Psalm 60:1-5 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 60:1-5

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 60:1

O God, thou hast cast us off ,.... What is said in this verse, and Psalm 60:2 , are by some applied to times past; to the distress of the people Israel by their neighbours in the times of the judges; to their being smitten by the Philistines, in the times of Eli and Samuel; and to the victory they obtained over them, when Saul and his sons were slain; and to the civil wars between the house of Saul and David; but rather the whole belongs to future times, which David, by a prophetic spirit,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 60:2

Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it ,.... As is frequently done by an earthquake; which, whatever natural causes there may be of it, is always to be ascribed to God. The ancient Heathens F13 A. Gell. Noct. Attic. l. 2. c. 28. were of opinion that all earthquakes were of God. This respects not the whole earth, but the land of Israel only; and so the Targum, "thou hast moved the land of Israel, thou hast shaken and rent it;' and it does not design a natural... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 60:3

Thou hast showed thy people hard things ,.... As to have their city and temple burial, multitudes of them slain, and the rest carried captive, and put into the hands of cruel lords and hard masters, and made a proverb, a taunt, and a curse, in all places; and all this done to a people that were the Lord's by profession, who called themselves so, though now a "loammi", Hosea 1:9 ; and these were hard things to flesh and blood, yet no other than what they deserved; thou hast made us to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 60:4

Thou hast given a banner ,.... The word נס is, by Jarchi, taken to signify "temptation" or "trial" F15 So Yalkut Simconi in loc. par. 2. fol. 103. 1. ; and he interprets it of many troubles which they had, that they might be tried by them, whether they would stand in the fear of God, and so considers these words as a continuation of the account of the distresses of the people of Israel; but they are rather to be considered as declaring a peculiar blessing and favour bestowed upon... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 60:5

That thy beloved may be delivered ,.... Some think that these words express the effect or end of the banner being displayed; but because of the word "Selah" at the end of Psalm 60:4 , which makes so full a stop; rather they are to be considered in construction with the following clause. By the Lord's "beloved" ones are meant, not so much the people of Israel, who were loved and chosen by the Lord above all people on the face of the earth, as the elect of God, both among Jews and Gentiles,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 60:1

O God, thou hast cast us off - Instead of being our general in the battle, thou hast left us to ourselves; and then there was only the arm of flesh against the arm of flesh, numbers and physical power were left to decide the contest. We have been scattered, our ranks have been broken before the enemy, and thou hast caused the whole land to tremble at our bad success; the people are become divided and seditious. "Thou hast made the land to tremble, even the breaches of it, for it shaketh, it... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 60:3

Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment - We reel as drunken men; we are giddy, like those who have drank too much wine; but our giddiness has been occasioned by the astonishment and dismay that have taken place in consequence of the prevalence of our enemies, and the unsettled state of the land. It has been remarked that the three first verses of this Psalm do not agree with the rest, and it also appears that the three first verses of Psalm 85:1-13 ; : do not agree with the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 60:4

Thou hast given a banner - נס nes , a sign, something that was capable of being fixed on a pole. That it may be displayed - להתנוסס lehithnoses , that it may be unfurled. Because of the truth - קשט מפני mippeney koshet , from the face of truth; which has been thus paraphrased: If we have displayed the ensign of Israel, and gone forth against these our enemies, who have now made such a terrible breach among us, ( Psalm 60:1-3 ;), it was because of thy truth - the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 60:1

Verse 1 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... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 60:1-5

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 60:1

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 60:2

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 60:3

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 60:4

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 60:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 60:1

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 60:3

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 60:4

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 60:1

Group of Brands