Psalms 61:6-8 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Thou wilt prolong the king's life My life. He calls himself king, either, 1st, Because, if this Psalm was composed before Saul's death, yet even then he knew he was designed and appointed to be king; or, rather, 2d, Because it was not composed till Saul was dead, and he was actually crowned king, at least of Judah. And his years The years of my life and reign; as many generations As long as if I had a lease of it for many ages. Thus he speaks, because his kingdom was not like Saul's, but established to him and his heirs; and because Christ, his Son and Heir, should actually, and in his own person, possess the kingdom for ever. We may observe further here, that the Chaldee Paraphrase adds the word Christ; thus, Thou shalt give unto Christ the King days upon days. His years shall be as the generations of this world, and the generations of the world to come. And so Theodoret observes, that the former part of the verse may very well agree with the psalmist, but that the latter part of it is by no means applicable to him, but only to Christ; who was, according to the flesh, to descend from him, and of whom the psalmist was an eminent type. He shall abide Hebrew, ישׁב, jesheeb, he shall sit; namely, on the throne; before God for ever Living and ruling as in God's presence, serving him with his royal power, and worshipping him in his tabernacle. O prepare mercy and truth Or, order, or appoint, as the word מן, man, here signifies, intending, either, 1st, The graces of mercy, or compassion and truth, or faithfulness, which are the great supporters of thrones; or rather, the effects of God's mercy and truth. Thy truth, in giving me those mercies which thou hast promised to me; and thy mercy, in giving me such further blessings as I need, and thou seest fit to give me. So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever I will never cease praising thee while I live, and after I die, I shall praise thee in eternity. Let us remember, we must make praising God the work of our time in this world; even to the last, as long as our lives are prolonged, we must continue praising him; and then it will be made the work of our eternity in the world to come, and we shall be praising him for ever. That 1 may daily perform my vows That I may pay unto thee those services and oblations which I vowed to thee, when I was in trouble. David's praising God was itself the performance of his vows, and it disposed his heart to the performance of them in other instances. Praising God, and paying our vows to him, must be our constant daily work; every day we must be doing something toward it; because it is all but little in comparison with what is due; because we daily receive fresh mercies, and because, if we think much to do it daily we cannot expect to be doing it eternally.