Psalms 60:1

PSALM 60

A PSALM FOLLOWING A MILITARY DEFEAT

SUPERSCRIPTION: FOR THE CHIEF MUSICIAN; SET TO SHUSHAN EDUTH.

MICHTAM OF DAVID; TO TEACH; WHEN HE STROVE WITH ARAM-NAHARAIM; AND JOAB RETURNED; AND SMOTE OF EDOM IN THE VALLEY OF SALT TWELVE THOUSAND.

Shushan Eduth. This is usually translated, "The Lily of the Testimony,"[1] which was the name of the tune or melody to which the singers fitted the words of this psalm. Psalms 45; Psalms 69; and Psalms 80 were also set to this tune.

Michtam of David. "Michtam" is thought to mean that this was a "Golden Psalm"; but some have supposed that it could have been another musical instruction for the singers. David, of course, is here indicated as the author. "There is nothing that stands in the way of accepting this claim of Davidic authorship."[2] "The Psalm itself has every characteristic of the Davidic style, namely, liveliness, rapid transitions, terse yet comprehensive language, strong metaphors, intense feeling and hopefulness."[3]

Regarding the occasion, Dummelow has this:

"The Psalm is clearly written after a lost battle, not after a victory. It has been suggested that while David was engaged in the north of Palestine subjugating Damascus and the Syrians, the Edomites in the south, saw their opportunity and attacked Israel, inflicting a serious military defeat."[4]

The superscription barely mentions this defeat, preferring rather to emphasize the retaliation of Israel in which a great victory was won over Edom, a victory accredited to Joab here, in which some 12,000 Edomites were killed. Of course, some writers have complained that the Bible has no full account of any such defeat of Israel, even dating to question the accuracy of the superscription on that basis. To us this is amusing. That type of critical mind would question the results of the Battle of San Jacinto because Santa Ana did not go back to Mexico and erect a monument celebrating that battle! Great defeats are seldom memorialized by the defeated. For this reason, the very abbreviated account in 2 Samuel 8; 1 Chronicles 18, etc., which relate the results of the Davidic wars, devoted no space at all to a description of the defeat which prompted this psalm.

Another unjustified criticism is that which seems offended by the fact that Joab in this superscription is accredited with the ensuing victory over Edom, whereas "In Chronicles the victory is ascribed to Joab's brother Abishai, and in 2 Samuel 8 to David."[5] This is easily explained since David the king was commander-in-chief; Joab was the ranking General of the Armies; and his brother Abishai was entrusted with the campaign in the Valley of Salt. It was correct to ascribe victory to each of these.

Could it be an error to describe President Bush, or Secretary of Defense Cheney, or General Norman Schwarzkopf, any one of the three, or all three, as victors in the recent war with Iraq?

The organization of the psalm suggested by Rawlinson is: (1) God is pleaded with (Psalms 60:1-5); (2) God is reminded of the promises he has made to Israel (Psalms 60:6-8); (3) God is pleaded with in the very strongest terms to give help to Israel (Psalms 60:9-11); and (4) God is praised and extolled as Israel's Helper who will give them final and complete victory (Psalms 60:12).

GOD IS PLEADED WITH

Psalms 60:1-5

"O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast broken us down;

Thou hast been angry; oh restore us again.

Thou hast made the land to tremble; thou hast rent it:

Heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.

Thou hast showed thy people hard things:

Thou hast made us to drink the wine of staggering.

Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee,

That it may be displayed because of the truth.

(Selah That thy beloved may be delivered,

Save with thy right hand, and answer us."

"Thou hast cast us off ... broken us down ... been angry" (Psalms 60:1). "This psalm conveys the sense of national humiliation resulting from a wholly unseen military reverse."[6] Notice also that God's anger with Israel is also mentioned. This was no doubt due to the sins and rebellions of the Chosen People, the same being characteristic of that nation throughout its history.

"Thou hast made the land to tremble ... rent it... it shaketh" (Psalms 60:2).

Was this a real earthquake, or is the military defeat merely compared to an earthquake? We believe it is probably the latter, but earthquakes were by no means uncommon occurrences in Israel.

"The wine of staggering" (Psalms 60:3). This does not mean that God had actually given Israel such a deadly potion, but that God's providence had allowed it. The metaphor of drugged wine is used in describing the sins of the Great Harlot in Revelation; and here it is a metaphor of the stunning effect of that surprising military defeat. "The nation had been rendered unable to function."[7]

Psalms 60:4 is not easily translated; and one possible meaning is that, "Israel had indeed raised the God-given banner; but it proved to be not so much a rallying point as a signal for dispersion."[8]

"That thy beloved may be delivered" (Psalms 60:5). This recalls the tremendous fact of God's loving Israel, thus injecting a strong feeling of encouragement and hope into the passage.

"Save with thy right hand, and answer us" (Psalms 60:5). This double cry for God's help emphasizes the great lesson of the psalm, namely, that no matter how discouraging and difficult any given situation may appear to be, the answer is always, inevitably, and certainly, "Take it to the Lord in prayer."