Psalms 60:1

O God, thou hast cast us off,.... What is said in this verse, and Psalms 60:2, are by some applied to times past; to the distress of the people Israel by their neighbours in the times of the judges;

O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again. See introduction to Psalms 44:1-26, the sister psalm. Three strophes, four verses in each.

Psalms 60 Shushan-eduth: this, like the rest, seems to be the name of an instrument, or song, or tune, then well known, but now quite unknown and forgotten; it may be and is by some rendered, the lily or rose of thy testimony or oracle; but why it was so called is a matter of mere conjecture, and of small importance to us to know. To teach, to wit, in an eminent manner; or for the special instruction of God’ s church and people in some points of great moment; as, concerning the grievous calamities to which God’ s church and people were obnoxious, , and concerning the certainty of God’ s promises, and of their deliverance out of them, upon condition of their faith and obedience; which doctrines were of great moment, especially to the Israelites, who were, and were likely to be, exercised in the same manner, and with the same variety and vicissitudes of condition, under which their ancestors had been. Or whereas other songs were to be learned only by the Levites, or by some of them, this possibly was one of them, which the people also were to be taught, and were to sing upon occasion, because of the public and general concernment which they all had in the matter herein contained. Aram-naharaim; or, the Syrians of the two rivers, or of Mesopotamia, the country between those two great and famous rivers, Tigris and Euphrates. Aram-zobah, or, the Syrians of Zobah, part of Syria so called, ,12. This report seems not to agree with the histories to which this Psalm is supposed to relate, , neither in the persons slain, who are Edomites , but Syrians here, and ; nor in their numbers, which are here only twelve thousand, and there eighteen thousand; nor in the persons to whom this victory is ascribed, who is Joab here, David , and Abishai . But these difficulties may easily be resolved by these considerations: 1. That David being king, and Joab lord-general of all his forces, and Abishai his lieutenant-general as to a considerable part of his army, the same victory may well be ascribed to any or every one of them; as it is usually done in like cases in the Roman and Grecian histories. 2. That the Edomites and Syrians were united in this war. 3. That twelve thousand might be slain in the pitched battle, and the rest by the pursuers in their flight. 4. That these several places may speak of several fights. See more of this business See Poole "". The psalmist, complaining of former sad judgments, , acknowledgeth God’ s present mercy, . Comforting himself in the promises, he prayeth for help, and therein trusteth, . Cast us off; or, rejected or forsaken us, as to thy gracious and powerful presence, not only in the time of the judges, but also during Saul’ s reign. Scattered us, Heb.

Psalms 60:1 « 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. » O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.Upon Shushan-eduth] An instrument so called, or to the tune of some song so called. The words signify the lily of the testimony; or, of kingly ornament; whereof many make manifold constructions, but they are all conjectural. Michtam of David, to teach] The Hebrews have a proverb, Lilmod lelammed, Men must, therefore, learn that they may teach. David here imparteth what he had learned of God’ s goodness; and would teach others, especially when they go to war, as Judges 3:2 2 Samuel 1:18, to call upon God, and to lean upon his promises; as himself had done with singular success. When he strove with Aram-naharaim] Cum rixaretur, contenderet. Mesopotamia, called here Aram-naharaim, lay between those two famous rivers, Euphrates and Tigris; and so seemeth to have been a part of that earthly paradise, Genesis 2:10-14, whereof since Adam’ s fall and Noah’ s flood, cecidit rosa, mansit spina, saith one, the rose is gone, the thorn only remaineth. A country fruitful beyond belief, as Herodotus hath it; but inhabited by such as here joined with the Ammonites and other enemies of the Church; and were, therefore, sought by David, and at length vanquished. See 1 Chronicles 19:1-19. And with Aram-zobah] Or, Coelesyria, whereof Damascus was the metropolis. When Joab returned] sc. From the slaughter of the Syrians. And smote of Edom] That is, of the Edomites, who had set upon Israel in the south, when Joab with the army was fighting against the Syrians in the east. Joab, therefore, at his return took them to do; and slew twelve thousand, after that Abishai had first slain six thousand of them, all which eighteen thousand are said to have been slain by David, as being Rex et Radix victoriae, saith Kimchi, the king and root of the victory, 2 Samuel 8:13. In the valley of Salt] Where Abraham had once fought with the four victorious kings, Genesis 14:9; Genesis 14:14-15, and afterwards Amaziah with the Edomites. likewise slaying ten thousand, 2 Kings 14:7, In the midst of these conflicts and bustles David is thought to have written this psalm, together with Psalms 44:1-26 Psalms 108:1-13 Ver. 1. O God, thou hast cast us off] Some gather from this sad complaint that David was sometimes worsted in these wars, though it be not particularly so recorded in the Scriptures (Aben Ezra). Dubia est martis alea, Kοινοςενυαλιος, 2 Samuel 11:25; the best cause hath not always the best success, Judges 20:21; Judges 20:25. Others think that the psalmist here complaineth of the sad condition of the Israelites after that Saul was slain in Mount Gilboa, and the Philistines tyrannized at their pleasure, 1 Samuel 21:7.

