The Weakness of Man and The Victory of God Psalm...

http://www.BibleStudyWorkshop.com 1

Commentary by Clyde M. Miller Questions by John C. Sewell

The Weakness of Man

and

The Victory of God

Psalm 60:1-12

Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.

http://www.BibleStudyWorkshop.com


The Weakness of Man and the Victory of God

Commentary

by

Clyde M. Miller Text: Psalm 60:1-12, 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 un-furled 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 Phil-istia 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. (NIV)




Introduction: I. For the background of the historical notation in the superscription, see 2 Sam. 8:13; 1 Kings 11:15-16; 1 Chron. 18:12.

A. 2 Samuel 8:13, And David became famous after he re-turned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. (NIV)

B. 1 Kings 11:15, 16, Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. (NIV)

C. 1 Chronicles 18:12, Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. (NIV)

D. This may or may not be the specific setting for the psalm.

II. “The people cry for God to reverse a national defeat. Ps. 60:9 may indicate that the Edomites were the foe, and Ps. 60:10 may reflect a failure to re-engage them successfully. Yet this is only conjecture, for it is not possible to date this psalm exactly. It may have been com-posed for use in some liturgy of prayer or fasting subsequent to the de-feat. The struggle between despair/lamentation and re-assurance fi-nally emerges in a victorious outlook”—Ash.

A. Psalm 60:9, 10, Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Is it not you, O God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies? (NIV)




III. The psalm begins with a lament concerning Israel’s defeat that the psalmist believes is caused by God’s anger (1-4). This is followed by an intense prayer to God for help and a declaration of the response of God (5-8). The psalm ends with a declaration of man’s impotence contrasted with God’s victorious power and action (9-12).

A. Psalm 60:1-4, You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us; you have been angry-now restore us! You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking. You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger. But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be un-furled against the bow. Selah (NIV)

B. Psalm 60:5-8, Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. God has spoken from his sanctuary: "In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Succoth. Gilead is mine, and Ma-nasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter. Moab is my washbasin, upon Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph." (NIV)

C. Psalm 60:9-12, Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Is it not you, O God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies? Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worth-less. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. (NIV)

Lament Over God’s Rejection

Psalm 60:1-4, You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us; you have been angry-now restore us! You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking. You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine




that makes us stagger. But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow. Selah (NIV) Psalm 60:1, You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us; you have been angry-now restore us! (NIV) I. God’s rejection is based on his anger.

A. His anger is obviously caused by his displeasure with Israel because of her breaching covenant with Him (Deut. 28:15-68).

1. Deuteronomy 28:15-68, However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the coun-try. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are de-stroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed. The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your




enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. Your carcasses will be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away. The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be op-pressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you. You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but an-other will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit. Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forci-bly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have noth-ing but cruel oppression all your days. The sights you see will drive you mad. The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations




where the LORD will drive you. You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because lo-custs will devour it. You will plant vineyards and cul-tivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity. Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land. The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail. All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, be-cause you did not obey the LORD your God and ob-serve the commands and decrees he gave you. They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descen-dants forever. Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosper-ity, therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a na-tion whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined. They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified




walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the LORD your God is giving you. Because of the suffering that your en-emy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you. Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffer-ing your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities. The most gentle and sensitive woman among you—so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot—will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For she intends to eat them secretly during the siege and in the distress that your enemy will inflict on you in your cities. If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glori-ous and awesome name—the LORD your God- the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your de-scendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the LORD your God. Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be up-




rooted from the land you are entering to possess. Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, "If only it were evening!" and in the evening, "If only it were morn-ing!"-because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see. The LORD will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and fe-male slaves, but no one will buy you. (NIV)

Psalm 60:2, You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking. (NIV) I. Military defeat is described in the metaphor of an earthquake.

