For the choir director; according to Shushan Eduth. A Mikhtam of David, to teach; when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

1O God, You have rejected us. You have broken us;
         You have been angry; O, restore us.

2You have made the land quake, You have split it open;
         Heal its breaches, for it totters.

3You have made Your people experience hardship;
         You have given us wine to drink that makes us stagger.

4You have given a banner to those who fear You,
         That it may be displayed because of the truth.

5That Your beloved may be delivered,
         Save with Your right hand, and answer us!

6God has spoken in His holiness:
         “I will exult, I will portion out Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth.

7“Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
         Ephraim also is the helmet of My head;
         Judah is My scepter.

8“Moab is My washbowl;
         Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;
         Shout loud, O Philistia, because of Me!”

9Who will bring me into the besieged city?
         Who will lead me to Edom?

10Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us?
         And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?

11O give us help against the adversary,
         For deliverance by man is in vain.

12Through God we shall do valiantly,
         And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
For the choir director; according to Shushan Eduth. A Mikhtam of David, to teach; when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt. O God, You have rejected us. You have broken us; You have been angry; O, restore us.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
For the choir director; according to shushan eduth; a miktam by David; for teaching. When David fought Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah, and when Joab came back and killed 12,000 men from Edom in the Dead Sea region. O God, you have rejected us. You have broken down our defenses. You have been angry. Restore us!

King James Bible
<> O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, for the inscription of a title, to David himself, for doctrine, when he set fire to Mesopotamia of Syria and Sobal and Joab returned and slew of Edom, in the vale of the saltpits, twelve thousand men. O God, thou hast cast us off, and hast destroyed us; thou hast been angry, and hast had mercy on us.

Darby Bible Translation
{To the chief Musician. On Shushan. Testimony. Michtam of David; to teach: when he strove with the Syrians of Mesopotamia, and the Syrians of Zobah, and Joab returned, and smote the Edomites in the valley of salt, twelve thousand.} O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased: restore us again.

English Revised Version
For the Chief Musician; set to Shushan Eduth: Michtam of David, to teach: when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the Valley of Salt twelve thousand. O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast broken us down; thou hast been angry; O restore us again.

Webster's Bible Translation
To the chief Musician upon Shushan-eduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, 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.

World English Bible
God, you have rejected us. You have broken us down. You have been angry. Restore us, again.

Young's Literal Translation
To the Overseer. -- 'Concerning the Lily of Testimony,' a secret treasure of David, to teach, in his striving with Aram-Naharaim, and with Aram-Zobah, and Joab turneth back and smiteth Edom in the valley of Salt -- twelve thousand. O God, Thou hadst cast us off, Thou hadst broken us -- hadst been angry! -- Thou dost turn back to us.

Cross References

2 Samuel 5:20 So David came to Baal-perazim and defeated them there; and he said, "The LORD has broken through my enemies before me like the breakthrough of waters." Therefore he named that place Baal-perazim.

2 Samuel 8:3 Then David defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as he went to restore his rule at the River.

1 Chronicles 18:3 David also defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his rule to the Euphrates River.

Psalm 44:9 Yet You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor, And do not go out with our armies.

Psalm 60:10 Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us? And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?

Psalm 79:5 How long, O LORD? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire?

Psalm 80:3 O God, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.

Lamentations 5:22 Unless You have utterly rejected us And are exceedingly angry with us.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

PSALM 60

After many psalms which David penned in a day of distress this comes which was calculated for a day of triumph; it was penned after he was settled in the throne, upon occasion of an illustrious victory which God blessed his forces with over the Syrians and Edomites; it was when David was in the zenith of his prosperity, and the affairs of his kingdom seem to have been in a better posture then ever they were either before or after. See 2 Sa. 8:3, 13; 1 Chr. 18:3, 12. David, in prosperity, was as devout as David in adversity. In this psalm, I. He reflects upon the bad state of the public interests, for many years, in which God had been contending with them (v. 1-3). II. He takes notice of the happy turn lately given to their affairs (v. 4). III. He prays for the deliverance of God's Israel from their enemies (v. 5). IV. He triumphs in hope of their victories over their enemies, and begs of God to carry them on and complete them (v. 6-12). In singing this psalm we may have an eye both to the acts of the church and to the state of our own souls, both which have their struggles.

