Psalms 60 Study Notes: A Plea After Defeat
David laments that God has rejected His people and let the land tremble during the wars with Aram and Edom. He recalls God's promise claiming Israel's tribes and the neighboring nations as His own, and he ends trusting God, not human help, for victory.
General
True or False: In 60:11-12, the psalmist concludes that Israel's hope of victory lies in finding strong human allies.
Answer: False
This is false. The psalmist asks God for help against the foe and gives his reason: human help is useless (60:11). His confidence is that with God, Israel will fight bravely, and God Himself will tread down the enemy (60:12). The psalm that began in lament ends in trust. Other psalms say the same: taking shelter in the LORD is better than relying on people or rulers (Psalm 118:8-9), some boast in chariots and horses while God's people rely on His name (Psalm 20:7), and a king's large army cannot rescue him (Psalm 33:16-17).
- Psalm 60:11-12 (BSB)“Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With God we will perform with valor, and He will trample our enemies.”The psalmist calls human help worthless and trusts God to give Israel valor and victory.
- Psalm 118:8-9 (BSB)“It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.”Taking refuge in the LORD is better than trusting people or princes.
- Psalm 20:7 (BSB)“Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”God's people trust in His name rather than in chariots and horses.
- Psalm 33:16-17 (BSB)“No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.”No king is saved by a great army, so victory must come from God.
Theological
True or False: The closing verses of Psalm 60 place Israel's confidence for victory in human alliances.
Answer: False
This is false. The psalm closes by petitioning God for help precisely because human deliverance is futile (60:11), and by confessing that Israel will act valiantly only with God, who Himself will crush the enemy (60:12). The movement from lament to confident petition rests entirely on divine help. Psalm 118:8-9 prefers sheltering in the LORD to reliance on people or rulers, Psalm 20:7 sets trust in His name against chariots and horses, and Psalm 33:16-17 denies that military strength can save a king.
- Psalm 60:11-12 (BSB)“Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With God we will perform with valor, and He will trample our enemies.”The psalmist calls human help worthless and trusts God to give Israel valor and victory.
- Psalm 118:8-9 (BSB)“It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.”Taking refuge in the LORD is better than trusting people or princes.
- Psalm 20:7 (BSB)“Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”God's people trust in His name rather than in chariots and horses.
- Psalm 33:16-17 (BSB)“No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.”No king is saved by a great army, so victory must come from God.
General
In 60:1-3, to whom does the psalmist trace the nation's defeat and distress?
Answer: To God, whose anger had shaken and shattered His people
The psalm opens with lament. Speaking directly to God, the psalmist says that God Himself has cast off His people, shattered them, and been angry, and he pleads to be restored (60:1). He pictures the land as split open like ground after an earthquake and asks God to mend its cracks, and he pictures the people as reeling like someone who has drunk wine that makes him stagger (60:2-3). Even so, he recalls that God has set up a rallying standard for people who revere Him, and he asks God to rescue His beloved people by the power of His right hand (60:4-5). The defeat is not blamed on bad luck or on the enemy's strength but on God's hand, and so the appeal also goes to God. Isaiah uses the same picture of a cup of God's fury that leaves His people reeling (Isaiah 51:17). Psalm 44 makes a similar complaint that God has humbled Israel and stopped going out with its armies (Psalm 44:9), and Hosea shows the same hope that the God who has wounded is the One who heals (Hosea 6:1).
- Psalm 60:1-3 (BSB)“For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant.” A Miktam of David for instruction. When he fought Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck down 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. You have rejected us, O God; You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us! You have shaken the land and torn it open. Heal its fractures, for it is quaking. You have shown Your people hardship; we are staggered from the wine You made us drink.”The psalmist laments that God has rejected and broken His people, shaking the land and making them stagger.
- Isaiah 51:17 (BSB)“Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you who have drained the goblet to the dregs—the cup that makes men stagger.”Isaiah likewise pictures God's judgment as a cup of fury that makes His people stagger.
- Psalm 44:9 (BSB)“But You have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go forth with our armies.”Another national lament attributes Israel's defeat to God's rejecting and humbling His people.
- Hosea 6:1 (BSB)“Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bind up our wounds.”The prophet voices the same hope that the God who has struck His people will also heal them.
Theological
In 60:1-3, to whom does the psalmist attribute Israel's military setback?
