Psalm 61: I know nothing but love!

When my heart grows weak, I call upon the Lord from the ends of the earth. Lead me to the towering rock that is beyond my own strength to climb. (Psalm 61:2)

David is well aware of his weakness of heart, of being physically and mentally shaken, and of lacking the wisdom to ascend the cliff-like rock standing before him. As the king of Israel, he must climb the rock with love and faithfulness, yet he possesses no such love and faithfulness. David's only hope lies in one thing: the love and faithfulness of his prayer subject, God. It is His love and faithfulness that saves David and Israel.

Love and faithfulness are inductive. They are the sum of what David has experienced of God. He sought the basis of God's faithfulness, and what he found is his confession of "love." In fact, God does not need reasons and grounds. Reasons and grounds are human affairs. However, what David found as the basis of God's faithfulness is "love." Humans cannot think beyond that.

We often misunderstand "faithfulness" (pistis) as something pertaining to our faith in the word "faith" in Romans, which was corrected by Karl Barth. He restored the concept to God's faith, namely faithfulness. However, he left open a tiny door to the ethical dimension of responding to God's love, and that is gratitude. The corresponding term for gratitude in David's case is "praise." David called love and faithfulness the name of God (verse 8). Those who call upon the Lord's name receive salvation, and praising is calling upon His name.