Psalms 60:1

“Turn Thyself to Us Again”

Psalms 60:1 says “O God, Thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased, O turn thyself to us again.” There were many times in the Old Testament when God became displeased with the Israelites because of their sins. God is never pleased with sin and will eventually punish those that do not repent. King David understood something important though even if a person is suffering from the consequences of sin you can still pray to God for mercy. It is never to late to ask God for mercy unless you are dead then it is too late.

Psalms 60:2-3, “Thou hast made the earth to tremble; Thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh. Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.” When the judgment of God comes there is always astonishment. Astonishment is a word that can mean to reel and tremble. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. We should fear the judgment of God and rely upon His everlasting mercy.

Psalms 60:4-5, “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 hear me.” A banner is a flag and a flag when raised is both a symbol and a place where the people may gather. Why then is a banner mentioned here? Well the people had been scattered and astonished. They would need a banner if they were to come together again.

The banner being spoken about is Jesus Christ. Isaiah 11:10, “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people, to it shall the Gentiles seek: his rest shall be glorious.”

It is Christ that brings unity between people without Christ all men are scattered in darkness. It is Christ that is the rallying point of victory in spiritual warfare.

Psalms 60:6-9, “God hath spoken in His holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver; Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of Me. Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead into Edom?” This is a reference to the fact that certain land, the promised land was promised to the children of Israel.

Psalms chapter 60 certianly describes the current situation of the children of Israel when it says Thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased, and also what will eventually be the final situation when they inherit all the land promised to them by God. The physical circumstances of the Jews symbolize the spiritual circumstances of Christians. In this world Christians are scattered but one day at the return of Christ we will be gathered together with him and receive our spiritual inheritance.

Psalms 60:10-12, “Wilt not Thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? And Thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies? Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for He it is that shall tread down our enemies.”

How thankful we can be that we live in the age of grace and under the law of grace instead of the law of the Old Testament. We will never be cast off the way the Israelites were for their sins. Christ is our banner of truth and he will give us help from trouble.

There are many different kinds of troubles that can come a person’s way. Perhaps war is one of the greatest of troubles is war. War means violence, famine, disease and death. The greatest hope however is not in victory over our physical circumstances. Take for example world war 2 when the Nazis and the communists of Russia fought each other. What hope of victory in the physical sense would there have been for an indivual caught up in that conflict no hope at all against two opposing evil governments because regardless of which side won the conflict a person in that situation would still be under the domination of an evil empire.

Even in times of war when things seem far beyond control we can remember that God helps us and can give victory over the forces of evil. Remember the key victory is always the spiritual victory not the physical victory. Because Christ died for our sins and paid the sin debt there is victory eternal victory.

If you have never turned from your sins to Jesus you can do so today and win the victory over your sins.

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