A. God is still set forth as the ultimate cause. Psalm 60:3, You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger. (NIV) I. The metaphor is now changed to that of drunken men who stagger about, unable to defend themselves. Psalm 60:4, But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow. Selah (NIV)




II. “Some consider that this difficult verse continues to speak of defeat (cf. the ancient versions).

A. Thus, it either sarcastically refers to God mustering His peo-ple only to send them to defeat, or, more likely, depicts him helping them escape from the worst.

1. This view suggests that ‘Selah’ concludes the ‘woe’ section of the psalm, and Ps. 60:5 begins the ‘hope’ sec-tion.

a. Psalm 60:5, Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be deliv-ered. (NIV)

2. Others see here a statement of hope.

B. The people ‘rally to’ the ‘banner’ in hopes of successfully en-gaging the enemy.

C. The interpretation depends, in part, on how the last line is un-derstood.

1. One rendering could be ‘to take flight before’ (defeat).

2. Assuming another Hebrew root for the verb, the trans-lation could be ‘to be displayed because of the bow’ in-dicating the regrouping of the people.

a. The Hebrew word translated ‘bow’ means ‘truth’ (cf. RSV note), an unusual word that also occurs in Prov. 22:21.

i. Proverbs 22:21, teaching you true and reliable words, so that you can give




sound answers to him who sent you? (NIV)

b. That reading is possible, but some suppose that the term may be an Aramaic form of the word ‘bow,’ since the words are quite similar”—Ash.

Petition and Response

Psalm 60:5-8, Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. God has spoken from his sanctuary: "In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Succoth. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter. Moab is my washbasin, upon Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph." Psalm 60:5, Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. I. “Save us,” and “help us” are synonymous expressions.

A. “May be delivered” is a similar phrase. II. The “right hand” is a symbol of strength (cf. Ex. 15:6, 12; Pss. 20:6; 45:4; 89:13; 108:6).

A. Exodus 15:6, 12, "Your right hand, O LORD, was ma-jestic in power. Your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy. You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them. (NIV)

B. Psalm 20:6, Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. (NIV)




C. Psalm 45:4, In your majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness; let your right hand display awesome deeds. (NIV)

D. Psalm 89:13, Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted. (NIV)

E. Psalm 108:6, Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. (NIV)

III. “Those who love you” is literally “your beloved”, a term of en-dearment. Psalm 60:6, God has spoken from his sanctuary: "In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Succoth. (NIV) I. Verses 6-8 give God’s response to the plea of verse 5.

A. Psalm 60:5, Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. (NIV)

B. Psalm 60:6-8, God has spoken from his sanctuary: "In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Val-ley of Succoth. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Eph-raim is my helmet, Judah my scepter. Moab is my washbasin, upon Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph." (NIV)

II. “From his sanctuary” may indicate an oracle from a priest, or it may indicate a direct response to the author. III. God will “triumph”, and His strength will be the ultimate cause of victory.




IV. “Shechem” and “the Valley of Succoth” were on either side of the Jordan.

A. These were places where Jacob first resided after he left his labors with Laban (Gen. 33:17-18).

1. Genesis 33:17, 18, Jacob, however, went to Suc-coth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth. After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Ca-naan and camped within sight of the city. (NIV)

B. Shechem was in the heartland west of the Jordan and the Valley of Succoth was east of the Jordan.

C. “Parcel out” and “measure off” describes God’s granting these territories to Israel as an inheritance.

Psalm 60:7, Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter. (NIV) I. “Ephraim”, a prosperous tribe west of the Jordan, and “Manasseh”, straddling the Jordan, combined occupied large territories.

A. God declared them as His.

1. He could therefore assign them as he willed. II. “Helmet” was a metaphor of defense, and “scepter” indicated that Judah was the territory allotted to David and the Southern Kingdom. Psalm 60:8, Moab is my washbasin, upon Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph." (NIV)




I. By contrast, three of Israel’s neighbors would be disgraced.

A. A “washbasin” was used to pour water over the master’s feet, and thus “Moab” would be conquered.

B. “Edom” would have his territory subjugated to God’s people like the casting of the “sandal”, a symbol of taking possession (Ruth 4:8-9).

