Psalms 61 (YLT)

Chapter Text

61:1 To the Overseer, on stringed instruments. --By David. Hear, O God, my loud cry, attend to my prayer.

61:2 From the end of the land unto Thee I call, In the feebleness of my heart, Into a rock higher than I Thou dost lead me.

61:3 For Thou hast been a refuge for me, A tower of strength because of the enemy.

61:4 I sojourn in Thy tent to the ages, I trust in the secret place of Thy wings. Selah.

61:5 For Thou, O God, hast hearkened to my vows, Thou hast appointed the inheritance Of those fearing Thy name.

61:6 Days to the days of the king Thou addest, His years as generation and generation.

61:7 He dwelleth to the age before God, Kindness and truth appoint--they keep him.

61:8 So do I praise Thy name for ever, When I pay my vows day by day!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "overseer", "stringed", "instruments", "david", "hear", "loud", "attend", and "prayer". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "overseer" and "stringed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local YLT text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "overseer" and "stringed" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "overseer" and "stringed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.