This week I stumbled upon a document that I had written about two and a half years ago that was a prayer I had prayed to the Lord, asking him to provide everything we needed to adopt a child. As I read this prayer now quite a bit later, I can feel the inadequacy that I felt at that time coming through the words. I was asking God to do something that I thought was crazy. I was asking him to provide for us $50,000 to pay all the fees, take all the trips, and pay for everything necessary to bring home our next child (the actual expenses ended up being a bit more than that).
Reading the prayer, you can tell that I’m reminding myself that what I’m doing is not idiotic. I remind the Lord multiple times that he tells us to ask him for things, often quoting the sections of the book of James where we’re told to ask God for things like wisdom because he gives generously. At other times, I remind the Lord that he has revealed to us that he owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Now, of course I’m not reminding the Lord of his commands to us and his riches and self-sufficiency because I thought he had forgotten. I’m reminding him of these things because in my mind I was thinking something like, “God has revealed these truths to us for a reason. He wants me to know that he gives generously, and he wants me to know that he owns all things. Why? Surely it is so that on occasions like this when my needs are so great I can’t even begin to tackle them, I will ask him to meet them.” But I think those thoughts served to convince me that I was right to ask God to do this, and I moved forward, believing this was the Lord’s will.
As I read that this week, it was incredibly encouraging because earlier this year (by the Lord’s rich grace), I paid a credit card bill that meant we had completely paid off our adoption expenses. God had definitely answered this prayer in an amazing way. But those two years or so from the time I prayed that prayer until the time we paid off the bill weren’t always easy and smooth sailing. There was a time shortly after I prayed that where everything was moving in the wrong direction. We got a call about a repair that needed to be made on our house while we were living in Louisville and paying rent there. There were some fees I had to pay to the school that I didn’t anticipate. And then one day, as we were coming home from church there, I backed our van up and bumped another car. It was such a light hit that caused no noticeable damage and ended up meaning that I was going to have to replace his entire back bumper on a brand new car.
And after all that, though I had trouble finding it this week, I remember writing another prayer in which I said to the Lord something along the lines of, “I don’t understand why all of this is happening.” After all, having to pay $50,000 was enough. I didn’t need to tack on any extra expenses. I wondered, “Am I doing something wrong? Have I misunderstood the Lord’s will? Am I being disciplined for something?”
Now, I know how the story ended, and I’ve already shared it with you. If you’re interested, I could sit down with you and tell you about the Lord meeting our needs time and time again through those many months. And if I were to summarize that time, I would summarize it as a time of the Lord’s miraculous provision, where he met our needs without exception and we marveled at his grace. Yet, if you had caught me during that week span where everything seemed to be going wrong, it would have sounded much different.
In many ways, I think that setting or that contrast captures what we find in Psalm 60, where the big story is one of glory, triumph, and victory, but in the midst of it is a story of loss, failure, and confusion. The reason I say that is because we are actually given the historical setting of this psalm. In fact, I believe Psalm 60 supplies us with the longest superscription in the Psalter. We read that it was written by David “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.”
Sounds pretty victorious, doesn’t it? And it was. We’re told about this event in David’s reign in 2 Samuel 8, which sums up David’s military conquests and where we read two different times, “And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went” (2 Sam 8:6, 14). We’re also told in that chapter that “David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt” (8:13). This probably means that Joab killed 12,000 and David another 18,000 or that Joab killed 12,000, David came in and finished them off, and the grand total was credited to David as he was king leading his armies into battle. Either way, it was a time where David had victory everywhere he turned.
But when you read Psalm 60, it doesn’t read like a psalm that would be written in a time of great military victory. Rather, it starts with language that would accompany defeat. We read David saying that the Lord had rejected them, broken their defenses, made them see hard things, and given them wine to drink that made them stagger (vv. 1-3). So, what’s going on here? Well, putting 2 Samuel 8, the superscription to Psalm 60, and the language of Psalm 60 together, it seems that something like this happened. While David was fighting in the north and northeast (and conquering everyone he encountered), the Edomites saw Jerusalem as being vulnerable to an attack from the south. Therefore, they pounced, and David, having heard of this sent Joab and an army with him to go down there and take care of them, and they did. However, this psalm appears in that small period of time when the attack from Edom has occurred and yet Joab’s victory has yet to take place. In this way, it’s a glimpse into a particular challenging time that is easily forgotten in light of the military conquest (the bigger story, if you will) that characterized this time in David’s reign.
In this way, then, I think it’s instructive for how we can walk faithfully in similar settings. That is to say, what if you find yourself right now thinking, “What in the world is going on? Why is this happening?” Perhaps you made a decision or started down a road where everything seemed great and then all of the sudden there have been some setbacks. Maybe you would say, “Ask me a week ago and I would tell you everything is great. Ask me now, and I feel like I’ve totally lost my bearings. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m struggling, and I don’t know why particularly or what to do.” If that is the case, then let’s look at this psalm and the elements here because I believe they will aid us in thinking through how to walk faithfully in those moments.