Answer: To God, whose anger had shaken and shattered His people
The lament attributes the setback directly to God: He has cast off, shattered, and been angry with His people, and only He can restore them (60:1). The imagery escalates to a land split by earthquake and a people reeling from wine God gave them to drink (60:2-3), the prophetic cup of divine wrath (Isaiah 51:17). Psalm 44:9 voices the same covenant complaint that God has humbled Israel and no longer accompanies its armies, and Hosea 6:1 expresses the same confidence that the God who wounds is the God who heals. Yet God has set up a rallying standard for His faithful, and the psalmist asks Him to save His beloved by His right hand (60:4-5). The psalmist does not blame chance; he takes the defeat to the God who sent it.
- Psalm 60:1-3 (BSB)“For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant.” A Miktam of David for instruction. When he fought Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck down 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. You have rejected us, O God; You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us! You have shaken the land and torn it open. Heal its fractures, for it is quaking. You have shown Your people hardship; we are staggered from the wine You made us drink.”The psalmist laments that God has rejected and broken His people, shaking the land and making them stagger.
- Isaiah 51:17 (BSB)“Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you who have drained the goblet to the dregs—the cup that makes men stagger.”Isaiah likewise pictures God's judgment as a cup of fury that makes His people stagger.
- Psalm 44:9 (BSB)“But You have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go forth with our armies.”Another national lament attributes Israel's defeat to God's rejecting and humbling His people.
- Hosea 6:1 (BSB)“Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bind up our wounds.”The prophet voices the same hope that the God who has struck His people will also heal them.
General
What does God's speech from His sanctuary in 60:6-8 declare?
Answer: That the tribes and the nations around them all belong to Him
In the middle of the lament, the psalmist recalls what God has said from His holy place (60:6). God speaks as the owner of the land: He will divide up Shechem, west of the Jordan, and measure out Succoth's valley, east of it. He claims Gilead, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Judah as His own, with Ephraim as His helmet and Judah as His scepter, the tribe of royal rule (60:6-7; compare Genesis 49:10). The hostile nations around Israel are under Him too: Moab is pictured as a lowly washbasin, Edom as the place He throws His sandal, and Philistia as a land over which He shouts in victory (60:8). The whole land, and even Israel's enemies, belong to God, and that is the ground of the psalmist's hope. The same words appear again in Psalm 108:7-9, and Psalm 47:8 praises God as King over the nations.
- Psalm 60:6-8 (BSB)“God has spoken from His sanctuary: “I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem and apportion the Valley of Succoth. Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter. Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.””God speaks from His sanctuary, claiming Israel's tribes and the surrounding nations as His.
- Genesis 49:10 (BSB)“The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.”Jacob's blessing gives the scepter to Judah, the image the oracle applies to Judah.
- Psalm 108:7-9 (BSB)“God has spoken from His sanctuary: “I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem and apportion the Valley of Succoth. Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter. Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.””The same oracle appears again in Psalm 108.
- Psalm 47:8 (BSB)“God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.”God is praised as reigning over the nations, the claim the oracle makes over Moab, Edom, and Philistia.
Theological
What is the thrust of the divine oracle in 60:6-8?
Answer: That the tribes and the nations around them all belong to Him
Within the lament stands an oracle from the sanctuary in which God speaks as sovereign owner and warrior (60:6). He apportions territory on both sides of the Jordan (Shechem and Succoth), claims Gilead, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Judah, and assigns Ephraim the role of helmet and Judah the royal scepter, echoing Genesis 49:10 (60:6-7). The surrounding enemies are reduced to menial images of subjection: Moab a washbasin, Edom the place His sandal is cast, Philistia the object of His triumphant shout (60:8). God's kingship over land and nations grounds the petition. The oracle recurs verbatim in Psalm 108:7-9, and Psalm 47:8 affirms His reign over the nations.
- Psalm 60:6-8 (BSB)“God has spoken from His sanctuary: “I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem and apportion the Valley of Succoth. Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter. Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.””God speaks from His sanctuary, claiming Israel's tribes and the surrounding nations as His.
- Genesis 49:10 (BSB)“The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.”Jacob's blessing gives the scepter to Judah, the image the oracle applies to Judah.
- Psalm 108:7-9 (BSB)“God has spoken from His sanctuary: “I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem and apportion the Valley of Succoth. Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter. Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.””The same oracle appears again in Psalm 108.
- Psalm 47:8 (BSB)“God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.”God is praised as reigning over the nations, the claim the oracle makes over Moab, Edom, and Philistia.
General
According to the superscription of Psalm 60, which military event is the psalm connected with?
Answer: Joab defeating Edom's army at the Valley of Salt
The psalm's heading calls Psalm 60 a psalm of David meant to teach. It sets the psalm during David's wars against the Aramean kingdoms, when Joab came back and defeated twelve thousand men of Edom at the Valley of Salt (60:1). The books of Samuel and Chronicles describe this period of David's wars. David defeated Hadadezer, the king of Zobah (2 Samuel 8:3), and he stationed garrisons throughout Edom, so that the Edomites became subject to him (2 Samuel 8:14; 1 Chronicles 18:13). Both books sum up these campaigns by saying the LORD gave David victory in every place.
