A verse by verse commentary on Psalm 60 dealing with David's lament that God has forsaken his own people, but he prays that God will save them by his right hand, and lead them to victory over their enemies.

1. PSALM 60 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lily
of the Covenant.” A miktam[b] of David. For
teaching. When he fought Aram aharaim[c] and
Aram Zobah,[d] and when Joab returned and
struck down twelve thousand Edomites in the
Valley of Salt.
I TRODUCTIO
SPURGEO , "TITLE. Here is a lengthy title, but it helps us much to expound the
Psalm. To the Chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, or the Lily of Testimony. The
forty-fifth was on the lilies, and represented the kingly warrior in his beauty going
forth to war; here we see him dividing the spoil and bearing testimony to the glory
of God. Tunes have strange names apparently, but this results from the fact that we
do not know what was in the composer's mind, else they might seem to be touchingly
appropriate; perhaps the music or the musical instruments have more to do with
this title than the Psalm itself. Yet in war songs, roses and lilies are often mentioned,
and one remembers Macaulay's Song of the Hugenots, though perhaps we err in
mentioning so carnal a verse--
" ow by the lips of those ye love, fair gentlemen of France,
Charge for the golden lilies now, upon them with the lance."
Michtam of David, to teach. David obeyed the precept to teach the children of
Israel; he recorded the Lord's mighty acts that they might be rehearsed in the ears
of generations to come. Golden secrets are to be told on the house tops; these things
were not done in a corner and ought not to be buried in silence. We ought gladly to
learn what inspiration so beautifully teaches. When he strove with Aramnaharaim
and with Aramzobah. The combined Aramean tribes sought to overcome Israel, but
were signally defeated. When Joab returned. He had been engaged in another
region, and the enemies of Israel took advantage of his absence, but on his return

2. with Abishai the fortunes of war were changed. And smote of Edom in the valley of
salt twelve thousand. More than this appear to have fallen according to 1 Chronicles
18:12, but this commemorates one memorable part of the conflict. Terrible must
have been the battle, but decisive indeed were the results, and the power of the
enemy was utterly broken. Well did the Lord deserve a song from his servant.
DIVISIO S. Properly the song may be said to consist of three parts: the
complaining verses, Psalms 60:1-3; the happy, Psalms 60:4-8; the prayerful, Psalms
60:9-12. We have divided it as the sense appeared to change.
ELLICOTT, "This psalm is composite; certainly two (Psalms 60:1-12), probably
three, independent pieces (Psalms 60:1-12) compose it.
Psalms 60:5-12 appear again at Psalms 108. The fact that the compiler of that psalm
began his adaptation with Psalms 60:5, and not where the ancient original piece
begins (Psalms 60:6), as well as the trifling variations, show that this psalm was in
its present state when the later arrangement was made. Most scholars agree in
thinking that the oracular verses, 6-8, are Davidic, or belong to a period as old as
David’s; and the inscription no doubt refers us to the series of events which this part
of the poem reflects.
There is nothing to guide conjecture as to the time when the ancient oracular
promise of victory was embodied in a poem, which evidently reflects a period of
national depression, either from some crushing defeat by a foreign enemy, or from
civil strife, in which the pious part of the community had suffered. The poetical
form is necessarily irregular.
Title.—See title, Psalms 4, 16
Upon Shushan-eduth (comp. Psalms 80, and Psalms 45, title)—i.e., upon a lily of
testimony; which has been variously explained to mean, “Upon lily-shaped bells,”
“A harp with six strings,” &c. After the analogy of other titles, it is better to take it
as the beginning of some hymn, to the tune of which this psalm was to be sung.
To teach.—This recalls 2 Samuel 1:18 : “To teach the sons of Judah the [song of the]
bow.” This psalm, like the elegy over Saul and Jonathan, was possibly used to kindle
the martial ardour of youthful Israel.
When he strove with . . .—The allusion to “Aram-naharaim”—i.e., Aram of the two
rivers—and “Aram-zobah” are to be explained by the events narrated in 2 Samuel
8, 10. The English rendering of 2 Samuel 8:13 reads as if Syrians, and not Edomites,
were then slain in the valley of salt; but the Hebrew seems rather to be, “And David
gat him a name in the valley of salt [eighteen thousand], when he returned from
smiting the Syrians.” This still leaves a discrepancy in the numbers; but it may be
noticed that the mode of the introduction of the number in the history looks
suspiciously like a gloss which may have been made from memory and afterwards
crept into the text.

3. PETT, "Heading (Psalms 60:1 a).
‘For the Chief Musician; set to Shushan Eduth. Michtam of David, to teach, when
he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and
smote twelve thousand men of Edom in the Valley of Salt.’
This Psalm is dedicated to the Chief Musician to the tune of Shushan Eduth, ‘the
Lily of Testimony’. Compare for this the similar tune for Psalms 80 (shushannim
eduth - ‘lilies of testimony’). It is a Michtam, a cry for cover and protection, and was
for the purpose of teaching. Possibly the aim was that it should be learned by heart.
The background to the Psalm was when David had invaded Syria (Aram) to the
north (2 Samuel 8:3-8), defeating the kings of Zobah and Damascus. Seemingly the
Edomites to the south, with the assistance of the Syrians, had taken advantage of the
opportunity to invade Southern Judah. It was at this point that the Psalm was
written, when Judah was in despair at this sudden and unexpected invasion by their
enemies, a despair shared by David as he learned news of what was going on.
Subsequently he sent Joab and Abishai to deal with this invasion with the result that
a Syrian-Edomite alliance in the South was driven back, inflicting heavy casualties
(2 Samuel 8:13-14).
The opening of the Psalm is explained by this reverse which David initially suffered,
of which he received news while he was fighting in the north. It may well be that
while he was conducting his successful campaign in the north, the Edomites,
encouraged by a contingent of Syrians, had invaded southern Judah. ews of this
having reached David he penned this Psalm, in which he calls on God, recognising
that the reverse that Israel have suffered reveals that God is angry with them
(otherwise He would surely have protected them). Declaring His certainty of victory
because YHWH has raised His banner on His people’s behalf, he ends the Psalm by
calling on God for His assistance.
He would then in practise proceed to deal with the invaders by despatching Joab
with a powerful force, and it was Joab’s brother, Abishai, who would spearhead the
attack which slaughtered 6,000 Syrians and 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt (1
Chronicles 18:12), and follow it up by subjugating Edom, thus gaining great renown
for David (“getting him a name”). Israel were no longer the underdogs in the area as
they had been in the past before the rise of David.
otice the emphasis on the distinctiveness of His people. They are the ones who ‘fear
Him’, that is, reverence Him and respond to Him, whilst He is the One Who ‘loves
them and sees them as His own (Psalms 60:4-5). It is because of this that He raises
up His standard on their behalf, and exultantly declares His control over the whole
area, over Ephraim (Israel), Judah and the surrounding nations.
The Psalm may be divided into three parts:

4. 1) David’s Distress On Learning Of The Disastrous Invasion Of Southern
Judah By The Combined Syrian-Edomite Forces And His Confidence In The Face
Of It (Psalms 60:1-4).
2) David Calls On God To Save Them By His Mighty Right Hand So That The
People Whom He Loves Might Be Delivered, And Declares The Certainty Of
YHWH’s Victory Because The Surrounding ations Are Subject To Him (Psalms
60:5-8).
3) David Declares His Assurance That Although God Has Appeared For A
While To Have Abandoned His People, He Will ow Arise And Enable Them To
Gain The Victory (Psalms 60:9-12).
David’s Distress On Learning Of The Disastrous Invasion Of Southern Judah By
The Combined Syrian-Edomite Forces And His Confidence In The Face Of It
(Psalms 60:1-4).
Recognising that the invasion of Judah by the Syrian-Edomite alliance is a sign of
God’s displeasure with Israel, he describes what has happened to southern Judah as
being like a severe earthquake, which has caused them to tremble and stagger
around. But he is nevertheless confident that God has now given them a banner
which can be displayed because they are His true people.
1 You have rejected us, God, and burst upon us;
you have been angry—now restore us!
BAR ES, "O God, thou hast cast us off - The word used here means properly to
be foul, rancid, offensive; and then, to treat anything as if it were foul or rancid; to repel,
to spurn, to cast away. See the notes at Psa_43:2. It is strong language, meaning that
God had seemed to treat them as if they were loathsome or offensive to him. The
allusion, according to the view taken in the introduction to the psalm, is to some defeat
or disaster which had occurred after the conquests in the East, or during the absence of
the armies of David in the East 2 Sam. 8; 1 Chr. 18; probably to the fact that the
Edomites had taken occasion to invade the southern part of Palestine, and that the
forces employed to expel them had been unsuccessful.
Thou hast scattered us - Margin, broken. So the Hebrew. The word is applied to

5. the forces of war which are broken and scattered by defeat, 2Sa_5:20.
Thou hast been displeased - The word used here means “to breathe”; to breathe
hard; and then, to be angry. See the notes at Psa_2:12. God had treated them as if he was
displeased or angry. He had suffered them to be defeated.
O turn thyself to us again - Return to our armies, and give us success. This might
be rendered, “Thou wilt turn to us;” that is, thou wilt favor us - expressing a confident
belief that God would do this, as in Psa_60:12. It is more in accordance, however, with
the usual structure of the Psalms to regard this as a prayer. Many of the psalms begin
with a prayer, and end with the expression of a confident assurance that the prayer has
been, or would certainly be heard.
CLARKE, "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 is all in
commotion,” Psa_60:2.
GILL, "O God, thou hast cast us off,.... What is said in this verse, and Psa_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, was led to on the occasion of the
victory obtained, when before this the nation had been in bad circumstances. This refers
to the casting off of the Jews as a church and nation, when they had rejected the Messiah
and killed him, persecuted his apostles, and despised his Gospel; of which see Rom_
11:15;
thou hast scattered us; as they were by the Romans among the various nations of the
world, and among whom they are dispersed to this day; or "thou hast broken us" (k), as
in Psa_80:12; not only the walls of their city were broken by the battering rams of the
Romans, but their commonwealth, their civil state, were broke to pieces by them. Jarchi
applies this to the Romans; his note is this;
"when Edom fell by his hand (David's), he foresaw, by the Holy Ghost, that the Romans
would rule over Israel, and decree hard decrees concerning them;''
thou hast been displeased; not only with their immorality and profaneness, with
their hypocrisy and insincerity, with their will worship and superstition, and the
observance of the traditions of their elders; but also with their rejection of the Messiah,
and contempt of his Gospel and ordinances;
O turn thyself to us again; which prayer will be made by them, when they shall
become sensible of their sins, and of their state and condition, and shall turn unto the

