Psalm 60

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 sandal 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 will do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries.

Around Psalm 60

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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