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Psalm 60 Bible study: Through God we will do valiantly
Psalm 60 opens "God, you have rejected us" (60:1), and after God has spoken (60:6-8) it asks, "Haven’t you, God, rejected us?" (60:10), the same Hebrew verb, and then prays anyway. And the two helps of 60:11 are two Hebrew words: the help it asks of God, and the teshu'ah of man it calls vain.
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“Through God we will do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In Psalm 60, the psalm says God has rejected his people both before and after the verses where God speaks.”
Is that in Psalm 60, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Rejected, before and after God speaks
After its title, the psalm's first words are "God, you have rejected us. You have broken us down. You have been angry. Restore us, again" (60:1) (tap rejected, broken). The next verses go on in the same voice, telling God what he has done: "You have made the land tremble. You have torn it" (60:2) (tap torn), and "You have shown your people hard things" (60:3). Then "God has spoken from his sanctuary" (60:6), and the psalm gives his words (60:6-8). Here is what almost everyone misses: two verses after God's words, the verb of the psalm's first line comes back, now in a question. "Haven’t you, God, rejected us? You don’t go out with our armies, God" (60:10). In Hebrew rejected is the same verb, zanach, in the same form, in 60:1 and 60:10. The psalm doesn't say that God's words ended the complaint. It sets them between the two, and then it prays: "Give us help against the adversary" (60:11). The words of 60:10 are close to Psalm 44:9 and Psalm 108:11; the chapter on Psalm 44 sets the three side by side, and these notes don't repeat it.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 60
- The title says Joab "killed twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt" (60:1). 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles tell of the Valley of Salt with other names and numbers. Which is right?
- "Moab is my wash basin. I will throw my sandal on Edom" (60:8). What do these pictures mean?
- "Who will bring me into the strong city? Who has led me to Edom?" (60:9). Who is speaking?
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 60 is waiting in Favor
- What God says is his
- Two words for help
- Psalm 60 and Psalm 108, side by side
- A banner, and a line read two ways
- "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves"
- 10 questions as you read
- 14 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Psalm 60 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
זָנַחzanachsay za-NAKH
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "reject, spurn". Strong's: "to push aside, i.e. reject, forsake, fail". After its title, the psalm opens, "God, you have rejected us" (60:1), and near its end it asks, "Haven’t you, God, rejected us?" (60:10). It is the same verb in the same form both times, with God's own words between them (60:6-8). Psalm 44 has the verb where its lament begins, "But now you rejected us" (Psalm 44:9), and Psalm 108 has 60:10's line again (Psalm 108:11). The Psalms have it ten times in Hebrew.
For your group
Psalm 60 Bible study questions
- 1The psalm says "God, you have rejected us" (60:1), and still prays, "save with your right hand, and answer us" (60:5). What helps you keep praying when God feels far away?
- 2"Give us help against the adversary, for the help of man is vain" (60:11). When something goes wrong, where do you tend to look for help first, before you ask God?
- 3"Through God we will do valiantly" (60:12). What is one hard thing in front of you this week that you could face "through God"?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 60 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Can I read Psalm 60 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Psalm 60 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
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No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
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The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home