6. Lord; and when he will turn himself to them, and turn away iniquity from them, and all
Israel shall be saved, Rom_11:25; or "thou wilt return unto us" (l); who before were cast
off, broken, and he was displeased with; or others to us.
HE RY 1-3, "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 hopes
with our joys. 2. Of the particular occasion of it. It was at a time, (1.) When he was at war
with the Syrians, and still had a conflict with them, both those of Mesopotamia and
those of Zobah. (2.) When he had gained a great victory over the Edomites, by his forces,
under the command of Joab, who had left 12,000 of the enemy dead upon the spot.
David has an eye to both these concerns in this psalm: he is in care about his strife with
the Assyrians, and in reference to that he prays; he is rejoicing in his success against the
Edomites, and in reference to that he triumphs with a holy confidence in God that he
would complete the victory. We have our cares at the same time that we have our joys,
and they may serve for a balance to each other, that neither may exceed. They may
likewise furnish us with matter both for prayer and praise, for both must be laid before
God with suitable affections and emotions. If one point be gained, yet in another we are
still striving: the Edomites are vanquished, but the Syrians are not; therefore let not him
that girds on the harness boast as if he had put it off.
In these verses, which begin the psalm, we have,
I. A melancholy memorial of the many disgraces and disappointments which God had,
for some years past, put the people under. During the reign of Saul, especially in the
latter end of it, and during David's struggle with the house of Saul, while he reigned over
Judah only, the affairs of the kingdom were much perplexed, and the neighbouring
nations were vexatious to them. 1. He complains of hard things which they had seen
(that is, which they had suffered), while the Philistines and other ill-disposed neighbours
took all advantages against them, Psa_60:3. God sometimes shows even his own people
hard things in this world, that they may not take up their rest in it, but may dwell at ease
in him only. 2. He owns God's displeasure to be the cause of all the hardships they had
undergone: “Thou hast been displeased by us, displeased against us (Psa_60:1), and in
thy displeasure hast cast us off and scattered us, hast put us out of thy protection, else
our enemies could not have prevailed thus against us. They would never have picked us
up and made a prey of us if thou hadst not broken the staff of bands (Zec_11:14) by
which we were united, and so scattered us.” Whatever our trouble is, and whoever are
the instruments of it, we must own the hand of God, his righteous hand, in it. 3. He
laments the ill effects and consequences of the miscarriages of the late years. The whole
nation was in a convulsion: Thou hast made the earth (or the land) to tremble, Psa_
60:2. The generality of the people had dreadful apprehensions of the issue of these
things. The good people themselves were in a consternation: “Thou hast made us to
drink the wine of astonishment (Psa_60:3); we were like men intoxicated, and at our
wits' end, not knowing how to reconcile these dispensations with God's promises and his
relation to his people; we are amazed, can do nothing, nor know we what to do.” Now
this is mentioned here to teach, that is, for the instruction of the people. When God is
turning his hand in our favour, it is good to remember our former calamities, (1.) That

7. we may retain the good impressions they made upon us, and may have them revived.
Our souls must still have the affliction and the misery in remembrance, that they may be
humbled within us, Lam_3:19, Lam_3:20. (2.) That God's goodness to us, in relieving us
and raising us up, may be more magnified; for it is as life from the dead, so strange, so
refreshing. Our calamities serve as foils to our joys. (3.) That we may not be secure, but
may always rejoice with trembling, as those that know not how soon we may be returned
into the furnace again, which we were lately taken out of as the silver is when it is not
thoroughly refined.
JAMISO 1-3, "Psa_60:1-12. Shushan-eduth - Lily of testimony. The lily is an
emblem of beauty (see on Psa_45:1, title). As a description of the Psalm, those terms
combined may denote a beautiful poem, witnessing - that is, for God’s faithfulness as
evinced in the victories referred to in the history cited. Aram-naharaim - Syria of the
two rivers, or Mesopotamia beyond the river (Euphrates) (2Sa_10:16). Aram-zobah -
Syria of Zobah (2Sa_10:6), to whose king the king of the former was tributary. The war
with Edom, by Joab and Abishai (2Ch_18:12, 2Ch_18:25), occurred about the same
time. Probably, while doubts and fears alternately prevailed respecting the issue of these
wars, the writer composed this Psalm, in which he depicts, in the language of God’s
people, their sorrows under former disasters, offers prayer in present straits, and
rejoices in confident hope of triumph by God’s aid.
allude to disasters.
cast ... off — in scorn (Psa_43:2; Psa_44:9).
scattered — broken our strength (compare 2Sa_5:20).
Oh, turn thyself — or, “restore to us” (prosperity). The figures of physical, denote
great civil, commotions (Psa_46:2, Psa_46:3).
CALVI , "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 that David here adverts to his own distressed condition: this is
not probable. I grant that, before coming to the throne, he underwent severe
afflictions; but in this place he evidently speaks of the whole people as well as
himself. The calamities which he describes are such as extended to the whole
kingdom; and I have not the least doubt, therefore, that he is to be considered as
drawing a comparison which might illustrate the favor of God, as it had been shown
so remarkably, from the first, to his own government. With this view, he deplores
the long-continued and heavy disasters which had fallen upon the people of God
under Saul’s administration. It is particularly noticeable, that though he had found
his own countrymen his worst and bitterest foes, now that he sat upon the throne, he
forgets all the injuries which they had done him, and, mindful only of the situation
which he occupied, associates himself with the rest of them in his addresses to God.

8. The scattered condition of the nation is what he insists upon as the main calamity.
In consequence of the dispersion of Saul’s forces, the country lay completely
exposed to the incursions of enemies; not a man was safe in his own house, and no
relief remained but in flight or banishment. He next describes the confusions which
reigned by a metaphor, representing the country as opened, or cleft asunder; not
that there had been a literal earthquake, but that the kingdom, in its rent and
shattered condition, presented that calamitous aspect which generally follows upon
an earthquake. The affairs of Saul ceased to prosper from the time that he forsook
God; and when he perished at last, he left the nation in a state little short of ruin.
The greatest apprehension must have been felt throughout it; it was become the
scorn of its enemies, and was ready to submit to any yoke, however degrading,
which promised tolerable conditions. Such is the manner in which David intimates
that the divine favor had been alienated by Saul, pointing, when he says that God
was displeased, at the radical source of all the evils which prevailed; and he prays
that the same physician who had broken would heal.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 1. Before the days of Saul, Israel had been brought very low;
during his government it had suffered from internal strife, and his reign was closed
by an overwhelming disaster at Gibeon. David found himself the possessor of a
tottering throne, troubled with the double evil of factions at home, and invasion
from abroad. He traced at once the evil to its true source, and began at the
fountainhead. His were the politics of piety, which after all are the wisest and most
profound. He knew that the displeasure of the Lord had brought calamity upon the
nation, and to the removal of that displeasure he set himself by earnest prayer.
O God, thou hast cast us off. Thou hast treated us as foul and offensive things, to be
put away; as mean and beggarly persons, to be shunned with contempt; as useless
dead boughs, to be torn away from the tree, which they disfigure. To be cast off by
God is the worst calamity that can befall a man or a people; but the worst form of it
is when the person is not aware of it and is indifferent to it. When the divine
desertion causes mourning and repentance, it will be but partial and temporary.
When a cast off soul sighs for its God it is indeed not cast off at all.
Thou has scattered us. David clearly sees the fruits of the divine anger, he traces the
flight of Israel's warriors, the breaking of her power, the division in her body
politic, to the hand of God. Whoever might be the secondary agent of these
disasters, he beholds the Lord's hand as the prime moving cause, and pleads with
the Lord concerning the matter. Israel was like a city with a breach made in its wall,
because her God was wroth with her. These first two verses, with their depressing
confession, must be regarded as greatly enhancing the power of the faith which in
the after verses rejoices in better days, through the Lord's gracious return unto his
people.
Thou hast been displeased. This is the secret of our miseries. Had we pleased thee,
thou wouldst have pleased us; but as we have walked contrary to thee, thou hast
walked contrary to us.
O turn thyself to us again. Forgive the sin and smile once more. Turn us to thee,
turn thou to us. Aforetime thy face was towards thy people, be pleased to look on us
again with thy favour and grace. Some read it, "Thou wilt turn to us again, "and it
makes but slight difference which way we take it, for a true hearted prayer brings a

