Devotional Short Note on Psalm 61: A
Targum is an Aramaic translation of the Old Testament and it became necessary
after the Exile due to the fact that Hebrew was difficult for some returnees to
understand. It is very similar in Hebrew with minor differences, vocabulary,
definite article at the end instead of at the beginning of the word and so forth.
The Targums that survived dates to the Christian era. Sometimes they are
different in style and how literal the translation was done. In Psalm 61:9, the
Targum applied it nationally to the exile and pushed the window further open to
say that it means in the day when King Messiah is consecrated to become ruler.
Eureka! This is the meaning. This last one. It is not about David, nor about
any human being on earth, nor about Israel or Spiritual Israel, it is about the
divine-human called Jesus Christ and His sufferings. He is in Gethsemane on His
knees and David saw in vision the role of the Messiah, Jesus Christ in
Gethsemane praying. We know it is no ordinary king in this Psalm because “may
His years like generations and generations” (61:7b). One generation is 40
years. It cannot be David. It cannot be the David line since there is
vocabulary to express that thought but it wasn’t. This King is meta-human. He
breaks the boundaries of time. His throne is forever (olam) (61:8a). “He sits
before God forever”. David cannot get this privilege of space. His zone breaks
all boundaries of space. So Christ begins His prayer with “Hear My cry, O God
[Father] attend My prayer” (61:2). Gethsemane is Christ in agony for the task
ahead. “From the end of the earth will I [Christ] call unto You [Father] in the
fainting of my heart. In a rock that is high from Me, lead Me” (61:3a-b). Confidence in God the Father’s ability
to help is expressed: “For You [Father] have been a refuge to me, a tower of
strength from the face of the enemy” (61:4a-b). That it is Christ is clear since Christ
says: “I will dwell in Your Tent forever, I will take refuge in the security of
Your wings” (61:5a-b). David used the Selah or citation mark here. Christ affirmed that God the Father has
heard His vows and “You have given the heritage of those who fear Your name”
(61:6b). As Hengstenberg correctly observed, it refers to salvation here. The
perfect or past form of the verb is actually a prophetic perfect referring to a
complete action in future when that time zone will arrive. The Targum
understood it this way as well that it is future. “You will multiply days upon days of the
King” (Christ Himself) (61:7a). “His years are like generation and generation”
(61:7b). This individual mentioned in this Psalm says that “He will sit forever
before God” (61:8a). “Appoint Mercy and Truth, they will uphold Him” (61:8b).
The Holy Spirit took care of Truth in the New Testament and the Father took
care of Mercy and in unison the Trinity support and upheld each other. “So will I sing Your name unto eternity
that I may pay My vows day after day”. Christ paid with His blood and kept the
vow that He made with the Trinity to die on the cross and in honor of the
Father He will sing unto eternity. When He went into heaven after incarnation
He was mediating for humans as Mediator before the Father and it was in the
daily zone of the Sanctuary in Heaven.