PSALMS 61

MIDRASH PSALMS



“…when my heart becomes faint…” (Psalms 61:3) Up to what point must one stand in prayer? R’ Yehudah says: until his heart becomes faint, as it says “A prayer for a poor man when he faints and pours out his speech before the Lord.” (Psalms 102:1) This is ‘when my heart becomes faint’.
3 “…on the rock that is higher than I…” (Psalms 61:3) Which is this? This is Jerusalem, as it says “And it became wider and it wound higher…” (Ezekiel 41:7) Therefore ‘on the rock tha is higher than I,’ Knesset Yisrael said before the Holy One: Master of the World! I do not want to dwell with the enemy, but rather “I shall dwell in Your tent to eternity…” (Psalms 61:5) And so it says “O Lord, I love the dwelling of Your house and the place of the residence of Your glory.” (Psalms 26:8) So to it says “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand; I chose to sit on the threshold of the house of My God rather than dwell in tents of wickedness.” (Psalms 84:11)