9. blessing so soon that it is no presumption to consider it already obtained. There was
more need for God to turn to his people than for Judah's troops to be brave, or Joab
and the commanders wise. God with us is better than strong battalions; God
displeased is more terrible than all the Edomites that ever marched into the valley of
salt, or all the devils that ever opposed the church. If the Lord turn to us, what care
we for Aramnaharaim or Aramzobah, or death, or hell? but if he withdraw his
presence we tremble at the fall of a leaf.
EXPLA ATORY OTES A D QUAI T SAYI GS
Title. There are some difficulties attendant upon the title of this Psalm, when it is
compared with the contents. We naturally expect after such as inscription, joy,
congratulation, and praise for victory; but the psalmist breaks out into lamentations
and bitter complaints: his strains are, however, changed, when he has proceeded as
far as verse three, where he begins to feel confidence, and to employ the language of
exultation and triumph. The best means of removing this discrepancy seems to be by
remarking, that this Psalm was written after some of the battles of which mention is
made in the title, but that the author does not restrict himself to those events
without taking a wider range, so as to embrace the afflictive conditions both of
Israel and Judah during the latter part of Saul's life, and the former years of
David's reign. In the concluding years of Saul, the Philistines obtained a superiority
over him, and finally destroyed him with his army. Subsequently to these events the
whole land was in a very disturbed and agitated condition, arising out of the
contentions between the partisans of Saul's family, and those who were attached to
David. The nations which inhabited the regions adjacent to the land of Canaan were
at all times inimical to the Jews, and seized every opportunity of attacking and
injuring them. But when David had succeeded in uniting the whole nation under his
authority, he proceeded to avenge the injuries and insults that had been inflicted
upon his countrymen by the Philistines, Edomites, Moabites, and Syrians; and God
was pleased to give him signal success in his undertakings. He appears, therefore, to
have combined all these transactions, and made them the subject of this Psalm.
William Walford.
Title. Shushaneduth. The lilies of the testimony -- means, that this Psalm has for its
chief subject something very lovely and cheering in the law; namely, the words of
promise quoted in the beginning of verse six, according to which the land of Canaan
belonged to the Israelites, upon which is thus established the confidence expressed
in Psalms 60:6-8, with respect to their right of property over the land, and their
possession of it. This promise, not to cite many other passages, which occur in the
Five Books of Moses, and even so early as the patriarchs, is contained in Genesis
49:1-33, and Deuteronomy 33:1-29. It is evident of what value and importance this
promise was, and particularly the remembrance of it at this time. T. C. Barth's
"Bible Manual, "1865.
Title. The only other eduth or "testimony" in the Psalter, Psalms 80:1-19, makes
mention by name of the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, and is a
witness against those tribes for forsaking the Shepherd of Israel who had brought
them up out of the land of Egypt. Joseph Francis Thrupp, M.A., in "An
Introduction to the Study and Use of the Psalms, "1860.
Title. Aramnaharaim. The name Aram corresponds to Syria in its widest and
vaguest sense, and is joined with other names to designate particular parts of that

10. large country. It even includes Mesopotamia, which is a term of physical rather than
political geography, and denotes the space between the Tigris and Euphrates,
corresponding to Aram aharaim, or Syria of the Two Rivers, in the verse before
us. The king of this country was tributary to the king of Aram Zobah, as appears
from the account of David's second Aramean war (2 Samuel 10:16; 2 Samuel 10:19).
Joseph Addison Alexander.
Title. When he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah. An insult offered
to David's ambassadors by Hanun, king of the Ammonites, led to a serious war.
Hanun obtained mercenaries from Syria to reinforce his army, Joab and Abishai his
brother, David's generals, gave them battle. Joab, opposed to the Syrians, gained the
first success, and the Ammonites, seeing their allies routed, took to flight into their
town. But this defeat provoked a great coalition, embracing all the people between
the Jordan and the Euphrates. David, however, fearlessly marched against them at
the head of his army; he vanquished all his enemies, and made himself master of the
small Aramaean kingdoms of Damascus, Zobah, and Hamath, and subjugated the
Eastern Idumaeans, who met their final defeat in the Valley of Salt. Francois
Lenormant and E. Chevallier, in "A Manual of the Ancient History of the East,
"1869.
Title. Joab returned and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand,
compared with 2 Samuel 8:13, "David gat him a name when he returned from
smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men, "and 1
Chronicles 18:12, where this very service was performed by Abishai. Answer. It is
one thing to attribute the victory for the honour of the king that was the cause. But
the mentioning of these chief generals, by whom the service was performed, is
another. David, under God, must have the honour of the work, for the increase of
his name, being set for the typing out of Christ, who must have all the glory of the
day, whatever conquest he gets by instruments of that service here, who likewise are
typed out in David's worthies, of whom Joab and Abishai were chief. By these he
obtained that great victory over Hadadezer. In returning from which service Joab
found his brother Abishai engaged in the valley of salt against eighteen thousand
Edomites or Syrians (all one), whose valour the Almighty looked on, as he attributes
the whole slaughter to him, because first attempting it. Joab, it seems, took this in
his return from the former slaughter, and fell in for the assistance of his brother
Abishai (for that was their usual course: though they divided their armies, they did
not divide their hearts). But if the enemies were too strong, one would help the
other. 1 Chronicles 19:12. And of this eighteen thousand attributed to David and
Abishai before, Joab slew twelve thousand of them; the memory of which service is
here embalmed with a Psalm; first showing the extremes they were in, doubtful at
first they should not get the victory. Secondly, applying it to the kingdom of Christ.
Lastly, ascribing all the honour of the conquest to God; saying, through God this
valiant service was done; it was he that trod down our enemies; and will do (last
verse). William Streat, in "The Dividing of the Hoof, "1654.
Title. The Valley of Salt. The ridge of Usdum exhibits more distinctly its peculiar
formation; the main body of the mountain being a solid mass of rock salt... We could
at first hardly believe our eyes, until we had several times approached the
precipices, and broken off pieces to satisfy ourselves, both by the touch and taste.
The salt, where thus exposed, is everywhere more or less furrowed by the rains. As

11. we advanced, large lumps and masses broken off from above, lay like rocks along
the shore, or were fallen down as debris. The very stones beneath our feet were
wholly salt... The position of this mountain at the south end of the sea, enables us
also to ascertain the place of The Valley of Salt mentioned in Scripture, where the
Hebrews under David, and again under Amaziah, gained decisive victories over
Edom. This valley could have been no other than the Ghor south of the Dead Sea,
adjacent to the mountain of salt; it separates indeed the ancient territories of Judah
and Edom. Edward Robinson's "Biblical Researches in Palestine, "1867.
Title. The historic record mentions eighteen thousand slain, and here but twelve
thousand. The greater of course includes the less. The discrepancy may be explained
by supposing that the title contains the numbers slain by one division of the army,
or that the twelve thousand were slain in the battle, and the residue in the flight. Or
an error may have crept into the text. Every scholar admits that there is sometimes
serious difficulty in settling the numbers of the Old Testament. In this place Calvin
has two and twenty thousand, the common version twelve thousand, while the
original is two ten thousand, which taken in one way would mean twenty thousand,
i.e., two tens of thousands. Hammond refers the number slain to different battles,
and so avoids the difficulty. William S. Plumer.
Ver. 1. O God, thou hast cast us off. The word here used means properly to be foul,
rancid, offensive; and then, to treat anything as if it were foul or rancid; to repel, to
spurn, to cast away. It is strong language, meaning that God had seemed to treat
them as if they were loathsome of offensive to him. Albert Barnes.
CO STABLE, "In the battle with the Arameans, Israel"s enemy overcame her
temporarily. David viewed this defeat as punishment from the Lord. He called out
in prayer for national restoration. Since God had allowed the defeat, He was the
One who could reverse it.
ELLICOTT, "(1) Hast scattered us.—Literally, hast broken us. A word used of a
wall or fence, Psalms 80:12, but in 2 Samuel 5:20 applied to the rout of an army, an
event which gave its name to the locality, “plain of breaches.” So in English:
“And seeing me, with a great voice he cried,
They are broken, they are broken.”—
TE YSO : Elaine.
On the other hand, the two succeeding verses seem to refer to a political convulsion
rather than a military defeat, and it has been conjectured that the breach between
the two kingdoms is here indicated. (See the use of perez=breach, in Judges 21:15.)
TRAPP, "Psalms 60:1 « To the chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtam of
David, to teach; when he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah, when
Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand. » O God,
thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn
thyself to us again.

12. Upon Shushan-eduth] An instrument so called, or to the tune of some song so called.
The words signify the lily of the testimony; or, of kingly ornament; whereof many
make manifold constructions, but they are all conjectural.
Michtam of David, to teach] The Hebrews have a proverb, Lilmod lelammed, Men
must, therefore, learn that they may teach. David here imparteth what he had
learned of God’s goodness; and would teach others, especially when they go to war,
as 3:2, 2 Samuel 1:18, to call upon God, and to lean upon his promises; as himself
had done with singular success.
When he strove with Aram-naharaim] Cum rixaretur, contenderet. Mesopotamia,
called here Aram-naharaim, lay between those two famous rivers, Euphrates and
Tigris; and so seemeth to have been a part of that earthly paradise, Genesis 2:10-14,
whereof since Adam’s fall and oah’s flood, cecidit rosa, mansit spina, saith one, the
rose is gone, the thorn only remaineth. A country fruitful beyond belief, as
Herodotus hath it; but inhabited by such as here joined with the Ammonites and
other enemies of the Church; and were, therefore, sought by David, and at length
vanquished. See 1 Chronicles 19:1-19.
And with Aram-zobah] Or, Coelesyria, whereof Damascus was the metropolis.
When Joab returned] sc. From the slaughter of the Syrians.
And smote of Edom] That is, of the Edomites, who had set upon Israel in the south,
when Joab with the army was fighting against the Syrians in the east. Joab,
therefore, at his return took them to do; and slew twelve thousand, after that
Abishai had first slain six thousand of them, all which eighteen thousand are said to
have been slain by David, as being Rex et Radix victoriae, saith Kimchi, the king
and root of the victory, 2 Samuel 8:13.
In the valley of Salt] Where Abraham had once fought with the four victorious
kings, Genesis 14:9; Genesis 14:14-15, and afterwards Amaziah with the Edomites.
likewise slaying ten thousand, 2 Kings 14:7, In the midst of these conflicts and
bustles David is thought to have written this psalm, together with Psalms 44:1-26,
Psalms 108:1-13
Ver. 1. O God, thou hast cast us off] Some gather from this sad complaint that
David was sometimes worsted in these wars, though it be not particularly so
recorded in the Scriptures (Aben Ezra). Dubia est martis alea, Kοινος ενυαλιος, 2

