Psalm 60 - Shaken

Psalm 60 - Shaken

Read: Psalm 60 vs 1-12

There is much to learn in the life of faith. Indeed in both the Old and New Testaments the life of God’s people is described as a life of learning, learning as we follow. God’s people are always learners as they journey through the changing seasons of life on their way to God’s final place of promise and rest.

In that sense being a Christian is a very cumulative thing, it is something that cannot be rushed. Jesus didn’t sit His disciples down and give them a quick crash course in everything they needed to know, rather He said to them ‘Follow me’ (Matthew 4:19). We are always learning. 

Psalm 60 is described in its title as a Psalm ‘For teaching’. Here were words that were to be used to teach people truths that they needed to know. The Psalm itself has an historical context linking into a series of intense battles described in 2 Samuel 8:1-14. These battles are recorded as being a time of great success and victory for David. So to make sense of the anxiety in this Psalm we can only assume that the Psalm was written either before or in the midst of the battles, before the victory was secure. 

In this Psalm David looks around him and has a deep anxiety that God has rejected His own people. David sees a land that is ‘quaking’, people who are ‘staggering’, people who need saved and rescued. It’s worth noting that David doesn’t pray in an accusing way about his nation, David stands alongside those who have sinned and prays for God’s mercy. You can see this way of praying in Nehemiah 1:6-7 and in Daniel 9:6, when these great leaders confessed the sins of their nation, they confessed the sins as their sins. 

Is there something here for us to learn? Prayer is not a vehicle for us to accuse others before God, the way a child tells tales on a brother or sister. True prayer puts the words ‘Save us and help us’ on our lips. Only with God’s help will we know any victory (vs 12).

Prayer: Lord forgive us as a nation, and forgive us as a Church for times when we have turned away from you. Restore us Lord we pray. Save us and help us! What we pray we pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.