Psalms 60:5

That thy beloved may be delivered,.... Some think that these words express the effect or end of the banner being displayed; but because of the word "Selah" at the end of Ps 60:4, which makes so full

That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me. That thy beloved may be delivered, save with thy right hand - prayer for the completion of the deliverance already begun.

Thy beloved people, last mentioned.

Psalms 60:5 That thy beloved may be delivered; save [with] thy right hand, and hear me.Ver. 5. That thy beloved may be delivered] Heb. thy darlings, those that fear thee, Psalms 60:4, for, for their sakes it is that God doth good to a people; to all others he seemeth to say, as Elisha once did to Jehoram, that wicked king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? &c. Were it not that I regarded such and such people, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee, 2 Kings 3:13-14. Save with thy right hand] Heb. Save thy right hand, which seemeth to be afflicted together with us; because the enemies say, he cannot save us; thus Kimchi expoundeth it.

(5) From this verse onward the psalm appears again, with some variations noticed there, in Psalms 108:6-13. (6, 7, 8) These three verses, forming the centre of the poem, are, plainly by their style, of different age and authorship from the beginning. Possibly, indeed, they formed an original poem by themselves, an ancient oracular saying descriptive of the relations of Israel to the tribes bordering on her territory, and were then employed by the compilers of this psalm and Psalms 108, to rouse the drooping spirits of the race in some less fortunate time. (See Introduction.) The speaker is God Himself, who, according to a familiar prophetic figure, appears in the character of a warrior, the captain of Israel, proclaiming the triumphs won through His might by their arms. (Comp. Isaiah 63:1-6.) Here, however, the picture is rather playful than terrible—rather ironic than majestic. The conqueror is returning, as in the passage of Isaiah referred to above, from the battle, but he is not painted “glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength.” The fury of the fight, the carnage, the bloodstained garments are all implied, not described. Instead of answering a challenge, as in Isaiah, by a description of the fight, here the champion simply proclaims the result of his victory as he proceeds to disarm and prepare for the bath—figures expressing the utmost contempt for the foe so easily subdued.

5–8. A prayer for deliverance and victory, based upon God’s promise to give Israel the possession of Canaan, and supremacy over the neighbouring nations.

That thy beloved may be delivered - The word beloved is in the plural number, and might be rendered beloved ones. It refers not merely to David as his servant and friend, but to those associated with him.

5. Thy beloved—The same word, radically, as Jedediah, the beloved of Jehovah, a title of endearment given to Benjamin and to Solomon. Deuteronomy 33:12; 2 Samuel 12:25. See Psalms 108:6.