- Psalm 60:1 (BSB)“For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant.” A Miktam of David for instruction. When he fought Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck down 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. You have rejected us, O God; You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us!”The superscription names David's wars with Aram and Joab's victory over Edom in the Valley of Salt.
- 2 Samuel 8:3 (BSB)“David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.”Samuel records David's defeat of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, one of the Aramean foes the superscription names.
- 2 Samuel 8:14 (BSB)“He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.”Samuel records Edom's subjection to David and credits his victories to the LORD.
- 1 Chronicles 18:13 (BSB)“He placed garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.”Chronicles also records Edom placed under David's garrisons and credits the victory to the LORD.
Theological
Which campaign does the superscription of Psalm 60 name as its historical setting?
Answer: Joab defeating Edom's army at the Valley of Salt
The psalm's heading ties it to David's Aramean wars and to the occasion when Joab came back and defeated twelve thousand men of Edom at the Valley of Salt. The historical books record the same campaigns: David's defeat of Hadadezer of Zobah (2 Samuel 8:3) and the garrisoning of Edom, which made the Edomites subject to David (2 Samuel 8:14; 1 Chronicles 18:13). Both accounts attribute these successes to the LORD, who gave David victory in every place.
- Psalm 60:1 (BSB)“For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant.” A Miktam of David for instruction. When he fought Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck down 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. You have rejected us, O God; You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us!”The superscription names David's wars with Aram and Joab's victory over Edom in the Valley of Salt.
- 2 Samuel 8:3 (BSB)“David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.”Samuel records David's defeat of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, one of the Aramean foes the superscription names.
- 2 Samuel 8:14 (BSB)“He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.”Samuel records Edom's subjection to David and credits his victories to the LORD.
- 1 Chronicles 18:13 (BSB)“He placed garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.”Chronicles also records Edom placed under David's garrisons and credits the victory to the LORD.
General
What concern lies behind the questions in 60:9-10?
Answer: Whether God will once again go out to battle with Israel's armies
Having recalled God's promise, the psalmist asks who will bring him into the walled city and lead him into Edom (60:9). The only real answer is God, yet God has seemed to turn away, so he asks whether God has cast them off and will no longer go out with their forces (60:10). The whole question is whether God will once more fight for His people. Israel had been taught that victory came because the LORD went with the army to fight for it (Deuteronomy 20:4), and David had seen the LORD go out ahead of him against the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:24). Psalm 44:9 laments the same sense of God's absence from Israel's battles.
- Psalm 60:9-10 (BSB)“Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Have You not rejected us, O God? Will You no longer march out, O God, with our armies?”The psalmist asks who will lead him to Edom and whether God will again go out with Israel's armies.
- Deuteronomy 20:4 (BSB)“For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.””Moses taught that Israel's victory came from the LORD going with the army to fight for it.
- 2 Samuel 5:24 (BSB)“As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the LORD has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.””The LORD went out before David against the Philistines, the kind of presence the psalmist longs for.
- Psalm 44:9 (BSB)“But You have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go forth with our armies.”Another lament grieves that God no longer goes out with Israel's armies.
Theological
In 60:9-10, what uncertainty do the psalmist's questions express?
Answer: Whether God will once again go out to battle with Israel's armies
After the oracle, the psalmist asks who will bring him to the walled city and into Edom (60:9), and he answers implicitly with the only possible answer: God. Yet the tension of the lament remains, for he asks whether God has rejected Israel and ceased to march out with its armies (60:10). Deuteronomy made victory depend on the LORD's presence with the host (Deuteronomy 20:4), as when the LORD went out before David against the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:24). Psalm 44:9 expresses the same anguish over God's apparent withdrawal from Israel's battles.
- Psalm 60:9-10 (BSB)“Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Have You not rejected us, O God? Will You no longer march out, O God, with our armies?”The psalmist asks who will lead him to Edom and whether God will again go out with Israel's armies.
- Deuteronomy 20:4 (BSB)“For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.””Moses taught that Israel's victory came from the LORD going with the army to fight for it.
- 2 Samuel 5:24 (BSB)“As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the LORD has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.””The LORD went out before David against the Philistines, the kind of presence the psalmist longs for.
- Psalm 44:9 (BSB)“But You have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go forth with our armies.”Another lament grieves that God no longer goes out with Israel's armies.