Psalm 60 Devotional

A Promise Louder Than Defeat

“With God we will perform with valor, and He will trample our enemies.”Psalm 60:12 (BSB)

The heading sets Psalm 60 during David's wars with Aram and Edom (60:1). Yet the psalm opens not with victory but with defeat. God has rejected his people and broken them. He has shaken the land until it splits, and they stagger as if from wine he gave them to drink (60:1-3). He speaks to God directly, because only God can heal the cracks (60:2).

Then he remembers what God has said. Speaking from his sanctuary, God claims the tribes of Israel as his own and the hostile nations around them as subject to him (60:6-8). The circumstances say rejection; God's word says ownership. The psalm does not pretend the tension is gone. It asks again whether God has cast them off (60:10). But it lands on a clear conclusion: human help is worthless, and with God his people will act bravely, because he will tread down their enemies (60:11-12). When your situation and God's promise seem to disagree, his promise is the firmer ground.

To think about: Where do your circumstances seem to contradict what God has promised, and how could you hold on to his word there?