Day 173, Psalms 60-67

Psalm 60
He Will Tread Down Our Foes

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO SHUSHAN EDUTH. A MIKTAM OF DAVID; FOR INSTRUCTION; WHEN HE STROVE WITH ARAM-NAHARAIM AND WITH ARAM-ZOBAH, AND WHEN JOAB ON HIS RETURN STRUCK DOWN TWELVE THOUSAND OF EDOM IN THE VALLEY OF SALT.

*A national prayer for God’s help after suffering a severe blow by a foreign nation, presumably Edom. The prayer leader may have been the king. The lament that God has “rejected” his people and no longer accompanies their armies links the psalm with Psalm 44.

As for its structure, the prayer is framed by three verses lamenting God’s rejection of his people and three verses expressing confidence that the God who has rejected them will yet give them victory. This transition from lament to confidence constitutes the overarching movement of the prayer.

Oh, grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man!
With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
-60:11-12

Psalm 61
Lead Me to the Rock

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. OF DAVID.

*A prayer for restoration to God’s presence. The circumstances appear to be similar to those referred to in Psalm 42-43. Here, however, a king is involved, and if the author was David, he may have composed this prayer at the time of his flight from Absalom. Structurally, the prayer is framed by a cry to God and a vow to praise.

Hear my cry, O God,
listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
Let me dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the
shelter of your wings!
-61:1-4

Psalm 62
My Soul Waits for God Alone

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO JEDUTHUN. A PSALM OF DAVID.

*The psalmist commits himself to God when threatened by the assaults of conspirators who wish to dethrone him. The author surely was a king and, if it was David, the circumstances could well have been the efforts of the family of Saul to topple him. Implicitly the psalm is an appeal to God to uphold him. No psalm surpasses it in its expression of simple trust in God.

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress, I shall not be greatly shaken.
-62:1-2

On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
-62:7-8

Psalm 63
My Soul Thirsts for You

A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN HE WAS IN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDAH.

*A confession of longing for God and for the security his presence offers when daily enemies threaten. That longing is vividly described by the metaphor of thirst and hunger. Like Psalm 62 this psalm is an implicit prayer. It is linked to that psalm also by the advancement from hearing to seeing. The imagery of the night of danger and the morning of salvation once more occurs.

This psalm was prescribed for daily public prayers of the early church. In its structure, the initial expression of longing gives way at the end to the expectation of joy–the literary frame of the psalm. What he has seen in the sanctuary he remembers on his bed at night, and that reassures him that his enemies will suffer the end they plot for him.

O God, you are my God;
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in dry and weary land
where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
-63:1-4

For you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings
I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
-63:7-8

Psalm 64
Hide Me from the Wicked

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID.

*Prayer to God for protection when threatened by a conspiracy. The circumstances may be similar to those reflected in Psalm 62, but here there is no allusion to the king’s weakened condition, and it is not clear whether the conspirators come from within or outside Israel.

As so often in the prayers of the Psalter, the enemy’s tongue is his main weapon. The prayer is framed by a plea for protection and a confident word concerning the effects of God’s saving action.

For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep!
-64:6

Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord
and take refuge in him!
Let all the upright in heart exult!
-64:10

Psalm 65
O God of Our Salvation

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID. A SONG.

*A hymn in praise of God’s great goodness to his people. In answer to their prayers (1) he pardons their sins so that they continue to enjoy the “good things” of fellowship with him at his temple; (2) he orders the affairs of the world so that international turbulence is put to rest and Israel is secure in her land; and (3) he turns the promised land into a veritable Garden of Eden. This hymn begins a series of four that are linked by many common themes.

Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed.
O you who hear prayer,
to you shall all flesh come.
When iniquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.
-65:1-3

By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
so that those who dwell at the ends
of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning
and the evening to shout for joy.
You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
-65:5-10

Psalm 66
How Awesome Are Your Deeds

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A SONG. A PSALM.

*A psalm of praise for God’s answer to prayer. It seems that God has saved the author, probably a king, from an enemy threat, and his deliverance has involved also that of the whole nation. It has often been suggested that the psalm speaks of Judah’s remarkable deliverance from the Assyrians. The praise is offered at the temple in fulfillment of a vow. Such praise was often climaxed by a call for others to take up the praise. Here the psalmist exuberantly begins with that call and, as often elsewhere (e.g., Psalm 67:3-5; Psalm 68:32; Psalm 98:4; Psalm 99:3; Psalm 100:1; Psalm 117:1), addresses it even to the far corners of the earth.

This psalm is the second in a series of four. The psalm is framed by a call to praise and a declaration of the present occasion for praise.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies
come cringing to you.
All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.”
-66:1-4

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!
-66:16-20

Psalm 67
Make Your Face Shine upon Us

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. A PSALM. A SONG.

*A communal prayer for God’s blessing. Its content, form and brevity suggest that it served as a liturgical prayer of the people at the conclusion of worship, perhaps just prior to (or immediately after) the priestly benediction. God’s blessing of his people (as well as his saving acts in their behalf) will catch the attention of the nations and move them to praise.

This psalm is the third in a series of four. It has a completely symmetrical structure: Two verses at the beginning contain the prayer, while the two verses of the conclusion speak of the effects of God’s answer.

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,
that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the people praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!
-67:1-7