13. Samuel 11:25; the best cause hath not always the best success, 20:21; 20:25. Others
think that the psalmist here complaineth of the sad condition of the Israelites after
that Saul was slain in Mount Gilboa, and the Philistines tyrannized at their
pleasure, 1 Samuel 21:7. Whereupon also followed these civil dissensions and
seditions, while some of the tribes set up Ishbosheth, and others went after David.
These miseries he here mentioneth the rather that God’s goodness in the present
settlement of the kingdom might the better appear. Hence most interpreters read the
words in the preterpluperfect, Thou hadst cast us off, thou hadst scattered us, &c.;
but now it is well with us for the present, and better yet it will be.
WHEDO , "1. Thou hast cast us off—The first three verses are a complaint but
feebly relieved by prayer. Sorrow, disappointment, and astonishment prevail.
Faith seems staggered. Compare Psalms 44:9-26. The resemblance of Psalms 60:1 to
Psalms 44:9, shows that the latter is borrowed from the former.
Thou hast scattered us—Thou hast broken us down. The word denotes a forcible
breaking down, or breaking through; a rending of what was trusted in as safe and
firm. Hence they were totally baffled and humbled. The language throughout is
highly impassioned.
COKE, "Verse 1
Psalms 60.
David complaining to God of former judgment, now, upon better hope, prayeth for
deliverance: comforting himself in God's promises, he requesteth that help whereon
he trusteth.
To the chief Musician upon Shushan-eduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he
strove with Aram-naharaim, and with Aram-zobah, when Joab returned, and smote
of Edom, in the Valley of Salt, twelve thousand.
Title. ‫על‬ ‫שׁושׁן‬ ‫עדות‬ al shushan eduth. Upon Shushan-eduth, &c.] See on Psalms 22.
Houbigant renders it, Upon the hexachord of the testimony. Others render it, Upon
the lily of the testimony; Michtam, or golden psalm of David. We here subjoin some
further remarks on the titles of the Psalms by the author of the Observations.
D'Herbelot, says he, observes, that "the works of seven of the most excellent Arab
poets who flourished before the times of Mohammedanism, were called Al
Moallacat, because they were successively fixed by way of honour to the gate of the
temple of Mecca; and also Al-Modhahebat; which signifies gilded or golden, because
they were written in letters of gold upon Egyptian paper:" and in a following page
the same writer informs us, that the Arabs, when they would praise any one's
poems, were wont to say, "These are the golden verses of such or such a one;" which
he seems to suppose was derived from the writing of these poems in letters of gold.
ow, might not the present psalm, and those five others which are distinguished by
the same epithet, be called golden, on account of their having been, on some
occasion or other, written in letters of gold, and hung up in the sanctuary, or

14. elsewhere? ot (it may be) on account of their being judged to have a superior
excellence to the other hymns of this collection, absolutely speaking, but on account
of their being suited to some particular circumstances which might occasion their
being treated with this distinction. Hezekiah, we know, went up to the house of the
Lord, and spread the letter of Sennacherib before him there; Isaiah 37:14 hung it
up, it may be, before the Lord. What Hezekiah did with a paper of threatening,
other princes might do with these psalms of encouragement and hope. Some have
imagined that they were called golden psalms merely on account of their
distinguished excellence. That distinguished excellence, however, doth not appear;
and what is more, the ancient Jews, it is certain, had a different way of marking this
out: as, The song of songs, which is Solomon's; not the golden song of Solomon.
Ainsworth supposes the word ‫מכתם‬ michtam to signify a golden jewel. That the
affixing such a title to a psalm would have been agreeable enough to the eastern
taste anciently, we may believe, from what appears in these modern times.
D'Herbelot has actually mentioned a book intitled bracelets of gold, containing an
account of all that history had mentioned relating to a month sacred among the
Arabs. I cannot, however, easily admit that this is the true meaning of the word
michtam, because there are several psalms which have this word prefixed to them;
whereas, if it signified a jewel of gold, it would have been intended, if we may judge
by modern titles of eastern books, to have distinguished one psalm from all the rest.
To which may be added, that some of these psalms have another name given them;
the 56th being called the dove dumb in distant places; and the present, the lily of the
testimony. I will only farther add, that this writing in letters of gold still continues in
the east. Maillet, speaking of the royal Mohammedan library in Egypt, which was so
famous, and was afterwards destroyed by Saladine, says, "The greatest part of there
books were written in letters of gold, such as the Turks and Arabs, even of our time,
made use of in the titles of their books." And a little after, speaking of the ignorance
of the modern Egyptians, as to the burnishing of gold, so that their gilding has
nothing of the ancient splendour, he adds, "It is true, to make up this defect, they
have preserved the art of making gold liquid, and fit for ink. I have seen some of
their books written with this gold, which were extremely beautiful." See
Observations, p. 318.
When he strove with Adram-naharaim— That is Syria of the rivers, or that part of
it which is called Mesopotamia, as lying between the two rivers Tigris and
Euphrates. The Syrians, both here and in other places, were called Aram, because
they were the descendants of Aram, the son of Shem, Genesis 10:22. Aram-Zobah is
that part of Syria which was called Zobah. 2 Samuel 8:5. As David's victory over
Idumea was different from that over the Syrians, the next clause should be rendered
literally, And Joab returned.
This conquest of Joab's is to be looked upon as distinct from that of Abishai,
mentioned 2 Samuel 8:13 and 1 Chronicles 18:12. After Abishai had slain eighteen
thousand of the Idumeans, Joab fell upon them again; and, as the title of this psalm
particularly informs us, smote in the same place twelve thousand more, and
afterwards destroyed them entirely. See 1 Kings 11:15-16. The Valley of Salt, is in
Idumaea, near the Black Sea.

15. Psalms 60:1. Thou hast scattered us— See 1 Samuel 1:7. Mudge renders these
words, Thou hast made a breach upon us.
COFFMA , "Verse 1
PSALM 60
A PSALM FOLLOWI G A MILITARY DEFEAT
SUPERSCRIPTIO : FOR THE CHIEF MUSICIA ; SET TO SHUSHA
EDUTH.
MICHTAM OF DAVID; TO TEACH; WHE HE STROVE WITH ARAM-
AHARAIM; A D JOAB RETUR ED; A D SMOTE OF EDOM I THE
VALLEY OF SALT TWELVE THOUSA D.
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

16. 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 orman 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] otice 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.

17. "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."
EBC, "THIS psalm has evidently a definite historical background. Israel has been
worsted in fight, but still continues its campaign against Edom. Meditating on God’s
promises, the psalmist anticipates victory, which will cover defeat and perfect
partial successes, and seeks to breathe his own spirit of confidence into the ranks of
his countrymen. But the circumstances answering to those required by the psalm
are hard to find. The date assigned by the superscription cannot be called
satisfactory; for David’s war there referred to [2 Samuel 8:1-18] had no such
stunning defeats as are here lamented. The Divine Oracle of which the substance is
given in the central part of the psalm, affords but dubious indications of date. At
first sight it seems to imply the union of all the tribes in one kingdom, and therefore
to favour the Davidic authorship. But it may be a question whether the united Israel
of the Oracle is fact or prophecy. To one school of commentators, the mention of
Ephraim in conjunction with Judah is token that the psalm is prior to the great
revolt; to another, it is proof positive that the date is after the destruction of the
northern kingdom. The Maccabean date is favoured by Olshausen, Hitzig, and
Cheyne among moderns; but, apart from other objections, the reappearance of
Psalms 60:5-12 in Psalms 108:1-13, implies that this piece of Hebrew psalmody was
already venerable when a later compiler wove part of it into that psalm. On the
whole, the Davidic authorship is possible, though clogged with the difficulty already
mentioned. But the safest conclusion seems to be Baethgen’s modest one, which
contrasts strongly with the confident assertions of some other critics-namely, that
assured certainty in dating the psalm "is no longer possible."

18. It falls into three parts of four verses each, of which the first (Psalms 60:1-4) is
complaint of defeat and prayer for help; the second (Psalms 60:5-8), a Divine Oracle
assuring victory; and the third (Psalms 60:9-12), the flash of fresh hope kindled by
that God’s word.
The first part blends complaint and prayer in the first pair of verses, in each of
which there is, first, a description of the desperate state of Israel, and then a cry for
help. The nation is broken, as a wall is broken down, or as an army whose ordered
ranks are shattered and scattered. Some crushing defeat is meant, which in Psalms
60:2 is further described as an earthquake. The land trembles, and then gapes in
hideous clefts, and houses become gaunt ruins. The state is disorganised as in
consequence of defeat. It is an unpoetical mixture of fact and figure to see in the
"rending" of the land allusion to the separation of the kingdoms, especially as that
was not the result of defeat.
There is almost a tone of wonder in the designation of Israel as "Thy people," so
sadly does the fate meted out to them contrast with their name. Stranger still and
more anomalous is it, that, as Psalms 60:3 b laments, God’s own hand has
commended such a chalice to their lips as should fill them with infatuation. The
construction "wine of reeling," is grammatically impossible, and the best
explanation of the phrase regards the nouns as in apposition-"wine which is
reeling," or "reeling as wine." The meaning is that God not only sent the disaster
which had shaken the nation like an earthquake, but had sent, too, the
presumptuous self-confidence which had led to it.
PETT, "Psalms 60:1
‘O God you have cast us off, you have broken us down,
You have been angry, oh restore us again.’
He first calls on God for restoration for Israel, recognising that the reason why they
have been cast off and broken down is because God has been angry with them.
Were it not so He would surely not have allowed this to happen. Thus all he can do
is pray for God to forgive them and restore them.
The rise of David to power, and his subsequent victories, may well have made the
people of Israel complacent. They may well have settled down and grown cold
towards YHWH, and slack in obedience to the covenant requirements. As a
consequence moral behaviour may have sunk to a low level, with violence, corrupt
business practises and deceit having become prominent. This would then explain
why God had allowed them to suffer this reverse in order to wake them up to their
failings.
It is a reminder to us that when we suffer reverses it may well be because God is
chastening us because of our failings, with a view to our restoration.
Similar language was later used by the Moabite king in the Moabite inscription,

