Psalms 60:0
¶ To the chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah,
when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand.
Shushaneduth = testimony, witness in Hebrew; Easton’s
Bible Dictionary = lily of the testimony (possibly identifying a tune for the
psalm)
David wrote this
psalm as a poem of instruction, a testimony to the power and faithfulness of
God. I could not identify the specific
account in scripture that matched with the events that inspired this psalm.
Spurgeon offers
this explanation: “When he strove with Aramnaharaim
and with Aramzobah. The combined Aramean tribes
sought to overcome Israel, but were signally defeated. When Joab returned. He
had been engaged in another region, and the enemies of Israel took advantage of
his absence, but on his return with Abishai the
fortunes of war were changed. And smote of Edom in the valley of salt
twelve thousand. More than this appear to have fallen according to
1Chronicles 18:12, but this
commemorates one memorable part of the conflict.”
Verses 5-12 of this
psalm are basically repeated in Psalm 108.
Psalms 60:1
¶ O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been
displeased; O turn thyself to us again.
The psalm opens
with David pleading with God to intervene on behalf of Israel. It seems that their situation at the time
indicated that God had forsaken them in His displeasure.
Psalms 60:2
Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches
thereof; for it shaketh.
It sounds like
David is describing an earthquake that he attributes to God’s judgment against
them. Maybe, however, it is his way of
describing the effects of how battles with their enemies had affected the land.
Spurgeon thinks
this is descriptive of the condition of Israel after Saul’s death and David became
king. “Things were as unsettled as though the
solid earth had been made to quake; nothing was stable; the priests had been
murdered by Saul, the worst men had been put in office, the military power had
been broken by the Philistines, and the civil authority had grown despicable
through insurrections and intestine contests. Thou hast broken it. As the earth
cracks, and opens itself in rifts during violent earthquakes, so was the
kingdom rent with strife and calamity.”
Psalms 60:3
Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of
astonishment.
David continues
to lament that God had caused His people to suffer times so difficult that it
left them reeling, feeling out of control.
Guzik: “Israel’s defeat was hard to understand and
there were many other aspects of their situation that caused David confusion. Still, there was a kind of comfort in understanding that
God was the author of it all, because God what God does in judgment or
discipline He can restore in love and mercy.”
Psalms 60:4
Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed
because of the truth. Selah.
David notes that in
some way the LORD had provided a rallying point for those that revered Him.
Selah – a pause,
an opportunity for meditation
Our rallying
point as Christians today is Jesus. In
Him is rooted all that is ours both now and for eternity.
Psalms 60:5
That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear
me.
David pleads with
God to deliver His beloved, His people, with the arm of His strength.
Deuteronomy
7:6–8 “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath
chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The
Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in
number than any people; for ye were
the fewest of all people: But because
the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn
unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and
redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of
Egypt.”
Psalms 60:6
¶ God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
Psalms 60:7
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the
strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
Psalms 60:8
Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out
my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me.
David is
basically attributing the fate of Israel and the nations to the power of God
and references the word of God as his source (though I could not find specific
references to quote).
Shechem, the valley of Succoth, Gilead (located
east of Jordan) Manasseh, Ephraim and Judah make reference to the whole of
Israel. “Judah is my lawgiver” makes
reference to the fact that Judah was designated as the royal tribe, the tribal
heritage of the Messiah. Moab
(descendants of Lot) and Edom (descendants of Esau) were both related to the
Israelites and along with Philistia represent some of the main enemies of
Israel.
Psalms 60:9
Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
Psalms 60:10
Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us
off? and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies?
Psalms 60:11
Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
Psalms 60:12
Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down
our enemies.
I liked the CJB for these verses: “Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? God, have you
rejected us? You don’t go out with our
armies, God. Help us against our enemy, for human help is worthless.”
David continues his plea for God to
help them. He knows that no human army
can deliver them from their enemy; only God can. With God on their side, he is confident of
victory.