Psalms 60:1

“O God, thou hast cast us off, etc.] What is said in this verse, and (<196002>Psalm 60:2,3), 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…”

“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) (Sa2 10:16). Aram-zobah--Syria of Zobah (Sa2 10:6), to whose king the king of the former was tributary. The war with Edom, by Joab and Abishai (Ch2 18:12, Ch2 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…”

“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 Psalms 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 Samuel 8:0; 1 Chronicles 18:0; probably to the fact that the Edomites had taken occasion to invade the southern part of Palestine, and that the forces…”

“Ps 60 The psalmist laments a national defeat and cries out to God for rescue. 60:title useful for teaching: This psalm was taught to young people as part of their education. • regarding the time: See 2 Sam 8:13-14. • Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah refer to the Arameans of northwest Mesopotamia and Syria (see study note on Gen 24:10). • The tune “Lily of the Testimony” is unknown today. 60:1-4 When God’s people experience his discipline, they affirm their loyalty and await God’s answer.”

“Michtam: or, a golden Psalm, Psa 59:1 \*title when he strove: Sa2 8:3, Sa2 8:12, Sa2 8:13, Sa2 10:16; Ch1 18:3, Ch1 18:12, Ch1 18:13, Ch1 19:16-19 valley: Kg2 14:7; Ch2 25:11 O God: Psa 60:10, Psa 44:9, Psa 74:1, Psa 89:38, Psa 108:11; Ch1 28:9; Rom 11:1, Rom 11:2 scattered: Heb. broken, Psa 59:11; Sa1 4:10, Sa1 4:11, Sa1 4:17, Sa1 13:6, Sa1 13:7, Sa1 13:11, Sa1 13:19-22, Sa1 31:1-7 O turn: Psa 79:9, Psa 89:3, Psa 89:7, Psa 89:19, Psa 85:4, Psa 90:13; Lam 3:31, Lam 3:32; Zac 10:6 Psalms 60:2”

“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 פּרצתּנוּ is intended becomes clear from Sa2 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 תּשׁובב לנוּ in the form of a wish; then in רפה ( Psa 60:4) and הושׁיעה ( Psa 60:7) it waxes more and more eloquent. שׁובב ל here signifies to grant restoration (like הניח ל, to give rest; Psa 23:3; Isa 58:12). The word also signifies to make…”