19. when he cried to the Moabite god Chemosh suggesting that the defeat of Moabite
cities by Omri, king of Israel, had been “because Chemosh was angry with his
land”. But he would not have seen it as signifying that Chemosh was concerned with
their moral state. The gods of foreign nations had no such concerns. Rahter he
would see it as indicating that Chemosh was angry because he was not receiving the
respect that he ‘deserved’.
K&D 1-5, "This first strophe contains complaint and prayer; and establishes the
prayer by the greatness of the need and Israel's relationship to God. The sense in which
‫נוּ‬ ָ ְ‫צ‬ ַ‫ר‬ ְ is intended becomes clear from 2Sa_5:20, where David uses this word of the
defeat of the Philistines, and explains it figuratively. The word signifies to break through
what has hitherto been a compact mass, to burst, blast, scatter, disperse. The prayer is
first of all timidly uttered in ‫נוּ‬ ָ‫ל‬ ‫ב‬ ֵ‫ּוב‬‫שׁ‬ ְ in the form of a wish; then in ‫ה‬ ָ‫פ‬ ְ‫ר‬ (Psa_60:4) and
‫ה‬ ָ‫יע‬ ִ‫ּושׁ‬‫ה‬ (Psa_60:7) it waxes more and more eloquent. ְ‫ל‬ ‫ב‬ ֵ‫ּוב‬‫שׁ‬ here signifies to grant
restoration (like ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫יח‬ִ‫נ‬ ֵ‫,ה‬ to give rest; Psa_23:3; Isa_58:12). The word also signifies to
make a turn, to turn one's self away, in which sense, however, it cannot be construed
with ְ‫.ל‬ On ָ ְ‫מ‬ ַ‫צ‬ ְ Dunash has already compared Arab. fᑑm, rumpere, scindere, and Mose
ha-Darshan the Targumic ‫ם‬ ֵ ִ = ‫ע‬ ַ‫ר‬ ָ‫,פ‬ Jer_22:14. The deep wounds which the Edomites
had inflicted upon the country, are after all a wrathful visitation of God Himself - reeling
or intoxicating wine, or as ‫ה‬ ָ‫ל‬ ֵ‫ע‬ ְ‫ר‬ ַ ‫ן‬ִ‫י‬ַ‫י‬ (not ‫ין‬ֵ‫,)י‬ properly conceived of, is: wine which is sheer
intoxication (an apposition instead of the genitive attraction, vid., on Isa_30:20), is
reached out by Him to His people. The figure of the intoxicating cup has passed over
from the Psalms of David and of Asaph to the prophets (e.g., Isa_51:17, Isa_51:21). A
kindred thought is expressed in the proverb: Quem Deus perdere vult, eum dementat.
All the preterites as far as ‫נוּ‬ ָ‫ית‬ ִ‫ק‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫ה‬ (Psa_60:5) glance back plaintively at that which has
been suffered.
But Psa_60:6 cannot be thus intended; for to explain with Ewald and Hitzig, following
the lxx, “Thou hast set up a banner for those who reverence Thee, not for victory, but for
flight,” is inadmissible, notwithstanding the fact that ‫ת‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫ק‬ ‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ ִ‫מ‬ nuwc is a customary
phrase and the inscribed ‫ד‬ ֵ ַ‫ל‬ ְ‫ל‬ is favourable to the mention of the bow. For (1) The
words, beginning with ָ ַ‫ת‬ָ‫,נ‬ do not sound like an utterance of something worthy of
complaint - in this case it ought at least to have been expressed by ‫ס‬ ֵ‫ּוס‬‫נ‬ ְ‫ת‬ ִ‫ה‬ ְ‫ל‬ ְ‫ך‬ ַ‫ע‬ (only for
flight, not for victory); (2) it is more than improbable that the bow, instead of being
called ‫ת‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫ק‬ (feminine of the Arabic masculine kaus), is here, according to an incorrect
Aramaic form of writing, called ‫ט‬ ֶ‫ּשׁ‬‫ק‬, whereas this word in its primary form ְ‫ט‬ ְ‫ּשׁ‬‫ק‬ (Pro_
22:21) corresponds to the Aramaic ‫א‬ ָ‫ט‬ ְ‫קוּשׁ‬ not in the signification “a bow,” but (as it is also
intended in the Targum of our passage) in the signification “truth” (Arabic ᐡisᑛ of strict
unswerving justice, root ‫,קש‬ to be hard, strong, firm; just as, vice versa, the word ᑑidᐡ,
coming from a synonymous root, is equivalent to “truth”). We therefore take the perfect
predication, like Psa_60:4, as the foundation of the prayer which follows: Thou hast
given those who fear Thee a banner to muster themselves (sich aufpanieren), i.e., to
raise themselves as around a standard or like a standard, on account of the truth - help

20. then, in order that Thy beloved ones may be delivered, with Thy right hand, and answer
me. This rendering, in accordance with which Psa_60:6 expresses the good cause of
Israel in opposition to its enemies, is also favoured by the heightened effect of the music,
which comes in here, as Sela prescribes. The reflexive ‫התנוסס‬ here therefore signifies not,
as Hithpal. of ‫,נוּס‬ “to betake one's self to flight,” but “to raise one's self” - a signification
on behalf of which we cannot appeal to Zec_9:16, where ‫ּות‬‫ס‬ ֲ‫ּוס‬‫נ‬ ְ‫ת‬ ִ‫מ‬ is apparently equivalent
to ‫ּות‬‫צ‬ ֲ‫ּוצ‬‫נ‬ ְ‫ת‬ ִ‫מ‬ “sparkling,” but which here results from the juxtaposition with ‫ס‬ֵ‫נ‬ (cf. ‫ה‬ ָ‫ס‬ְ‫,נ‬
Psa_4:7), inasmuch as ‫ס‬ֵ‫נ‬ itself, like Arab. naᑑᑑun, is so called from ‫ס‬ ַ‫ס‬ָ‫,נ‬ Arab. naᑑᑑ, to set
up, raise, whether it be that the Hithpo. falls back upon the Kal of the verb or that it is
intended as a denominative (to raise one's self as a banner, sich aufpanieren).
(Note: This expression wel illustrates the power of the German language in coining
words, so that the language critically dealt with may be exactly reproduced to the
German mind. The meaning will at once be clear when we inform our readers that
Panier is a banner of standard; the reflexive denominative, therefore, in imitation of
the Hebrew, sich aufpanieren signifies to “up-standard one's self,” to raise one's self
up after the manner of a standard, which being “done into English” may mean to
rally (as around a standard). We have done our best above faithfully to convey the
meaning of the German text, and we leave our readers to infer from this illustration
the difficulties with which translators have not unfrequently to contend. - Tr.])
It is undeniable that not merely in later (e.g., Neh_5:15), but also even in older Hebrew,
‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ ִ‫מ‬ denotes the reason and motive (e.g., Deu_28:20). Moreover Ps 44 is like a
commentary on this ‫ט‬ ֶ‫ּשׁ‬‫ק‬ ‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ ִ‫,מ‬ in which the consciousness of the people of the covenant
revelation briefly and comprehensively expresses itself concerning their vocation in the
world. Israel looks upon its battle against the heathen, as now against Edom, as a rising
for the truth in accordance with its mission. By reason of the fact and of the
consciousness which are expressed in Psa_60:6, arises the prayer in Psa_60:7, that
Jahve would interpose to help and to rescue His own people from the power of the
enemy. ָ‫ך‬ְ‫ֽינ‬ ִ‫מ‬ְ‫י‬ is instrumental (vid., on Psa_3:5). It is to be read ‫י‬ִ‫נ‬ֵ‫נ‬ ֲ‫ע‬ according to the Kerî,
as in Psa_108:7, instead of ‫נוּ‬ֵ‫נ‬ ֲ‫;ע‬ so that here the king of Israel is speaking, who, as he
prays, stands in the place of his people.
BI 1-12, "O God, Thou hast cast us off; Thou hast scattered us.
A psalm of defeat
In our own language we possess many fine songs of patriotism. It would be impossible to
overestimate the value of such a song as “Scots wha hae” as a means of keeping alive
patriotic sentiments in the breasts of the people. What a treasure it would be if we had a
dozen other incidents from the great epochs of our history embalmed in equally
immortal verse and sung at every fireside. The Hebrews had their history thus set to
music; and the poetical commentary on their national fortunes reaches down to the very
bottom of their meaning, for it reads them in the light of eternal truth.
I. A patriot’s depression (Psa_60:1-5). The enemy had invaded the country, and there
was sufficient force to withstand them. So great was the panic that the inhabitants were
like drunken men, unable to comprehend the extent of their calamity and unable to
stand up against it (Psa_60:3). But the worst was that it was a triumph of the heathen

