With God we will gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies. Psalm 60:12
A Prayer for Help against the Foe
Psalm 60 expresses David’s great faith in the eventual victory he would find in the Lord. In this psalm, we hear the voice of God breaking into the poem itself and pronouncing His judgment on David’s enemies (vv. 6-8; see also Ps. 12; 75; 87; 91). Since the tone of the psalm is military in nature, it is possible that this poem was used in military training. Along with training in weapons and tactics, David gave ongoing instruction to his soldiers about how to trust their Lord. The heading and content of his soldiers about how to trust their Lord. The heading and content of this psalm and additional information to the account in 2 Sam. 8:3-8. The campaign of David and his general Joab against Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, did not succeed at first. This psalm describes the feelings of David and his army at the time of their defeat. But it also records their confident expectation that they would eventually succeed, something celebrated in the heading of the psalm and confirmed in 2 Sam. 8.
60:1-3 David accuses God of having broken them down. This is a poetic description of an otherwise unknown defeat of the armies of Israel in a battle that was part of the campaign against Aram of Zobah and Mesopotamiah allies (2 Sam. 8). The defeat was so startling that it caused the people of Israel to feel as though God had made the earth tremble, a metaphor for devastation. Wine of confusion: The defeat sent the people feeling; they could not understand how it could have happened.
1 To the Chief Musician. Set to ‘Lily of the Testimony.’ A Michtam of David. For teaching. When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. O God, You have cast us off; You have broken us down; You have been displeased; Oh, restore us again! 2 You have made the earth tremble; You have broken it; Heal its breaches, for it is shaking. 3 You have shown Your people hard things; You have made us drink the wine of confusion.
60:4, 5 a banner: Despite the recent defeat, the people still had reason to hope in a final victory for Israel over its foes. The term beloved is particularly endearing. God had a reason to act on behalf of His people: He loved them.
4 You have given a banner to those who fear You, That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah 5 That Your beloved may be delivered, Save with Your right hand, and hear me.
60:6-8 At this point in the poem, God speaks. The Lord affirms that He is in charge, that the land belongs to Him, and that He will give victory to His people. In His holiness can also mean “in His holy place.” I will rejoice: It gives God pleasure to grant His people success. Shechem and the Valley of Succoth represent regions west and east of the Jordan River in the central parts of the land. Gilead and Manasseh are also regions east and west of the Jordan; Ephraim and Judah are regions in the north and south. The Lord was asserting His sovereignty over the entire land of Israel. Moab… Edom… Philistia: These traditional enemies of Israel were also enemies of God. The Lord would not allow them to disturb His people.
6 God has spoken in His holiness: “I will rejoice; I will divide Shechem And measure out the Valley of Succoth. 7 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet for My head; Judah is My lawgiver. 8 Moab is My washpot; Over Edom I will cast My shoe; Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.”
60:10 Is it not You: The very One the people thought had cast them off would lead them to final victory.
10 Is it not You, O God, who cast us off? And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies?
60:11, 12 Ultimately, true help – the Hebrew word means “salvation” – comes only from God. We will do valiantly: as the title records, this was what happened. David’s general Joab led the battle, and under God’s hand Israel’s enemies were soundly defeated. This psalm presents a strong encouragement to all believers who are presently experiencing difficulties in their lives: When the help of man proves useless, often God dramatically provides strength and power so that our boast is solely in Him.
11 Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless. 12 Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
60 1 To the Chief Musician. Set to ‘Lily of the Testimony.’ A Michtam of David. For teaching. When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. O God, You have cast us off; You have broken us down; You have been displeased; Oh, restore us again! 2 You have made the earth tremble; You have broken it; Heal its breaches, for it is shaking. 3 You have shown Your people hard things; You have made us drink the wine of confusion. 4 You have given a banner to those who fear You, That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah 5 That Your beloved may be delivered, Save with Your right hand, and hear me.
6 God has spoken in His holiness: “I will rejoice; I will divide Shechem And measure out the Valley of Succoth. 7 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet for My head; Judah is My lawgiver. 8 Moab is My washpot; Over Edom I will cast My shoe; Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.” 9 Who will bring me to the strong city? Who will lead me to Edom? 10 Is it not You, O God, who cast us off? And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies? 11 Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless. 12 Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
