Bible Strands
Psalms 61:2
From the ends of the earth I call out to You whenever my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David, identified in the superscript, addresses God in a moment of heart-faintness, calling from a place of extremity.
The words — 'a.Tof (עֲטֹף) is a rare verb meaning "grows faint" or "collapses"; it names a physical and emotional depletion, not mere sadness.
The thread — The "ends of the earth" language echoes Psalms 139:9, where the psalmist tests God's presence at the farthest reaches. The rock imagery connects to Psalms 18:2, where the LORD is called "my rock" and "my fortress."
Why it lands — The prayer requires the speaker to admit he is lower than the rock he needs. It asks a reader to name their own faintness and their own dependence on something higher than themselves.
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
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Cross-references
- Psalms 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
- Psalms 139:9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle by the farthest sea,
- Isaiah 32:2 Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in a dry land, like the shadow of a great rock in an arid land.
- Psalms 62:6 He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will not be shaken.
- Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- Psalms 62:2 He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress; I will never be shaken.
- Psalms 77:3 I remembered You, O God, and I groaned; I mused and my spirit grew faint. Selah
- Psalms 18:46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may the God of my salvation be exalted—
- Psalms 27:5 For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.
- Psalms 142:3 Although my spirit grows faint within me, You know my way. Along the path I travel they have hidden a snare for me.