Psalm 61: Overview

Psalm 61 is said on Wednesdays at matins in the Benedictine Office.

St Alphonsus Liguor commented on it:

David encourages himself and his followers to have confidence in God while persecuted and while oppressed by adversity.

The text of the psalm

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, pro Idithun. Psalmus David	Unto the end, for Idithun, a psalm of David
1 Nonne Deo subjécta erit ánima mea? * ab ipso enim salutáre meum.	Shall not my soul be subject to God? For from him is my salvation.
2  Nam et ipse Deus meus, et salutáris meus: * suscéptor meus, non movébor ámplius.	3 For he is my God and my saviour: he is my protector, I shall be moved no more.
3  Quoúsque irrúitis in hóminem? * interfícitis univérsi vos: tamquam paríeti inclináto et macériæ depúlsæ?	4 How long do you rush in upon a man? You all kill, as if you were thrusting down a leaning wall, and a tottering fence.
4  Verúmtamen prétium meum cogitavérunt repéllere, cucúrri in siti: * ore suo benedicébant, et corde suo maledicébant.	5 But they have thought to cast away my price; I ran in thirst: they blessed with their mouth, but cursed with their heart.
5  Verúmtamen Deo subjécta esto, ánima mea: * quóniam ab ipso patiéntia mea.	6 But be, O my soul, subject to God: for from him is my patience.
6  Quia ipse Deus meus, et salvátor meus: * adjútor meus, non emigrábo.	7 For he is my God and my saviour: he is my helper, I shall not be moved.
7  In Deo salutáre meum, et glória mea: * Deus auxílii mei, et spes mea in Deo est.	8 In God is my salvation and my glory: he is the God of my help, and my hope is in God.
8  Speráte in eo omnis congregátio pópuli, effúndite coram illo corda vestra: * Deus adjútor noster in ætérnum.	9 Trust in him, all you congregation of people: pour out your hearts before him. God is our helper for ever.
9  Verúmtamen vani fílii hóminum, mendáces fílii hóminum in statéris: * ut decípiant ipsi de vanitáte in idípsum.	10 But vain are the sons of men, the sons of men are liars in the balances: that by vanity they may together deceive.
10  Nolíte speráre in iniquitáte, et rapínas nolíte concupíscere: * divítiæ si áffluant, nolíte cor appónere.	11 Trust not in iniquity, and cover not robberies: if riches abound, set not your heart upon them.
11  Semel locútus est Deus, duo hæc audívi, quia potéstas Dei est, et tibi, Dómine, misericórdia: * quia tu reddes unicuíque juxta ópera sua.	12 God has spoken once, these two things have I heard, that power belongs to God, 13 and mercy to you, O Lord; for you will render to every man according to his works.

Commentay by Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II provided a General Audience on the psalm in November 2004:

The gentle words of Psalm 62[61] have just resounded; it is a hymn of trust that opens with what appears to be an antiphon, repeated halfway through the text. It is like a peaceful and strong ejaculatory prayer, an invocation that also becomes a programme of life: "In God alone is my soul at rest; my help comes from him. He alone is my rock, my stronghold, my fortress: I stand firm" (vv. 2-3, 6-7). 

As the Psalm continues, however, two types of trust are compared. They are two fundamental choices, one good and the other perverse, which involve two types of moral behaviour. Above all, there is trust in God, exalted in the opening invocation where there enters into the picture a symbol of stability and of security, like the rock, the "fortress"; that is, a stronghold and bulwark of protection. The Psalmist repeats: "In God is my safety and glory, the rock of my strength; my sure "refuge'" (cf. v. 8). He affirms this after having called to mind the hostile conspiracies of his enemies who try to "thrust him down from his eminence" (cf. vv. 4-5). 

There is then another trust of an idolatrous nature, upon which the person of prayer insistently directs his critical eye. It is a trust that searches for security and stability in violence, plunder and riches. The appeal now becomes crystal clear: "Do not put your trust in oppression nor vain hopes on plunder. Do not set your heart on riches, even when they increase" (v. 11). 

Here, three idols are evoked and rejected as contrary to human dignity and to social coexistence.  The first false god is the violence that humanity unfortunately still continues to resort to in our blood-stained days. Marching alongside this idol is the vast procession of wars, oppression, prevarication, torture and abominable assassinations inflicted without a moment's remorse. The second false god is plunder, manifested in extortion, social injustice, usury and political and economic corruption. Too many people cultivate the "illusion" of satisfying their own greed in this way. Finally, riches are the third idol upon which man sets his heart with the false hope of being rescued from death (cf. Ps 49[48]), and assuring himself of prestige and power of the first order. Serving this diabolical triad, man forgets that idols are unreliable: they are, indeed, harmful. By taking refuge in things and in himself, man tends to forget that he is "a breath... an illusion"; what is more, weighed on a scale he is "less than a breath" (Ps 62[61]: 10; cf. Ps 39[38]: 6-7).   

If we were more aware of our fallen nature and of the limits to which creatures are subject, we would shun the path of trust in idols and would not programme our lives based on a scale of fragile and inconsistent pseudo-values. Instead, we would be oriented toward the "other trust", which finds its centre in the Lord, source of eternity and peace. Indeed, to God alone "belongs power"; only he is the source of grace; he alone is the author of justice, "repaying each man according to his deeds" (cf. Ps 62[61]: 12-13)... 

In this light the Fathers of the Church have looked upon the man of prayer in Psalm 62[61] as the prefiguration of Christ and have placed the opening invocation of complete trust in and adherence to God on his lips. St Ambrose elaborates on this subject in the Commento al Salmo 61 [Comment on Psalm 61]: "What must our Lord Jesus have done first, in taking upon himself the flesh of man to purify it in his own body, if not to cancel the evil influence of original sin? By means of disobedience, that is, violating the divine prescriptions, sin became permeated. Before all else, then, he had to restore obedience to prevent the hotbed of sin from spreading.... He took obedience upon himself in order to pour it out upon us" (Commento a Dodici Salmi 61, 4: SAEMO, VIII, Milan-Rome, 1980, p. 283). 

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	Mt 6:19ff, Lk 12:15 (v10); 1 Tim 6:17 (v11); Mt 16:27, Rom 2:6; 2 Tim 4:14-15, Rev 2:23 (v11)
RB cursus	Wed Matins
Monastic feasts etc
Roman pre 1911	Wed Matins
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Thurs Matins  . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	-