Psalms
Chapter 60
O God, You Have Rejected and Broken Us
O God, you have rejected us and have broken our defenses; you have been angry, but now turn back to us.
You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its cracks, for it totters.
You have made your people suffer; you have given us wine that makes us stagger.
You set the banner behind us; and your people fled from bow and arrow.
Help us and listen to us, that your beloved may be rescued.
God has spoken in his Sanctuary: “In triumph, I will divide up Shechem and parcel out the Valley of Succoth.
Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter.
Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom, I cast my sandal; over Philistia, I shout in triumph.”
Who will take me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
Have you not rejected us, O God? You no longer go with our armies.
Give us aid against the foe, for human help is not worth a straw.
With God, we will gain victory; he will crush the enemy for us.
Commentaries
60
This time, the nation truly laments. The occasion may even be identified with the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. It is possible that the problematic verses 8-11, with their archaic tone, were taken from earlier compositions. In this section, we read the divine oracle given in response to the initial plea. David’s kingdom and sphere of influence are God’s possession. He can do with Moab as He wishes, and Edom belongs to Him. (He has to take off his sandal over it; see Rut 4:7). He will protect these jealously. God’s property is always safe if it remains true to itself. The persecuted Church also feels overwhelmed and seeks help. Here is a psalm to pray when disasters afflict humanity.