Psalm 60:1-12 · Psalm 60

1 You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us; you have been angry-now restore us!

2 You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking.

3 You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger.

4 But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow. Selah

5 Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered.

6 God has spoken from his sanctuary: "In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Succoth.

7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter.

8 Moab is my washbasin, upon Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph."

9 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

10 Is it not you, O God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies?

11 Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.

12 With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.

“Human Help Is Worthless”
Psalm 60:1-12
Teach the Text
by C. Hassell Bullock
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Big Idea: When life’s defeats have no explanation, we must affirm victory by God’s help, for all human help, without God, is worthless.

Understanding the Text

Psalm 60, judging from the first-person plural pronouns (“us,” “our,” “we”), is a community lament, prayed by the congregation after Israel’s daunting defeat in battle, perhaps by the Edomites (60:8b). In the psalms of lament, the complaint can take one of three directions, or any combination: against God, against oneself, and against one’s enemies.1Here the complaint is against God (60:1–3, 10). Like the Asaph psalms (Pss. 50; 73–83), which sometimes contain a direct word from God (50:7–15, 16b–23; 75:2–5; 81:6–16), Psalm 60 also contains such a word, spoken by a prophet or priest, or perhaps even the king, who is the psalmist, …

Baker Publishing Group, Teaching the Text, by C. Hassell Bullock