EGW WritingsPsalms 61

That I May Know Him

Feeble Efforts Not Enough, September 20

TMK 269.1

Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. 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. Psalm 61:1, 2.

My Life Today

O God! Help Me to Higher Levels, April 11

ML 105.1

Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. 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. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. Psalm 61:1-3.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 181, 1902

17LtMs, Lt 181, 1902, par. 12

I hear but little from Marian. I have not written to her. I feel as if what we do for the people must be done soon. Night after night I have been up at twelve and one o’clock. The prayer of my burdened heart is, “Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. 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. For Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.” [Psalm 61:1-3.] Yes, my trust is in the Lord; I will not fear.

Our High Calling

Our Redeemer a Tried Stone, February 17

OHC 54.3

“A Tried Stone” is Christ, tried by the perversity of man. Thou, O our Saviour, hast taken the burden; Thou hast given peace and rest; Thou hast been tried, proved by believers who have taken their trials to Thy sympathy, their sorrows to Thy love, their wounds to Thy healing, their weakness to Thy strength, their emptiness to Thy fullness; and never, never has one soul been disappointed. Jesus, my Tried Stone, to Thee will I come, moment by moment. In Thy presence I am lifted above pain. “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:2.

Jesus, Name Above All Names

Uniting Stone, September 12

JNN 270.5

Paul asks, “Is Christ divided?” (1 Corinthians 1:13). Have we not one spiritual Head? When my heart is overwhelmed, then pray, “Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2). Precious is His all atoning sacrifice, His blood shed in our behalf. Precious is His all-atoning merits, precious His sanctifying righteousness. Precious is His infinite fullness and sufficiency. “Ye are complete in Him” (Colossians 2:10). “And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). All other foundation is shifting sand. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female. We are all one in Christ Jesus, and Christ is our Head.—Manuscript 89, 1898.

Patriarchs and Prophets

Chapter 37—The Smitten Rock

PP 413.1

The same beautiful and expressive figures are carried throughout the Bible. Centuries before the advent of Christ, Moses pointed to Him as the rock of Israel’s salvation (Deuteronomy 32:15); the psalmist sang of Him as “my Redeemer,” “the rock of my strength,” “the rock that is higher than I,” “a rock of habitation,” “rock of my heart,” “rock of my refuge.” In David’s song His grace is pictured also as the cool, “still waters,” amid green pastures, beside which the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock. Again, “Thou shalt make them,” he says, “drink of the river of Thy pleasures. For with Thee is the fountain of life.” Psalm 19:14; 62:7; 61:2; 71:3 (margin); 73:26 (margin); 94:22; 23:2; 36:8, 9. And the wise man declares, “The wellspring of wisdom [is] as a flowing brook.” Proverbs 18:4. To Jeremiah, Christ is “the fountain of living waters;” to Zechariah, “a fountain opened ... for sin and for uncleanness.” Jeremiah 2:13; Zechariah 13:1.

That I May Know Him

The Living Water, January 18

TMK 24.5

References: Deuteronomy 32:15; Psalm 19:14; 62:7; 61:2; 71:3 (margin); 73:26 (margin); 94:22; 23:2; 36:8, 9; Proverbs 18:4; Jeremiah 2:13; Zechariah 13:1; Isaiah 26:4 (margin); 32:2; 41:17; 44:3; 35:6; 55:1; Revelation 22:1, 17.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Lt 19e, 1892

7LtMs, Lt 19e, 1892, par. 6

It is well for us to ask the Lord to “lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” [Psalm 61:2.] It is well for us to rely upon a care that is so much above our own. He sees the end from the beginning and will make “all things work together for good to them that love God.” [Romans 8:28.] What a source to which we can look in all times of trouble; the heart can have no misgivings!

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Lt 14a, 1891

7LtMs, Lt 14a, 1891, par. 11

Now, make a desperate effort, take your mind off from yourself, off from your securing a divorce, off from Walter, off from everything mortal, and commence with your own soul. Cry out in earnest, “Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. Save, Lord, or I perish. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” [Psalm 61:2; Matthew 8:25; 14:30; Psalm 51:10, 7.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Lt 38, 1892

7LtMs, Lt 38, 1892, par. 7

Who can withhold from Jesus His purchased possession? O, why does not the message of such love break every barrier down, and all who hear receive, believe, and live? When pain seems unbearable to me, I cry out aloud, “Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” [Psalm 61:2.] Precious is His all-atoning blood. Precious is His justifying righteousness. He is all and in all to me. He comes very preciously near to me in my most trying times and I feel such an assurance that His everlasting arms are beneath me. “To you therefore that believe he is precious.” [1 Peter 2:7.] I know this; I have proved this; it is to me a reality. What should I do if I could not put my entire trust in Him, commit soul, body, and spirit to the Lord.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 89, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 89, 1898, par. 33

Paul asks, “Is Christ divided?” [1 Corinthians 1:13.] Have we not one spiritual Head? When my heart is overwhelmed, then pray, “Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” [Psalm 61:2.] Precious is His all atoning sacrifice, His blood shed in our behalf. Precious is His all-atoning merits, precious His sanctifying righteousness. Precious is His infinite fullness and sufficiency. “Ye are complete in him.” [Colossians 2:10.] “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” [John 1:16.] All other foundation is shifting sand. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female. We are all one in Christ Jesus, and Christ is our head.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Lt 43, 1904

19LtMs, Lt 43, 1904, par. 15

The greatest provocation that man can give would not hurt us if we would not put ourselves in the way by a manifestation of supposed authority. We become presumptuous, and God allows our pride to be hurt. Those who have learned to forgive and to pass by injuries have learned the surest way of baffling and defeating the enemy. Many things that appear to be formidable may be overcome by the grace of God revealed in human kindness and love. Divine grace is for you and for me if we will hide ourselves in Christ. Let our prayer be, “Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” [Psalm 61:2.]

Jesus, Name Above All Names

Tried Stone, January 4

JNN 11.3

“A Tried Stone” is Christ, tried by the perversity of human beings. Thou, O our Saviour, hast taken the burden; Thou hast given peace and rest; Thou hast been tried, proved by believers who have taken their trials to Thy sympathy, their sorrows to Thy love, their wounds to Thy healing, their weakness to Thy strength, their emptiness to Thy fullness; and never, never has one soul been disappointed. Jesus, my Tried Stone, to Thee will I come, moment by moment. In Thy presence I am lifted above pain. “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2).

Manuscript Releases, vol. 16 [Nos. 1186-1235]

MR No. 1223—The Parable of the Ten Virgins

16MR 276.2

“I will abide in Thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of Thy wings” [Psalm 61:4].

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 92a, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 92a, 1898, par. 39

“Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God! there the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house: and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. O continue thy loving kindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.” “I will abide in thy tabernacle forever; I will trust in the covert of thy wings.” [Psalm 36:5-11; 61:4.]