Psalms 60: Through God We Shall Do Valiantly
After defeat and a sense of God's rejection, the people plead for restoration, for the help of man is vain but through God they will triumph.
Psalms 60 (WEB)
1 God, you have rejected us. You have broken us down. You have been angry. Restore us, again.
2 You have made the land tremble. You have torn it. Mend its fractures, for it quakes.
3 You have shown your people hard things. You have made us drink the wine that makes us stagger.
4 You have given a banner to those who fear you, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
5 So that your beloved may be delivered, save with your right hand, and answer us.
6 God has spoken from his sanctuary: “I will triumph. I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is the defense of my head. Judah is my scepter.
8 Moab is my wash basin. I will throw my shoe on Edom. I shout in triumph over Philistia.”
9 Who will bring me into the strong city? Who has led me to Edom?
10 Haven’t you, God, rejected us? You don’t go out with our armies, God.
11 Give us help against the adversary, for the help of man is vain.
12 Through God we shall do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries.
Psalms 60 (KJV)
1 O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.
2 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.
4 Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
5 That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me.
6 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?
11 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
12 Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.
Psalms 60 (ASV)
1 O God thou hast cast us off, thou hast broken us down; Thou hast been angry; oh restore us again.
2 Thou hast made the land to tremble; thou hast rent it: Heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
3 Thou hast showed thy people hard things: Thou hast made us to drink the wine of staggering.
4 Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, That it may be displayed because of the truth. [Selah
5 That thy beloved may be delivered, Save with thy right hand, and answer us.
6 God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult; I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the defence of my head; Judah is my sceptre.
8 Moab is my washpot; Upon Edom will I cast my shoe: Philistia, shout thou because of me.
9 Who will bring me into the strong city? Who hath led me unto Edom?
10 Hast not thou, O God, cast us off? And thou goest not forth, O God, with our hosts.
11 Give us help against the adversary; For vain is the help of man.
12 Through God we shall do valiantly; For he it is that will tread down our adversaries.
Summary
Psalm 60 is a communal lament arising from national defeat, traditionally set during David's wars with Aram and Edom. It opens with raw honesty: God, you have rejected us; you have broken us down; you have been angry. The people feel as though God has shaken the very land, torn it, and made them stagger like those who have drunk too much wine. Yet even in this distress they recognize God's hand and plead, Restore us again. They appeal to the banner God has given those who fear him, a rallying point displayed because of his truth, and ask that his beloved be delivered by his right hand. The psalm then records God's own confident words from his sanctuary, claiming the lands and peoples around Israel as his own: Gilead and Manasseh, Ephraim and Judah, and even Moab, Edom, and Philistia, all subject to his rule. On the basis of these promises the people ask who will lead them into the fortified city, even as they confess that God seems to have rejected them and no longer goes out with their armies. So they ask for help against the adversary, concluding with one of Scripture's clearest confessions of dependence: Give us help against the adversary, for the help of man is vain. Through God we shall do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries. The psalm models bringing defeat and confusion to God while clinging to his promises and power.
Voices
- David and Israel — The king and people, shaken by defeat, who lament feeling rejected yet plead for God's restoration and help.
- God who speaks from his sanctuary — The LORD who declares his sovereign claim over the lands and surrounding nations and promises to triumph.
- The adversaries — The surrounding nations and enemies whom God claims as his own and promises to tread down through his people.
Key Verse
Psalm 60:12 (WEB)
Through God we shall do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries.
Lessons Learned
- We may bring even our defeats and our sense of God's displeasure honestly before him.
- When God breaks us down, our right response is still to plead, Restore us again.
- God's promises about his rule give confidence even when circumstances look bleak.
- The help of man is ultimately vain; true victory comes only through God.
- We can be honest with God about feeling rejected. "God, you have rejected us. You have broken us down" (Psalm 60:1, WEB); lament brings even our hardest experiences to God.
- The proper plea after defeat is for restoration. "You have been angry. Restore us, again" (Psalm 60:1, WEB); we ask the God who disciplines to also restore.
- God's word is the ground of confidence. "God has spoken from his sanctuary: 'I will triumph'" (Psalm 60:6, WEB); his promises steady us when circumstances do not.
- Human help is ultimately vain. "Give us help against the adversary, for the help of man is vain" (Psalm 60:11, WEB); we cannot finally rely on human strength.
- Victory comes through God alone. "Through God we shall do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries" (Psalm 60:12, WEB); our courage and triumph are his gift.
- How does the psalm describe the people's experience of defeat in verses 1-3?
- What does the request "Restore us, again" (60:1) reveal about the right response to God's discipline?
- Why does the psalmist include God's own words spoken "from his sanctuary" (60:6-8)?
- What does it mean that "the help of man is vain" (60:11), and how does verse 12 complete the thought?
- When you face defeat or a sense that God is distant, how can you, like Israel, cling to God's promises and ask for restoration?
- The people speak of God rejecting them, breaking them down, and being angry, of the land trembling and being torn, and of being made to drink wine that makes them stagger (60:1-3). The imagery conveys a community reeling from defeat, disoriented and shaken, attributing even their hardship to God's hand.
- It reveals that the right response to God's discipline is not to turn away from him but to turn back to him for restoration. Even though they feel rejected, they ask the very God who broke them down to restore them, recognizing that the One who disciplines is also the only One who can heal and renew.
- He includes God's words to anchor the people's hope in God's own promises rather than in their feelings of defeat. God declares his sovereign claim over the land and surrounding nations, asserting, "I will triumph." These promises remind the people that, despite present loss, God's purposes and rule remain unshaken.
- It means that human strength, allies, and strategy cannot secure ultimate victory; reliance on them alone is empty. Verse 12 completes the thought by directing confidence to its true source: through God they will do valiantly, for he is the one who treads down their adversaries. Victory is God's gift, not human achievement.
- This is the personal-application question. Encourage members to bring their defeats and feelings of God's distance to him honestly, as the psalm does. As leader, point them to verse 12: instead of leaning on their own resources, they can plead for restoration and act with courage, trusting that through God they will prevail.