To the chief musician upon Shushan-eduth, Michtam of David, to teach, when he strove with Aram-naharaim, and with Aramzobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt 12,000.

Verses 1-5

The title gives us an account, 1. Of the general design of the psalm. It is Michtam-David's jewel, and it is to teach. The Levites must teach it to the people, and by it teach them both to trust in God and to triumph in him; we must, in it, teach ourselves and one another. In a day of public rejoicing we have need to be taught to direct our joy to God and to terminate it in him, to give none of that praise to the instruments of our deliverance which is due to him only, and to encourage our hopes with our joys. 2. Of the particular occasion of it. It was at a time, (1.) When he was at war with the Syrians, and still had a conflict with them, both those of Mesopotamia and those of Zobah. (2.) When he had gained a great victory over the Edomites, by his forces, under the command of Joab, who had left 12,000 of the enemy dead upon the spot. David has an eye to both these concerns in this psalm: he is in care about his strife with the Assyrians, and in reference to that he prays; he is rejoicing in his success against the Edomites, and in reference to that he triumphs with a holy confidence in God that he would complete the victory. We have our cares at the same time that we have our joys, and they may serve for a balance to each other, that neither may exceed. They may likewise furnish us with matter both for prayer and praise, for both must be laid before God with suitable affections and emotions. If one point be gained, yet in another we are still striving: the Edomites are vanquished, but the Syrians are not; therefore let not him that girds on the harness boast as if he had put it off.

In these verses, which begin the psalm, we have,

I. A melancholy memorial of the many disgraces and disappointments which God had, for some years past, put the people under. During the reign of Saul, especially in the latter end of it, and during David's struggle with the house of Saul, while he reigned over Judah only, the affairs of the kingdom were much perplexed, and the neighbouring nations were vexatious to them. 1. He complains of hard things which they had seen (that is, which they had suffered), while the Philistines and other ill-disposed neighbours took all advantages against them, v. 3. God sometimes shows even his own people hard things in this world, that they may not take up their rest in it, but may dwell at ease in him only. 2. He owns God's displeasure to be the cause of all the hardships they had undergone: "Thou hast been displeased by us, displeased against us (v. 1), and in thy displeasure hast cast us off and scattered us, hast put us out of thy protection, else our enemies could not have prevailed thus against us. They would never have picked us up and made a prey of us if thou hadst not broken the staff of bands (Zec. 11:14) by which we were united, and so scattered us." Whatever our trouble is, and whoever are the instruments of it, we must own the hand of God, his righteous hand, in it. 3. He laments the ill effects and consequences of the miscarriages of the late years. The whole nation was in a convulsion: Thou hast made the earth (or the land) to tremble, v. 2. The generality of the people had dreadful apprehensions of the issue of these things. The good people themselves were in a consternation: "Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment (v. 3); we were like men intoxicated, and at our wits' end, not knowing how to reconcile these dispensations with God's promises and his relation to his people; we are amazed, can do nothing, nor know we what to do." Now this is mentioned here to teach, that is, for the instruction of the people. When God is turning his hand in our favour, it is good to remember our former calamities, (1.) That we may retain the good impressions they made upon us, and may have them revived. Our souls must still have the affliction and the misery in remembrance, that they may be humbled within us, Lam. 3:19, 20. (2.) That God's goodness to us, in relieving us and raising us up, may be more magnified; for it is as life from the dead, so strange, so refreshing. Our calamities serve as foils to our joys. (3.) That we may not be secure, but may always rejoice with trembling, as those that know not how soon we may be returned into the furnace again, which we were lately taken out of as the silver is when it is not thoroughly refined.

