Psalms of David

Psalm 60 is the last of ten Psalms of David in the second book of Psalms that have mostly to do with events in David’s life. The first five are called Maskil, and the second five Miktam, meaning covering. Psalm 60 adds “for instruction” to Miktam in the title, which is the longest title of all the psalms.

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Psalms in Book 2 are like Book 1 in that they are mostly lament and distress although they now include a communal voice in addition to the singular voice of the first book.

The books of Psalms are roughly themed like this:

Book 1: Psalms 1 – 41: God is beside us.
Book 2: Psalms 42 – 72: God goes before us
Book 3: Psalms 73 – 89: God is all around us.
Book 4: Psalms 90 – 106: God is above us.
Book 5: Psalms 107 – 150: God is among us.

To the choirmaster: according to Shushan Eduth. A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

60 O God, you have rejected us, broken our defences;
    You have been angry; oh, restore us.
² You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
    repair its breaches, for it totters.
³ You have made your people see hard things;
    you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.
⁴ You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
    that they may flee to it from the bow. Selah
⁵ That your beloved ones may be delivered,
    give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
⁶ God has spoken in his holiness:
    “With exultation I will divide up Shechem
    and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
⁷ Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet;
    Judah is my sceptre.
⁸ Moab is my washbasin;
    upon Edom I cast my shoe;
    over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
⁹ Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
¹⁰ Have you not rejected us, O God?
    You do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
¹¹ Oh, grant us help against the foe,
    for vain is the salvation of man!
¹² With God we shall do valiantly;
    it is he who will tread down our foes.

Psalm 60 ESVUK

Psalm 60 is an odd song, it is a song of victory written in the form of a lament. David’s victories are set out in 2 Samuel 6, and it is to these that the song title refers.

So why dwell on a defeat? Why ask God if he has abandoned his people? God’s answer is a firm NO!

This is a prophetic psalm. Lamenting psalms are often prophetic, the middle part of the psalm is God speaking to his people, so we had better listen, Remember that the psalm title says it is for instruction. What God says is that he is responsible for Israel’s success in battle, something 2 Samuel 6 says is David’s success.

So what is covered in this Maskil Psalm? That the view of the psalmist can be wrong. God does not agree with the psalmist that the defeat is because God has forgotten them. When we rely on ourselves stuff happens, some of it good and some of it bad. Trusting in God does not consist of doing what we want and praying for God to help, with or without the prayer will have mixed results. The prayer should not be to bless our plans but for discernment.

Ask yourself. “What does God want me to do?”

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