21. over the people of the true God, to whom a banner had been given to display because of
the truth (Psa_60:4). The humblest Christian has received a banner to display because
of the truth. We are working for a cause which is old as eternity and lofty as heaven. Our
personal success or defeat is nothing; but the victory of the truth is everything. This
great verse was given out by Ebenezer Erskine beneath the castle walls of Stirling when
he and his congregation were turned out of the Church of Scotland; and it has been
connected with other great historical scenes in the history of the Church.
II. The promise recalled (Psa_60:6-8). At this point a change comes over the spirit of
the writer. Prayer has brought him to himself. We are either to suppose that, in reply to
an inquiry addressed to God, perhaps through the Urim and Thummim, he receives an
oracle on the situation, or that, his memory being quickened by a sudden inspiration, he
recalls an ancient oracle, given in some similar crisis, in which God promises to His
anointed king the complete possession of the Holy Land and also the subjection of the
neighbouring peoples. The oracle is quoted after the psalmist has expressed his joy at
recalling it. God promises to divide Shechem, as at the Conquest under Joshua He
divided the different parts of the land to the various tribes, and to mete out the valley of
Succoth. Why these two places are specially mentioned, it is impossible now to say. They
may have been strongholds of the enemy. Then (verse 7) Gilead and Manasseh, which
stand for the part of the country beyond the Jordan, are claimed by God as His. And of
Ephraim and Judah, which represent the division west of the Jordan, it is said that the
one shall be His helmet (“the strength of mine head”) and the other His sceptre (not
“lawgiver”). As the Holy Land is represented by these well-known parts, the hostile
nations, which are to be subjugated, are represented by Israel’s three well-known foes—
Moab, Edom, and Philistia. And, as the positions which Ephraim and Judah were to
occupy are depicted by saying that they are to fulfil the honourable offices of helmet and
sceptre to God, the fate of the hostile nations is similarly depicted by representing them
as fulfilling to Him the basest offices (verse 8). Moab is to be the vessel in which He
washes His feet when coming home from a journey, and Edom the slave to whom, in so
doing, He flings the dusty sandals which He has taken off; while Philistia is to grace his
triumph. In this way the psalmist rallied his spirit in an hour of disaster. And, in fighting
the Lord’s battles, we can similarly fall back on the promise recorded in the second
psalm, that the heathen shall be given to Christ and the uttermost parts of the earth for
His possession. The humblest Christian can fall back on the promise that none shall
pluck him out of Christ’s hand, and that the good work which God has begun shall be
perfected.
III. The return of hope (verses 9-12). At verse 9 he turns to face the crisis which in the
first part of the psalm he had bewailed. He sees the difficulty of the situation. Edom is a
strong enemy, and its capital, Petra, a “strong city.” “The entrance to it,” says a traveller,
“is by a narrow gorge lined by lofty precipices, nearly two miles in length. At some places
the overhanging rocks approach so near to each other that only two horsemen can
proceed abreast.” Who, asks the psalmist, is to bring me thither? And the answer is,
None but God. For a time He had deserted them, perhaps because they had been
trusting to themselves or to their past victories. They needed to be humbled and to learn
the lesson that “vain is the help of man” (verse 11). But defeat had taught them this
lesson; and now they are trusting only in their God. When God’s servants have reached
this state of mind, nothing can stand before them. And so this psalm, which began in
panic and tears, ends with the trumpet note of hope (verse 12). (J. Stalker.)

22. 2 You have shaken the land and torn it open;
mend its fractures, for it is quaking.
BAR ES, "Thou hast made the earth to tremble - This refers, doubtless, to
some calamity that might be compared with an earthquake - some disaster,
discomfiture, or defeat that had shaken their hopes, as a city is shaken by an earthquake.
Such comparisons are common in the Scriptures.
Thou hast broken it - As if it were broken up, or convulsed.
Heal the breaches thereof - That is, Appear for thy people, and repair their
disasters, as if after an earthquake thou shouldst appear and fill up the rents which it
had made. The prayer is that he would place things in their former condition of
prosperity and success.
For it shaketh - It is convulsed or agitated. That is, there is still commotion. Things
are unsettled and disturbed. The prayer is, that there might be stability or continued
success.
GILL, "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 (m) 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 earthquake in it, but a figurative one; a shaking and
rending of their civil and church state; see Heb_12:26;
heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh; which will be done in the latter day,
when they shall return into their own land, and be restored as at the beginning, Isa_
30:30.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 2. Thou hast made the earth to tremble. Things were as
unsettled as though the solid earth had been made to quake; nothing was stable; the
priests had been murdered by Saul, the worst men had been put in office, the
military power had been broken by the Philistines, and the civil authority had
grown despicable through insurrections and intestine contests.
Thou hast broken it. As the earth cracks, and opens itself in rifts during violent
earthquakes, so was the kingdom rent with strife and calamity.

23. Heal the breaches thereof. As a house in time of earthquake is shaken, and the walls
begin to crack, and gape with threatening fissures, so was it with the kingdom.
For it shaketh. It tottered to a fall; if not soon propped up and repaired it would
come down in complete ruin. So far gone was Israel, that only God's interposition
could preserve it from utter destruction. How often have we seen churches in this
condition, and how suitable is the prayer before us, in which the extremity of the
need is used as an argument for help. The like may be said of our personal religion,
it is sometimes so tried, that like a house shaken by earthquake it is ready to come
down with a crash, and none but the Lord himself can repair its breaches, and save
us from utter destruction.
EXPLA ATORY OTES A D QUAI T SAYI GS
Ver. 2. Heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh. They pray that this may be done
with the utmost speed, because there was a danger in delay, for the kingdom was
already pressed down with a heavy calamity, and on the brink of ruin, which is
signified by the word hjm whose origin is in a very strong and tremulous inclination
to one side, properly from the application of a lever, and is applied to those who are
leaning so far to one side that they are just on the point of falling; figuratively,
therefore, it expresses a most perilous condition, in which one is on the edge of
destruction. Hermann Venema.
Ver. 2. Heal the breaches thereof. Even Israel is subject to breaches. So it was with
the literal typical Israel, David's kingdom; so it may be with spiritual mystical
Israel, the kingdom of Christ, the church of God upon earth. There are breaches
from without, and breaches from within. I will invert the order. From without, by
open persecution; from within, by intestine and homebred divisions. Of both these
the church of God in all ages hath had sufficient experience. Look we upon the
primitive times, during the infancy of the church, however the soundest and most
entire church that ever was, yet how was it broken! Broken, as by foreign
persecutions, so by homebred divisions. Both these ways was the church during the
apostles' time broken, distressed by enemies from without who persecuted it. John
Brinsley (1600-1665), in "The Healing of Israel's Breaches."
Ver. 2. It shaketh. That is, presaging nothing but ruin and downfall, unless it be
speedily underpropped, and the breaches thereof made up and healed. Thus did
David look upon Israel's disease, and hereupon it was that he was so deeply affected
with it, so earnestly desiring the cure of it. The reference, as interpreters conceive, is
to those homebred divisions, those civil wars betwixt the two houses of Saul and
David, after the death of Saul: then did the "earth, "the land, that land of Israel (as
the Chaldee explains it), quake and tremble, being broken, riven (as the word in the
original signifieth): even as the earth sometimes by earthquakes is riven, and torn
asunder with prodigious chasms, openings, or gapings: so was that kingdom divided
in those civil commotions, the nobles and commons taking parts and siding, some
with David, some with Ishbosheth. John Brinsley.
TRAPP, "Psalms 60:2 Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it:
heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
Ver. 2. Thou hast made the earth to tremble] By sundry fearful and dismal fractions

24. and concussions in our state.
Thou hast broken it] In allusion to earthquakes.
Heal the breaches thereof] Remedy the disorders, and cure the diseases, like a good
physician. The Greeks call a king αναξ αβ ακος, Medela from his healing office; God
is Jehovah, the physician, the Sun of righteousness hath healing under his wings.
For it shaketh] utat ac mox ruitura videtur it will surely down if not timely shored
up.
COKE, "Psalms 60:2. Thou hast made the earth to tremble— The land. By this
figurative expression the Scripture frequently denotes extraordinary troubles and
calamities: Compare Isaiah 23:13; Isaiah 29:6. And such were the dreadful
commotions and miserable divisions among David's people.
PETT, "Psalms 60:2
‘You have made the land to tremble, you have torn it in two,
Heal its breaches, for it shakes.’
He pictures the land as having been devastated, almost as though a severe
earthquake had struck it (compare Isaiah 24:18-20). Through the invasion God has
made them tremble, and rent them apart, and devastated their towns, and shaken
them, and he prays that He will therefore now put right the damage that has been
done, and heal the breaches that have been made. He is not just sending Joab to deal
with the situation, but calling on God to play His essential part.
We too, when we recognise that God has dealt with us in this way, should also call
on God for His forgiveness and healing, looking to Him for restoration.
3 You have shown your people desperate times;
you have given us wine that makes us stagger.

25. BAR ES, "Thou hast showed thy people hard things - Thou hast caused them
to see reverses, disappointments, and trials. This refers, according to the supposition in
the Introduction to the psalm, to some calamitous events which had occurred. The
probability seems to be that the Edomites may have spread desolation over the land.
Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment - The word rendered
“astonishment” - ‫תרעלה‬ tar‛êlâh - occurs only here and in Isa_51:17, Isa_51:22 - in both
of which verses in Isaiah it is rendered trembling. It means properly reeling,
drunkenness; and the idea here is, that it was as if he had given them a cup - that is, an
intoxicating drink - which had caused them to reel as a drunken man; or, in other words,
their efforts had been unsuccessful. Compare Psa_11:6, note; Isa_51:17, note.
CLARKE, "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 Psa_85:1-13 : do not agree with the rest of that
Psalm. But let them change places, and the three first verses of this be set instead of the
three first verses of Psa lxxxv., and let those be placed here instead of these and then the
whole of each Psalm will be consistent. This was first suggested by Bishop Hare, and the
supposition seems to be well founded. Some imagine that the whole of the Psalm refers
to the distracted state of the land after the death of Saul till the time that David was
anointed king over all Israel, at Hebron; others, to the disastrous war with the Syrians.
See before.
GILL, "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", Hos_1:9; and these were hard things to flesh
and blood, yet no other than what they deserved;
thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment; or "of trembling" (n), Isa_
51:17; that is, to endure such troubles as made them tremble, and astonished and
stupefied them; took away their senses, and made them unfit for anything, being smitten
with madness, blindness, and astonishment of heart, as is threatened them, Deu_28:28;
see Rom_11:7.
JAMISO , "drink ... wine of astonishment — literally, “of staggering” - that is,
made us weak (compare Psa_75:8; Isa_51:17, Isa_51:22).

