60 To the choirmaster: according to Shushan Eduth. A Miktam1 of David; for instruction; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
1 O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
you have been angry; oh, restore us.
2 You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
repair its breaches, for it totters.
3 You have made your people see hard things;
you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.
4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it from the bow.2 Selah
5 That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
6 God has spoken in his holiness:3
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.
8 Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”4
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11 Oh, grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man!
12 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
Section Overview
Psalm 60 serves as a lament for the whole community at a time in which Israel’s continued life in the land is under threat from Gentile neighbors. The title says it is “for instruction”; perhaps this means that it is to instruct the people in how to pray when their troops must fight. The title seems to link the psalm with the events of 2 Samuel 8:1–14; but 2 Samuel 8:13 reports the number of Edomites killed as eighteen thousand instead of the “twelve thousand” here. If these are the same events, the different numbers likely represent different ways of computing the casualties (e.g., twelve thousand could be the number in an earlier report, while after enough time had passed the tally was seen to be eighteen thousand). The campaign resulted in a great victory for David and brought several Gentile kingdoms under his rule. The same passage mentions battles with Moab and Philistia, which appear in the psalm (cf. 2 Sam. 8:1–2). Psalm 60, with its air of lament, would thus represent the prayers of the people before the campaign had been completed and in analogous situations.
Verses 5–12 are taken up again in Psalm 108:6–13.
The psalm begins by addressing God, listing the hard things he has brought about as well as his generous provisions for his people (60:1–5). Then it cites what “God has spoken” regarding Israel and her neighboring lands (vv. 6–8). Finally the psalm closes with prayer for God’s help and confidence for the future of God’s people.
Section Outline
I. O God, You Have Rejected Us (60:1–5)
II. God Has Spoken: These Lands Are Mine! (60:6–8)
III. Grant Us Help, for Vain Is the Salvation of Man! (60:9–12)
Response
The original setting of this psalm is for Israel, which by God’s appointment dwelt in the land and was to be the source of blessing to the rest of the world—and this blessing commonly was conveyed, at least in Israel’s better days, by making the other nations its subjects. For Israel to pray this way in time of warfare ought to keep its special position and calling front and center in the people’s hearts.
Christians are not limited to one theocratic nation, and they recognize that God’s process of conquering the Gentiles is through their own witness (Matt. 28:18–20). Making the necessary changes, then, they may still use this psalm to pray for God’s blessing on this endeavor.Psalm 60
Psalm 61