Psalms 60

Psalms 60:1

Psalm 60: Our Hope Is in the LordAccording to the heading, the historical background of this Psalm is when David fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. It seems that there was a temporary setback in this war with Syria and Edom (2Sa_8:3-14), causing David to storm the gates of heaven with this importunate plea for help. The outline of the Psalm is as follows:

1. Israel’s Defeat Is from the Lord, vv. 1-4.
2. Israel’s Hope Is in the Lord, v. 5.
3. Eventual Victory is Promised by the Lord, vv. 6-8.
4. Israel’s Need Is for the Lord, vv. 9-11.
5. Israel’s Confidence Is in the Lord, v. 12. Israel’s Defeat Is from the Lord (60:1-4)60:1-3 As he studies reports of casualties inflicted by the Edomite-Syrian alliance, David interprets the disaster as an indication of the Lord’s desertion of His people. It can only mean that God has rejected Israel. In His anger, He has smashed down the nation’s defenses, leaving it helplessly exposed to enemy attack. Now is it not time for the Lord to turn in mercy and restore His battered forces? It is as if the country has been torn apart by an enormous earthquake. The economic, political, and social foundations of the nation have been broken up. The walls of society, weakened by gaping holes, are tottering. If only the Lord would repair the breaches and return His people to a measure of normality! The population has passed through a fiery ordeal. The wine of suffering and defeat has caused them to reel like a drunkard. 60:4 This verse is somewhat obscure in the original. It may mean, as in the NKJV, that the Lord unfurls a banner for those who fear Him, that it may be displayed because of the truth. But the margin of the RV gives quite an opposite sense: Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that they may flee from before the bow. David would then be complaining, with undisguised sarcasm, that the banner God has raised for Israel is not one of victory but of defeat, a flag that signals retreat from before the forces of the enemy. Israel’s Hope Is in the Lord (60:5)Prayer is born from the ashes of humiliating defeat. Speaking both for himself and his people as “Your beloved,” the psalmist implores the Lord for deliverance, victory and the renewal of communion. “O come and deliver Your friends, help with Your right hand and reply” (Gelineau). Eventual Victory Is Promised by the Lord (60:6-8) 60:6, 7 Verses 6-8 form a divine oracle in which the voice of God, heard in the sanctuary, expresses His determination to reoccupy all the land of Israel and to conquer His Gentile foes. Shechem, Succoth, Gilead, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Judah are all Jewish territory. God claims them as His own. He will subdivide Shechem, on the west of the Jordan, and the Valley of Succoth on the east. He will possess the trans-Jordan land of Gilead, and the two territories of Manasseh, one on either side of the Jordan. Ephraim, located centrally in Israel, is His helmet, the tribe that will take the lead in national defense. And Judah is His scepter; according to Jacob’s dying prophecy (Gen_49:10), it will be the governmental seat. 60:8 Then turning to three of the surrounding nations, the Lord asserts His dominion over them. Moab, situated on the southeastern shore of the Dead Sea, will be His washpot. He will cast His shoe upon Edom, a figure signifying forcible possession and servitude and perhaps also contempt. Philistia will shout in triumph because of God’s judgments. Israel’s Need Is for the Lord (60:9-11) 60:9 It seems clear that the speaker changes at this point. It could scarcely be the Lord’s voice because He would not need anyone to bring Him to the strong city. So we understand these to be the words of David, longing for the day when the capital city of Edom (variously called Bozrah, Sela and Petra) will fall into the hands of the Israelites. Of course, the city here stands for the whole country of Edom. David wishes that he could be instrumental in fulfilling God’s intention to cast His shoe upon it. 60:10 But it is a vain hope at the moment because God has hidden His face from His people. He has cast them off. He no longer accompanies Israel’s armies as a guarantee of victory. 60:11 So David pleads for God to fight once again on behalf of His troubled people. Divine help is indispensable; the help of man is useless.Israel’s Confidence Is in the Lord (60:12)The Psalm closes on a note of confidence. Given God’s aid, Israel’s army is assured of an illustrious record. Their enemies will be crushed under His heel. ApplicationThe believer’s enemies are the world, the flesh and the devil. In himself he is powerless to conquer them. And the help of other men is insufficient, no matter how well-meaning they might be. But there is victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who trust in Him for deliverance will never be disappointed. Psalms 60 will have a final fulfillment in the last days when the Jewish remnant, harried and dispirited, looks to the Messiah for salvation and triumph. Then the land of Israel will be apportioned among the tribes and the nation’s foes will be brought to bay.