26. CALVI , "3.Thou hast showed thy people hard things He says, first, that the nation
had been dealt with severely, and then adds a figure which may additionally
represent the grievousness of its calamities, speaking of it as drunk with the wine of
stupor or astonishment. Even the Hebraist interpreters are not agreed among
themselves as to the meaning of ‫,תרעלה‬ tarelah, which I have rendered astonishment.
Several of them translate it poison. But it is evident that the Psalmist alludes to some
kind of poisoned drink, which deprives a person of his senses, insinuating that the
Jews were stupified by their calamities. (383) He would place, in short, before their
eyes the curse of God, which had pressed upon the government of Saul, and induce
them to abandon their obstinate attempts to maintain the interests of a throne which
lay under the divine reprobation.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 3. Thou hast showed thy people hard things. Hardships had
been heaped upon them, and the psalmist traces these rigorous providences to their
fountainhead. othing had happened by chance, but all had come by divine design
and with a purpose, yet for all that things had gone hard with Israel. The psalmist
claims that they were still the Lord's own people, though in the first verse he had
said, "thou hast cast us off." The language of complaint is usually confused, and
faith in time of trouble ere long contradicts the desponding statements of the flesh.
Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment. Our afflictions have made us
like men drunken with some potent and bitter wine; we are in amazement,
confusion, delirium; our steps reel, and we stagger as those about to fall. The great
physician gives his patients potent potions to purge out their abounding and deep
seated diseases. Astonishing evils bring with them astonishing results. The grapes of
the vineyard of sin produce a wine which fills the most hardened with anguish when
justice compels them to quaff the cup. There is a fire water of anguish of soul which
even to the righteous makes a cup of trembling, which causes them to be exceeding
sorrowful almost unto death. When grief becomes so habitual as to be our drink,
and to take the place of our joys, becoming our only wine, then are we in an evil case
indeed.
EXPLA ATORY OTES A D QUAI T SAYI GS
Ver. 3. Thou hast showed thy people hard things. God will be sure to plough his own
ground, whatsoever becometh of the waste; and to weed his own garden, though the
rest of the world should be let alone to grow wild. John Trapp.
Ver. 3. Thou hast given us to drink infatuation, or bewilderment, as men drink
wine. So Hupfeld explains the constructions, referring to Psalms 80:5, "Thou hast
made them feed upon weeping like bread; "1 Kings 22:27, "Feed him with affliction
as bread, and with affliction as water" uxl mymw; Isaiah 30:20. But the apposition
is capable of being explained in another way, for the second noun may in fact be a
predicate further defining the first: "Thou hast given us wine to drink which is (not
wine, but) bewilderment." J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Ver. 3. The wine of astonishment. "Intoxicating wine." Hebrew, "Wine of
staggering, "that is, which causeth staggering, or, in other words, intoxicating. Some
render, "wine of stupor, "or stupefying. Symmachus, "wine of agitation, "and this
sense I have adopted which is also that of the Syriac. Benjamin Boothroyd.
ELLICOTT, "(3) Hard things—i.e., a hard fate.

27. Wine of astonishment.—Literally, either wine of reeling—i.e., an intoxicating
draught—or wine as reeling—i.e., bewilderment like wine, or wine, which is not
wine, but bewilderment, according as we take the construction.
In any case the figure is the same which meets us often in Hebrew poetry (comp.
Psalms 75:8-9; Isaiah 51:17; Isaiah 51:22; Jeremiah 25:15, &c) expressing that
infatuation which the heathen proverb so well describes:—
“Quem Deus vult perdere prius dementat.”
TRAPP, "Psalms 60:3 Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us
to drink the wine of astonishment.
Ver. 3. Thou hast showed thy people hard things] God will be sure to plough his
own ground, whatsoever becometh of the waste; and to weed his own garden,
though the rest of the world should be let alone to grow wild.
Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment] Vinum vacillationis, we are
intoxicated with our afflictions, according to that, Deuteronomy 28:28;
Deuteronomy 28:34, we are drunk with them, or rather mad, and put quite besides
all faith and hope in a manner, Fuimus obstupefacti tanquam venefica potione.
WHEDO , "3. Wine of astonishment—Literally, wine of reeling, or drunkenness,
called the “cup of trembling,” Isaiah 51:17; Isaiah 51:22. This unexpected judgment
had deprived them of strength, as one who reeled and staggered from intoxication.
COKE, "Psalms 60:3. The wine of astonishment— i.e. "Thou hast so dispirited us,
as if thou hadst given us a myrrhate drought." So Dr. Hammond interprets the wine
of astonishment. See on Psalms 11:6 and Zechariah 12:2. Dr. Delaney is of opinion,
that though it is contrary to the title of the present psalm, yet it was composed upon
occasion of David's being crowned by all Israel at Hebron, and there sung, and with
those variations which we find at the 108th psalm, after the taking of Jerusalem.
This I am sure of, and this only I will venture to pronounce, that this golden
memorial of David suits this occasion, and no other that I know of. It was written
when the Israelites were dispersed, and driven out of their dwellings by their
enemies. Thou hast scattered us, Psalms 60:1—When they were in terror, and
divided amongst themselves: Thou hast made the earth to tremble, and divided it.—
This was exactly the condition in which Israel was, from the death of Saul. The
Israelite cities contiguous to the Philistines were deserted by their inhabitants after
the battle of Gilboa; and soon after, the kingdom was divided under David and
Ishbosheth. David now beseeches God to heal the divisions of his people: Heal the
breaches thereof; for it shaketh: and that was done when they all joined to make
David their king at Hebron. God had now given them a centre of union, to which
they might resort, as the forces of a broken army to their standard. Thou hast given

28. a banner, &c. Psalms 60:4. David was the only centre of union that people ever had;
and God now made him their captain and ruler, to manifest the truth of those
promises long since made to him. David here sings in the rapture of a man who had
just recovered his right, Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine.—Gilead and
Manasseh were just before in the possession of Ishbosheth: no king of Israel but
David was ever dispossessed of them and recovered them again. Life of David, book
2: chap. 5.
PETT, "Psalms 60:3
‘You have shown your people hard things,
You have made us drink the wine of staggering.’
But it is not only the land that has been devastated, but also the people. The people
have also experienced hard things, and have been made by God to drink strong wine
that has made them drunk, in other words, to experience His indignation in a way
that has made them stagger. “Drinking the wine of staggering” is a regular picture
of the effect on people of God’s revealed anger (Psalms 75:8; Jeremiah 25:15 ff.;
Isaiah 51:17; Isaiah 51:22). When our foundations are being shaken it may well be
that God has a purpose in shaking our foundations.
4 But for those who fear you, you have raised a
banner
to be unfurled against the bow.[e]
BAR ES, "Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee - The word
rendered “banner” - ‫נס‬ nês - means properly anything elevated or lifted up, and hence, a
standard, a flag, a sign, or a signal. It may refer to a standard reared on lofty mountains
or high places during an invasion of a country, to point out to the people a place of
rendezvous or a rallying place Isa_5:26; Isa_11:12; Isa_18:3; or it may refer to a
standard or ensign borne by an army; or it may refer to the flag of a ship, Eze_27:7; Isa_
33:23. Here it doubtless refers to the flag, the banner, the standard of an army; and the
idea is that God had committed such a standard to his people that they might go forth as
soldiers in his cause. They were enlisted in his service, and were fighting his battles.

29. That it may be displayed because of the truth - In the cause of truth; or, in the
defense of justice and right. It was not to be displayed for vain parade or ostentation; it
was not to be unfolded in an unrighteous or unjust cause; it was not to be waved for the
mere purpose of carrying desolation, or of securing victory; it was that a righteous cause
might be vindicated, and that the honor of God might be promoted. This was the reason
which the psalmist now urges why (God should interpose and repair their disasters -
that it was his cause, and that they were appointed to maintain and defend it. What was
true then of the people of God, is true of the church now. God has given to his church a
banner or a standard that it may wage a war of justice, righteousness, and truth; that it
may be employed in resisting and overcoming his enemies; that it may carry the
weapons of truth and right against all injustice, falsehood, error, oppression, and wrong;
that it may ever be found on the side of humanity and benevolence - of virtue,
temperance, liberty, and equality; and that it may bear the great principles of the true
religion to every territory of the enemy, until the whole world shall be subdued to God.
CLARKE, "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, (Psa_60:1-3),
it was because of thy truth - the promises of victory which we supposed would attend us
at all times.
Mr. Mudge, thus: “Thou givest to them that fear thee a signal to be displayed before
the truth. That thy favored ones may be delivered, clothe thy right arm with victory, and
answer us. God speaketh in his sanctuary, I will exult; I shall portion out Shechem, and
measure the valley of Succoth.” The fourth verse seems to mean that God had appointed
for the consolation of his people a certain signal of favor, with which therefore he prays
him to answer them. This, accordingly, he does. God speaketh in his sanctuary, called
rybd debir or oracle for that very reason. What he desires then, as he stands imploring
the mercy of God before the oracle, is, that he may see the usual signal of favor proceed
from it; a voice, perhaps joined with some luminous emanations, whence the phrase of
the light of God’s countenance. The expression in the sixth verse seems to be proverbial,
and means, “I shall divide the spoils of my enemies with as much ease as the sons of
Jacob portioned out Shechem, and measured out for their tents the valley of Succoth.”
Mr. Harmer gives a very ingenious illustration of the giving the banner. “Albertus
Aquensis informs us that when Jerusalem was taken in 1099 by the crusaders, about
three hundred Saracens got on the roof of a very high building, and earnestly begged for
quarter; but could not be induced by any promises of safety to come down, till they had
received the banner of Tanered, one of the crusade generals, as a pledge of life. The event
showed the faithlessness of these zealots, they put the whole to the sword. But the
Saracens surrendering themselves upon the delivering of a standard to them, proves in
how strong a light they looked upon the giving a banner, since it induced them to trust it,
when they would not trust any promises. Perhaps the delivery of a banner was anciently
esteemed in like manner an obligation to protect; and the psalmist might here consider
it in this light when he says, Thou hast shown thy people hard things; but thou hast

