disciples of Christ claim kingship under him, and look forward with hope and expectation to the days of his visible manifestation as King in the kingdom that has no end.

Here, then, we have The Righteous One, when an outcast, looking for the day of his Restoration.