Psalms 60:1

The Bible says in Psalms 60:1, “O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.” Christians need to be close to the Lord. No believer will be happy without a close relationship to the Savior. In the case of the Israelites, their peace and security as a nation was at risk when the Lord was displeased with them. It is called chastisement. But God is very merciful. Just ask Jesus to forgive you and He will.

The Bible says in Psalms 60:2-3, “Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.[3] Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.” David looks at the sorrows that happened to Israel, and David knew that these were the hand of God. God does all things. God permits whatever happens. If God has “broken it,” then God can “heal” it. David did not lose faith or get discouraged when “hard” things happened. David kept looking to the Lord, knowing that the Lord can fix things.

The Bible says in Psalms 60:4, “Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.” David understood something about God: God wants to use every single believer in God’s work of spreading the truth to the rest of the world. Jesus wants to use you. When He called you to come to know Him as Savior, He also called you to be a part of His work. A banner is something that is displayed with a message. Your banner is your testimony of what Jesus has done for you. That is how God’s “truth” gets spread to the rest of the world. God has something for you to do, and He is not going to give up on you. The Lord is always working in your life to make you a more useful instrument for His glory. We are God’s workmanship. It says in First Thessalonians 5:24, “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”

The Bible says in Psalms 60:5, “That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me.” David knew that God loved him. That should be easy to believe because we are told that truth many times in the Bible. For example, it says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” It says in First John 4:10, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” It says in John 13:1, “…having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.” Once you know that God loves you with a great and eternal love, it should be easy for you to pray and know that He hears you and that He will deliver you from whatever you are going through.

The Bible says in Psalms 60:6-10, “God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.[7] Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;[8] Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me.[9] Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?[10] Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies?” Verse six says, “God hath spoken.” He certainly has. He spoke to the prophets and to the apostles. He speaks to us through His written Word as He applies it to our hearts by the Spirit. God has “spoken in his holiness.” God is holy. The problem is that we are sinful. But the Lord Jesus gives us a solution to that problem in that once we trust in Him, He gives us the standing of holiness in His sight. That is an unbelievable gift. Every believer is a saint because the word “saint” means “holy one.” God also wants us to live more holy lives as we seek to follow Jesus. God’s Word will talk about His holiness and how we can be more holy too. We need to be aware of that as we listen to God’s Word.

God’s Word will build up our faith. David knew that the Almighty God had control of all the peoples and nations around him. Because David was the king and the head of the army, he was concerned about the potential enemies and how could he be prepared for them. And so, David listed places in Israel and around Israel, and David said in verses nine and eleven, “Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?[10] Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, O God…” When there are political issues that arise in your country in reference to other places in the world, make sure you remember that God is in control of all these places and all the countries in the world.

The Bible says in Psalms 60:11, “Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.” If you do not go to God for help, where will you go? You will probably go to some human being. That is one of the reasons that some people go and tell their troubles to another person, such as a friend. You might want to start telling God all of your troubles. He is the only One who can solve them. Do not go to a priest to confess your sins. Go to Jesus: Jesus is the only one who can forgive them.

The Bible says in Psalms 60:12, “Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.” This is an expression of great confidence: not confidence in self, but confidence in God. If you pray to the Lord and trust in the Lord, you will learn that God will make things happen. God will work things out. God will defeat the enemies. That is just one of the benefits of having Jesus as your Savior.

___________________________________________________