II. A thankful notice of the encouragement God had given them to hope that, though things had been long bad, they would now begin to mend (v. 4): "Thou hast given a banner to those that fear thee (for, as bad as the times are, there is a remnant among us that desire to fear thy name, for whom thou hast a tender concern), that it may be displayed by thee, because of the truth of thy promise which thou wilt perform, and to be displayed by them, in defense of truth and equity," Ps. 45:4. This banner was David's government, the establishment and enlargement of it over all Israel. The pious Israelites, who feared God and had a regard to the divine designation of David to the throne, took his elevation as a token for good, and like the lifting up of a banner to them, 1. It united them, as soldiers are gathered together to their colours. Those that were scattered (v. 1), divided among themselves, and so weakened and exposed, coalesced in him when he was fixed upon the throne. 2. It animated them, and put life and courage into them, as the soldiers are animated by the sight of their banner. 3. It struck a terror upon their enemies, to whom they could now hang out a flag of defiance. Christ, the Son of David, is given for an ensign of the people (Isa. 11:10), for a banner to those that fear God; in him, as the centre of their unity, they are gathered together in one; to him they seek, in him they glory and take courage. His love is the banner over them; in his name and strength they wage war with the powers of darkness, and under him the church becomes terrible as an army with banners.

III. A humble petition for seasonable mercy. 1. That God would be reconciled to them, though he had been displeased with them. In his displeasure their calamities began, and therefore in his favour their prosperity must begin: O turn thyself to us again! (v. 1) smile upon us, and take part with us; be at peace with us, and in that peace we shall have peace. Tranquillus Deus tranquillat omnia-A God at peace with us spreads peace over all the scene. 2. That they might be reconciled to one another, though they had been broken and wretchedly divided among themselves: "Heal the breaches of our land (v. 2), not only the breaches made upon us by our enemies, but the breaches made among ourselves by our unhappy divisions." Those are breaches which the folly and corruption of man makes, and which nothing but the wisdom and grace of God can make up and repair, by pouring out a spirit of love and peace, by which only a shaken shattered kingdom is set to rights and saved from ruin. 3. That thus they might be preserved out of the hands of their enemies (v. 5): "That thy beloved may be delivered, and not made a prey of, save with thy right hand, with thy own power and by such instruments as thou art pleased to make the men of thy right hand, and hear me." Those that fear God are his beloved; they are dear to him as the apple of his eye. They are often in distress, but they shall be delivered. God's own right hand shall save them; for those that have his heart have his hand. Save them, and hear me. Note, God's praying people may take the general deliverances of the church as answers to their payers in particular. If we improve what interest we have at the throne of grace for blessings for the public, and those blessings be bestowed, besides the share we have with others in the benefit of them we may each of us say, with peculiar satisfaction, "God has therein heard me, and answered me."

Calvin's Commentary

1. O God! thou hast cast us off; thou hast scattered us; thou hast been displeased: O turn thyself to us again! 2. Thou hast made the earth [or the land] to tremble; thou hast caused it to open wide: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh. 3. Thou hast showed thy people hard things: thou hast made us drunk with the wine of astonishment. [382]

1. O God! thou hast cast us off. With the view of exciting both himself and others to a more serious consideration of the goodness of God, which they presently experienced, he begins the psalm with prayer; and a comparison is instituted, designed to show that the government of Saul had been under the divine reprobation. He complains of the sad confusions into which the nation had been thrown, and prays that God would return to it in mercy, and re-establish its affairs. Some have thought that David here adverts to his own distressed condition: this is not probable. I grant that, before coming to the throne, he underwent severe afflictions; but in this place he evidently speaks of the whole people as well as himself. The calamities which he describes are such as extended to the whole kingdom; and I have not the least doubt, therefore, that he is to be considered as drawing a comparison which might illustrate the favor of God, as it had been shown so remarkably, from the first, to his own government. With this view, he deplores the long-continued and heavy disasters which had fallen upon the people of God under Saul's administration. It is particularly noticeable, that though he had found his own countrymen his worst and bitterest foes, now that he sat upon the throne, he forgets all the injuries which they had done him, and, mindful only of the situation which he occupied, associates himself with the rest of them in his addresses to God. The scattered condition of the nation is what he insists upon as the main calamity. In consequence of the dispersion of Saul's forces, the country lay completely exposed to the incursions of enemies; not a man was safe in his own house, and no relief remained but in flight or banishment. He next describes the confusions which reigned by a metaphor, representing the country as opened, or cleft asunder; not that there had been a literal earthquake, but that the kingdom, in its rent and shattered condition, presented that calamitous aspect which generally follows upon an earthquake. The affairs of Saul ceased to prosper from the time that he forsook God; and when he perished at last, he left the nation in a state little short of ruin. The greatest apprehension must have been felt throughout it; it was become the scorn of its enemies, and was ready to submit to any yoke, however degrading, which promised tolerable conditions. Such is the manner in which David intimates that the divine favor had been alienated by Saul, pointing, when he says that God was displeased, at the radical source of all the evils which prevailed; and he prays that the same physician who had broken would heal.