(1) Hast scattered us.—Literally, hast broken us. A word used of a wall or fence, Psalms 80:12, but in 2 Samuel 5:20 applied to the rout of an army, an event which gave its name to the locality, “plain of breaches.” So in English: “And seeing me, with a great voice he cried, They are broken, they are broken.”— : Elaine.On the other hand, the two succeeding verses seem to refer to a political convulsion rather than a military defeat, and it has been conjectured that the breach between the two kingdoms is here indicated. (See the use of perez=breach, in Judges 21:15.)

PSALM LX The psalmist complains of the desolation which had fallen on the land; prays for deliverance, 1-5; and promises himself victory over Shechem, Succoth, Gilead, Ephraim, Moab, Idumea, and the Philistines, by the special help and assistance of God, 6-12. NOTES ON PSALM LX The title, "To the chief Musician upon the hexachord, or lily of the testimony, a golden Psalm of David, for instruction; when he strove with Aram Naharaim, Syria of the two rivers (Mesopotamia) and Aram-Zobah, Syria of the watchmen, (Coelosyria,) when Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt." I have only to remark here that there is nothing in the contents of this Psalm that bears any relation to this title. According to the title it should be a song of victory and triumph; instead of which the first part of it is a tissue of complaints of disaster and defeat, caused by the Divine desertion. Besides, it was not Joab that slew twelve thousand men in the Valley of Salt; it was Abishai, the brother of Joab; and the number twelve thousand here is not correct; for there were eighteen thousand slain in that battle, as we learn from 1 Chronicles 18:12. The valley of salt or salt pits is in Idumea. To reconcile the difference between the numbers, various expedients have been hit on; but still the insuperable objection remains; the contents of this Psalm and this title are in opposition to each other. That the Psalm deplores a defeat, is evident from the three first and two last verses. And the Targumist seems to have viewed it in this light, perhaps the proper one, by expressing the title thus: "To give praise for the ancient testimony, (סהדותא sahadutha,) of the sons of Jacob and Laban, (see Genesis 31:47,) an exemplar by the hand of David, to give instruction when he gathered together the people, and passed by the heap of testimony, (איגר סהדותא ayegar sahadutha,) and set the battle in array against Aram, which is by the Euphrates; and against Aram, which is by Izobah. And after this Joab returned and smote the Idumeans in the Valley of Salt; and of the armies of David and Joab there fell twelve thousand men." The Psalm, therefore, seems to deplore this disastrous event; for although they had the victory at last, twelve thousand of the troops of Israel were justly considered too great a sacrifice for such a conquest, and a proof that God had not afforded them that succour which they had long been in the habit of receiving. The latter part of the Psalm seems to be intended to put God in remembrance of his ancient promise of putting Israel in possession of the whole land by driving out the ancient iniquitous inhabitants. Others consider the Psalm as descriptive of the distracted state of the land after the fatal battle of Gilboa, till David was anointed king of the whole at Hebron.

1–4. Grave disasters have befallen Israel through God’s displeasure.

O God, thou hast cast us off - The word used here means properly to be foul, rancid, offensive; and then, to treat anything as if it were foul or rancid; to repel, to spurn, to cast away. See the notes at Psalms 43:2.

1. Thou hast cast us off—The first three verses are a complaint but feebly relieved by prayer. Sorrow, disappointment, and astonishment prevail.Faith seems staggered. Compare Psalms 44:9-26.