Bible Strands
Psalms 61:1
For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. Of David. Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David addresses God directly, framing the utterance as a liturgical submission assigned to the choirmaster and stringed instruments. The moment captures an immediate plea for attention before the psalmist describes his faint heart and geographical distance in the following verse.
The words — The Hebrew imperative שִׁמְעָ֣ה (shim‘â, "hear") stands first, followed by אֱלֹהִים ('ĕlōhîm, "O God") and the noun רִנָּתִ֑י (rinnātî, "my cry"). The second command הַ֝קְשִׁיבָ֗ה (haqšîḇâ, "pay attention") precedes תְּפִלָּתִֽי (təpillātî, "my prayer"), establishing a strict sequence of divine attention requested for specific petitions.
The thread — This structural pattern of urgent petition appears in Psalm 4:1 and Psalm 86:6, which pair calls for God to hear and attend to prayer. The New Testament mirrors this posture in Philippians 4:6, instructing believers to present requests to God through prayer and petition.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate divine attention to human entreaty before detailing the speaker’s circumstances. It requires the reader to approach God with explicit requests, treating the plea as the necessary foundation for the subsequent spiritual and physical struggles described in the psalm.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
To the chief Musician upon Neginah, A Psalm of David. Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
Cross-references
- Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- Psalms 4:1 For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved my distress; show me grace and hear my prayer.
- Psalms 86:6 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and attend to my plea for mercy.
- Psalms 130:2 O Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.
- Psalms 55:1 For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. Listen to my prayer, O God, and do not ignore my plea.
- Psalms 5:1 For the choirmaster, to be accompanied by flutes. A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning.
- Psalms 17:1 A prayer of David. Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea; listen to my cry. Give ear to my prayer—it comes from lips free of deceit.
- Psalms 28:2 Hear my cry for mercy when I call to You for help, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
- Psalms 54:1 For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. When the Ziphites went to Saul and said, “Is David not hiding among us?” Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your might!
- Psalms 6:1 For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.