3. Thou hast showed thy people hard things He says, first, that the nation had been dealt with severely, and then adds a figure which may additionally represent the grievousness of its calamities, speaking of it as drunk with the wine of stupor or astonishment. Even the Hebraist interpreters are not agreed among themselves as to the meaning of trlh, tarelah, which I have rendered astonishment. Several of them translate it poison. But it is evident that the Psalmist alludes to some kind of poisoned drink, which deprives a person of his senses, insinuating that the Jews were stupified by their calamities. [383] He would place, in short, before their eyes the curse of God, which had pressed upon the government of Saul, and induce them to abandon their obstinate attempts to maintain the interests of a throne which lay under the divine reprobation.

Footnotes:

[382] The three first verses, which complain of calamities and distresses, seem not to correspond to the title of the psalm, from which we would naturally expect the expressions of joy and praise for the victory obtained. Hare conjectures that these three verses have accidentally changed place with Psalm 85:2, 3, 4. Archbishop Secker observes, that this conjecture "is bold, but otherwise very ingenious and plausible; and this change would make each psalm more consistent, and reconcile this psalm to its title very well; for the historical books mention no distress in the war to which the title refers." Dr Adam Clarke considers this conjecture well founded; but others think the apparent discrepancy may be removed by supposing that the psalm was written after some of the battles of which mention is made in the title, and that the Author does not restrict himself to those events, but takes in a wider range, so as to embrace the afflictive condition both of Israel and Judah during the latter part of Saul's life, and the former years of David's reign.

[383] It was customary among the Hebrews to make their wine stronger and more inebriating by the addition of hotter and more powerful ingredients; such as honey, spices, defrutum, (i e., wine inspissated by boiling it down to two-thirds or one-half of the quantity,) mandrakes, opiates, and other drugs. Such were the stupifying ingredients which the celebrated Helen is represented, in Homer's Odyssey, as mixing in the bowl, together with the wine, for her guests oppressed with grief, to raise their spirits; and such is probably the wine to which there is here an allusion. The people were stupified by the heavy judgments of God, like a person stupified with wine which had been rendered more intoxicating by the deleterious drugs with which it had been mingled. This highly poetical language is not unfrequently employed to express the divine judgments: as in Isaiah 51:17, 20-22, and Jeremiah 25:15, 16. The original word trlh, tarelah, means properly trembling, from the verb rl, raal, from which the English word reel is perhaps derived. We might therefore read, "the wine of trembling."

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Angry Aram Aram-Naharaim Aram-Zobah Broken Cast Chief Choirmaster Covenant David Displeased Edom Fought God Instruction Joab Killed Lily Michtam Miktam Musician Naharaim Poem Rejected Restore Salt Scattered Shushan Strove Teach Teaching Thousand Thyself Tune Turn Twelve Valley Zobah

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Angry Aram Aram-Naharaim Aram-Zobah Broken Cast Chief Choirmaster Covenant David Displeased Edom Fought God Instruction Joab Killed Lily Michtam Miktam Musician Naharaim Poem Rejected Restore Salt Scattered Shushan Strove Teach Teaching Thousand Thyself Tune Turn Twelve Valley Zobah

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Alphabetical: A and angry Aram been broken burst Covenant David director down Edomites For forth fought God have he in Joab Lily miktam music Naharaim now O of rejected restore returned Salt struck teaching the thousand To tune twelve upon us Valley When You Zobah

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