1. Ruth 4:8, 9, So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself." And he removed his sandal. Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mah-lon. (NIV)

C. “Philistia” was conquered by Israel several times.

Human Impotence and Divine Power Psalm 60:9-12, Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Is it not you, O God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies? Give us aid against the en-emy, for the help of man is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. (NIV) Psalm 60:9, Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? (NIV) I. The answer to the question proffered here is implied in the rhetori-cal question in verse 10.

A. Psalm 60:10, Is it not you, O God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies? (NIV)




II. “Edom” may be taken literally here, in light of verse 8, or as a symbol of any formidable foe to be conquered.

A. Psalm 60:8, Moab is my washbasin, upon Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph." (NIV)

Psalm 60:10, Is it not you, O God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies? (NIV) I. This rhetorical question demands a positive answer.

A. The concept of God’s rejection of Israel reverts to the decla-ration at the beginning of the psalm.

1. Rejection here is defined as God’s not going out with Israel’s armies.

2. This obviously leads to Israel’s defeat (cf. Josh. 7:12).

a. Joshua 7:12, That is why the Israelites can-not stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made li-able to destruction. I will not be with you any-more unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. (NIV)

Psalm 60:11, Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. (NIV) I. This plea is the result of a confession of man’s impotence without God’s help. Psalm 60:12, With God we will gain the victory, and he will tram-ple down our enemies. (NIV)




I. By contrast, with God’s help Israel was assured of victory.

A. “Trample down our enemies” designated complete discomfi-ture.

Application: I. When we are discouraged to the point of despair, we should ask our-selves whether we have left God out of our plans and efforts.

A. Examination of ourselves should provide us with the proper answer.

II. Complete trust in God can often provide us with success beyond our imagination provided our plans are in harmony with God’s will.




Questions

Psalm 60:1-12

(Questions based on NIV text.) 1. The psalmist prayed to God and cited evils the Lord had brought upon Israel. What were these evils? See verses 1-3. _____________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Why had these evils fallen on Israel? ________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. The Psalmist asked God to _________________ them and to mend their _________________. What would Israel have to do to bring about these blessings? _____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. What had God done for those who feared him? See verse 4. _____ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. The psalmist further prayed, “____________________ us and _______________________ us with your ______________________ ____________________, that those you _________________ may be ____________________.” 6. What reply did God make from his sanctuary? What was God’s sanctuary? See verses 6-8. __________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. The psalmist further asked, “Who will bring me to the ______________ _________________? Who will _______________ me to ___________________?” 8. The psalmist answers with a question, “Is it not _______________, _____________ _______________, you who have _______________ us and no _______________ _______________ _________________ with our __________________?” 9. The psalmist asked God, “_______________ us _______________ against the _____________________, for the __________________ of ___________________ is ___________________.” 10. Did God answer this prayer? _________________ Give evidence to support your answer. ____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11. The psalm ends with a confident statement, viz., “With _______________ we will _______________ the _______________, and he will ______________ ______________ our _____________.” 12. What was the historical background of Psalm 60? _____________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 13. Outline Psalm 60. ______________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 14. What figurative language, metaphors are found in Psalm 60? What does each figure represent? ____________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 15. What made God so angry with Israel? ______________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




16. What does the woe section of this psalm end and the hope section begin? __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17. Right hand is a symbol of strength. Give biblical examples of this use of the term. ___________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 18. Geographically locate Shechem, the valley of Succoth, Moab, Edom and Philistia. ________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 19. In what way were these places related to Israel? Why were they mentioned in Psalm 60? ____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




20. What lessons to live by does Psalm 60 teach you? ____________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



The Weakness of Man and The Victory of God Psalm...

Documents

Transcript of The Weakness of Man and The Victory of God Psalm...