For You have been my refuge, a tower of strength against the enemy.
Parallel translations
- WEB For you have been a refuge for me, a strong tower from the enemy.
- KJV For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
- NKJV For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy.
- NASB For You have been a refuge for me, A tower of strength against the enemy.
- NLT for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David recalls that God has been his refuge and strong tower against the enemy. Past deliverance fuels present trust.
Overview
David grounds his appeal in remembered experience: God has proven himself a shelter and fortress. Recalling God's faithfulness strengthens confidence to pray again. This pattern of remembering past mercy to fuel present faith is a lasting model for the believer.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Prov 18:10The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
- Ps 62:7My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock; my refuge is in God.
- Ps 116:2Because He has inclined His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.
- Ps 140:7O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You shield my head in the day of battle.
- Ps 18:2The 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.
- 2 Cor 1:10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,
- Isa 46:3–4“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth.
- Ps 4:6–7Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 61:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.