30. given a banner to them that fear thee. Though thou didst for a time give up thy Israel
into the hands of their enemies, thou hast now given them an assurance of thy having
received them under thy protection. Thus God gave them a banner or standard that it
might be displayed, or lifted up; or rather, that they may lift up a banner to themselves,
or encourage themselves with the confident persuasion that they are under the
protection of God: because of the truth - the word of promise, which is an assurance of
protection - like the giving me and my people a banner, the surest of pledges.” -
Harmer’s Observations. See at the end of the chapter.
GILL, "Thou hast given a banner,.... The word ‫נס‬ is, by Jarchi, taken to signify
"temptation" or "trial" (o); 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 some among them, who are here described, when the rest were involved
in the greatest calamities, signified by a "banner" or "ensign" given them; by which is
meant, not so much David literally, and the victory he obtained over the Syrians and
Edomites, of which the banner displayed might be a token; but the Messiah, who is said
to be given for a banner, or set up as an ensign for the people, Isa_11:10; for the
gathering of them to him, to prepare them for war, and animate them to fight the good
fight of faith, and oppose every enemy; to direct where they should stand to be on duty,
where they should go, and whom they should follow; and is expressive of the victory over
sin, Satan, and the world, they have through him: and this is given
to them that fear thee; who have the grace of fear put into their hearts; who fear the
Lord and his goodness, and serve him with reverence and godly fear; who worship him
both inwardly and outwardly, in spirit and in truth, whether among Jews or Gentiles,
though the former may be chiefly intended; such as old Simeon, Anna the prophetess,
and others, to whom Christ was made known; and especially the apostles of Christ, and
those to whom their ministry became useful; whose business it was to display this
banner, set up this ensign, and hold out this flag; as it follows:
that it may be displayed because of the truth; not because of the truth of
Abraham, as the Targum; nor because of the truth, sincerity, and uprightness, of those
that fear the Lord; but because of his own truth and faithfulness in the performance of
his promises made concerning the displaying of this banner; or the sending of his son
into the world, and the preaching of his Gospel in it; see Rom_15:8.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psa_3:2.
HE RY, " A thankful notice of the encouragement God had given them to hope that,
though things had been long bad, they would now begin to mend (Psa_60:4): “Thou
hast given a banner to those that fear thee (for, as bad as the times are, there is a
remnant among us that desire to fear thy name, for whom thou hast a tender concern),
that it may be displayed by thee, because of the truth of thy promise which thou wilt
perform, and to be displayed by them, in defense of truth and equity,” Psa_45:4. This
banner was David's government, the establishment and enlargement of it over all Israel.

31. The pious Israelites, who feared God and had a regard to the divine designation of David
to the throne, took his elevation as a token for good, and like the lifting up of a banner to
them, 1. It united them, as soldiers are gathered together to their colours. Those that
were scattered (Psa_60:1), divided among themselves, and so weakened and exposed,
coalesced in him when he was fixed upon the throne. 2. It animated them, and put life
and courage into them, as the soldiers are animated by the sight of their banner. 3. It
struck a terror upon their enemies, to whom they could now hang out a flag of defiance.
Christ, the Son of David, is given for an ensign of the people (Isa_11:10), for a banner to
those that fear God; in him, as the centre of their unity, they are gathered together in
one; to him they seek, in him they glory and take courage. His love is the banner over
them; in his name and strength they wage war with the powers of darkness, and under
him the church becomes terrible as an army with banners.
JAMISO , "Yet to God’s banner they will rally, and pray that, led and sustained by
His power (right hand, Psa_17:7; Psa_20:6), they may be safe.
CALVI , "4Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee. Some interpreters
would change the past tense, and read the words as if they formed a continuation of
the prayers which precede — O that thou wouldst give a banner to them that fear
thee! (386) But it is better to suppose that David diverges to the language of
congratulation, and, by pointing to the change which had taken place, calls attention
to the evident appearances of the divine favor. He returns thanks to God, in the
name of all the people, for having raised a standard which might at once cheer their
hearts, and unite their divided numbers. (387) It is a poor and meagre interpretation
which some have attached to the words, before the truth, that God showed favor to
the Jews because he had found them true-hearted, and sound in his cause. Those in
the higher ranks had, as is well known, proved eminently disloyal; the common
people had, along with their king, broken their divine allegiance: from the highest to
the lowest in the kingdom all had conspired to overthrow the gracious purpose of
God. It is evident, then, that David refers to the truth of God as having emerged in a
signal manner, now that the Church began to be restored. This was an event which
had not been expected. Indeed, who did not imagine, in the desperate circumstances,
that God’s promises had altogether failed? But when David mounted the throne, his
truth, which had been so long obscured, again shone forth. The advantage which
ensued extended to the whole nation; but David intimates that God had a special
respect to his own people, whose deliverance, however few they might be in number,
he particularly contemplated.
He next proceeds to address God again in prayer; although, I may observe in
passing, the words which follow, that thy beloved may be delivered, are read by
some in connection with the preceding verse. I am myself inclined to adopt that
construction; for David would seem to magnify the illustration which had been
given of the divine favor, by adverting to the change which had taken place, (388)
God having inspirited his people so far as to display a banner; where, formerly, they
were reduced to a state of extremity, from which it seemed impossible to escape

32. without a miracle. In the previous verse he calls them fearers of the Lord, and now
his beloved; implying that, when God rewards such as fear and worship him, it is
always with a respect to his own free love. And prayer is subjoined: for however
great may be the favors which God has bestowed upon us, modesty and humility
will teach us always to pray that he would perfect what his goodness has begun.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 4. Here the strain takes a turn. The Lord has called back to
himself his servants, and commissioned them for his service, presenting them with a
standard to be used in his wars.
Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee. Their afflictions had led them to
exhibit holy fear, and then being fitted for the Lord's favour, he gave them an
ensign, which would be both a rallying point for their hosts, a proof that he had sent
them to fight, and a guarantee of victory. The bravest men are usually intrusted
with the banner, and it is certain that those who fear God must have less fear of man
than any others. The Lord has given us the standard of the gospel, let us live to
uphold it, and if needful die to defend it. Our right to contend for God, and our
reason for expecting success, are found in the fact that the faith has been once
committed to the saints, and that by the Lord himself.
That it may be displayed because of the truth. Banners are for the breeze, the sun,
the battle. Israel might well come forth boldly, for a sacred standard was borne aloft
before them. To publish the gospel is a sacred duty, to be ashamed of it a deadly sin.
The truth of God was involved in the triumph of David's armies, he had promised
them victory; and so in the proclamation of the gospel we need feel no hesitancy, for
as surely as God is true he will give success to his own word. For the truth's sake,
and because the true God is on our side, let us in these modern days of warfare
emulate the warriors of Israel, and unfurl our banners to the breeze with confident
joy. Dark signs of present or coming ill must not dishearten us; if the Lord had
meant to destroy us he would not have given us the gospel; the very fact that he has
revealed himself in Christ Jesus involves the certainty of victory. Magna est veritas
et praevalebit.
Hard things thou hast upon us laid,
And made us drink most bitter wine;
But still thy banner we have displayed,
And borne aloft thy truth divine.
Our courage fails not, though the night
o earthly lamp avails to break,
For thou wilt soon arise in might,
And of our captors captives make.
Selah. There is so much in the fact of a banner being given to the hosts of Israel, so
much of hope, of duty, of comfort, that a pause is fitly introduced. The sense justifies
it, and the more joyful strain of the music necessitates it.
EXPLA ATORY OTES A D QUAI T SAYI GS
Ver. 4. Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee. Perhaps the delivery of a
banner was anciently esteemed an obligation to protect, and that the psalmist might
consider it in this light, when, upon a victory over the Syrians and Edomites, after
the public affairs of Israel had been in a bad state, he says, Thou hast shewed thy

33. people hard things, etc. Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee. Though
thou didst for a time give up thine Israel into the hands of their enemies, thou hast
now given them an assurance of thy having received them under thy protection.
Thomas Harmer (1715-1788), in "Observations on Divers Passages of Scripture."
Ver. 4. Thou hast given a banner, etc. Thou hast given us by the recent victory, after
our prostrate condition, a banner of triumph to lift up (so the Hebrew), because of
thy faithfulness to thy promise. Truth here answers to God's holiness (Psalms 60:6).
So long as soldiers see their banner uplifted, they flock round it with confidence. But
when it is prostrate their spirits and hopes fall. The banner is a pledge of safety, and
a rallying point to those who fight under it. A. R. Faussett.
Ver. 4. Thou hast given a banner, etc. The psalmist compares the salvation which
the Lord bestows upon his people to a highly excellent banner, which serves as a
signal, to one lying prostrate in his misery, to rise up, with an allusion perhaps to
umbers 21:8. "And the Lord said to Moses, Make thee a serpent, and set it upon a
standard pole; and it happened that every one who was bitten, and looked at it,
lived." At any rate, that passage in which the serpent is a symbol of the healing
power of God, may serve to illustrate the passage before us. Compare heal its
breaches. E. W. Hengstenberg.
Ver. 4. A banner, which is a sign or instrument: --
1. Of union. This people, who were lately divided and under several banners, thou
hast now gathered together and united under one banner; to wit, under my
government.
2. Of battle. Thou hast given us an army and power to oppose our enemies. We had
our banner to set against theirs.
3. Of triumph. We have not lost our banner but gained theirs, and brought it away
in triumph. Compare Psalms 20:5. Matthew Poole.
TRAPP, "Psalms 60:4 Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may
be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
Ver. 4. Thou hast given a banner] All the forementioned had formerly befallen
them, but now it began to be better, the scene to be altered, banners erected, and
displayed in token of victory, and for a singular sign of God s favour, in that
juncture of time and deplored condition of theirs.
Because of the truth. Selah] Heb. From the face of the truth, that is, with reference
to thy promises, which thou failest not to fulfil.
WHEDO , "4. Banner—The Hebrew word ‫,נס‬ (nes,) which occurs only here in the
psalms, denotes the military signal which was attached to a long pole and set upon
conspicuous places, as city walls or high hills, as a war-signal to rally the people to
arms; see Isaiah 5:26 ; Isaiah 18:3; Jeremiah 4:6; Jeremiah 4:21; Jeremiah 51:12;
Jeremiah 51:27. It differs from ‫,דגל‬ (degel,) the military standard for each of the
four divisions of the twelve tribes, umbers 2; and from ‫,אות‬ (oth,) the ensign for a
single tribe. umbers 2:2 . Isaiah repeatedly uses it as a signal for assembling the