Psalm 60 — Trying to Interpret Troubles

For the Chief Musician; set to Shushan Eduth: Michtam of David, to teach: when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the Valley of Salt twelve thousand.

1 O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast broken us down;
Thou hast been angry; O 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 shewed 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 mine 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 shall tread down our adversaries.

As we read through these psalm so difficulties with enemies we slowly gather together words to express the different feelings we face. I've reflected on the last two podcasts on how to pray about enemies and how enemies are described. This psalm says a lot about God and his involvement in these situations.

One of the great questions in life is balancing within our mind a sovereign good God who permits troubles. This psalm places some of the troubles squarely in God's hands: thou hast cast us off, broken us down, showed us hard things. God's anger is the root of David's present plight. God's mercy and support are his only hope.

While we cannot know the root of each individual scenario, the problems we face will at times be from God. It may be our wicked choices must be punished, or even the wickedness of others. It may be that God's grace for us is already sufficient, and that his power will be made perfect in weakness. It may be that the doom of a people's age is fallen upon us, regardless of any deed of our own.

This psalm seems to speak to how hard it can be to read our environment. It can be hard to interpret perfectly each daily dose of difficulty we're given to digest. Why spend your passions and emotions trying to understand the root of the trouble? Why not rather use this psalm to praise God's power and pray for his help? That's what David did in the midst of his battles. Let David's cry for help be your cry for help.