We find in the first three verses . . .
The first three verses of this psalm use the language of God’s judgment. David says, “O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses; you have been angry; oh, restore us.” You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open; repair its breaches, for it totters. You have made your people see hard things; you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger” (vv. 1-3).
Again, all of this is language of the Lord’s judgment. This is not hard to see in verse 1, where David clearly says that God has rejected them and been angry with them, but it is also present (though less clearly seen) in verses 2-3. In verse 2, we are told that the land quaked. It is often the case in the Scripture that when God judges mankind, his judgment is manifested in the earth quaking or suffering in some way. This is first seen in Genesis 3 when Adam sinned and the ground was cursed on account of him so that it brought forth thorns and thistles. But it is also seen through Israel’s history when they would sin, God’s judgment would fall on them, and the land would suffer and groan. We even see the same thing at the cross. One of the signs Jesus was bearing God’s judgment for sin is that as he died the earth quaked. The earth is tied to the judgment or restoration of mankind, and when man is judged the earth is affected. That’s why David is using this language in verse 2. He’s saying that they’ve faced God’s judgment.
Furthermore, in saying in verse 3 that God had given them wine to drink, David is again claiming that God’s judgment has fallen on them for their sin. Similar to the land suffering, so the cup or cup of wine is a continual symbol of God’s wrath in the Scripture. Often the enemy nations are told that they will drink the cup of the wine of God’s wrath. And it is not by mistake that Jesus, prior to going to the cross, prays that the Father would let the cup pass from him. The reason Jesus chose that imagery is because he knew that he was about to bear the wrath of God for the sins of all who would believe in him. So, again, David is certain that the reason they’ve suffered in battle is due to God’s judgment for some reason.
Now, serves to direct us in a few ways. First, if there’s obvious sin that we’ve been holding on to, and the Lord’s disciplining hand is upon us, repent. Here, I’m not talking about trying to search out something and praying and fasting to see if the Lord will reveal your sin. I’m talking about simply recognizing in your own heart that you’ve tried simply to cover up sin and move on. And instead of letting you move on, the Lord is disciplining you so that you might confess it and find restoration. If that is where you are, even as David does in this psalm, confess your sin.
But there’s a second lesson here as well, I think. Times of hardship do serve to allow us to examine our lives. At times when all is well, we’re rarely introspective, examining the way we’re living, etc. However, difficult times do cause us to look at ourselves, don’t they? And that’s not all bad.
Now, I say that’s not all bad because it can be bad. If you’re prone to walking around as if you’re always under the Lord’s condemnation, then it can be dangerous for someone to suggest to you that you examine yourself. You may well go on an internal witch-hunt to try to find ways to show you’re sinful and make up ways if you can’t find too many.
However, if you recognize that God has sent his Son to live, die, and be raised for you and that you are justified through faith in him, then you can examine yourself knowing that there can be joyful forgiveness and growth with repentance. The same action can be seen two different ways.
Imagine, for example, that someone comes up to you and says, “I want to know if you have any money in your account?” and the answer is that you don’t. You’re broke. Should that question, then, make you feel happy or sad? Well, we would have to know why they’re asking. If the person asking the question is someone you owe money and he’s holding a baseball bat across his shoulders, then it’s a scary question to answer, isn’t it? However, if it’s someone who says, “I’ve got more money than I could need for ten lifetimes, and I’m looking to give it to someone in need,” then answering the question is a bit more exciting, isn’t it?
Well, some of us examine our lives for areas where we may be sinning and not aligning our thoughts, words, and actions with the Scripture as if someone is standing with a baseball bat waiting for us to give them a reason to beat us with it. The reality, however, is that when a child of God stops to examine his or her life for sin, it is an opportunity for us to confess our sins, bring our lives more in line with the commands of our loving heavenly Father, and receiving from him forgiveness, grace, and strength to walk in a manner that honors him and is good for us. Confession does force us to realize our terrible sin, but it is also an opportunity to turn from it and find forgiveness.
So, use hardship as a time to examine yourself. But mainly, use hardship as an opportunity to run to the Lord. The Lord is not allowing hardship in your life in order to drive you from him but in order to drive you to him. David is broken by the attack of the Edomites, which he sees as the Lord’s judgment, and he turns to the Lord, crying, “Repair our land. Restore us.” What God wants most for us is to form in us a heart that loves him, delights in him, and longs for him. Hardship is one of the greatest means the Lord uses to bring about those realities. So, if you’re in one of those difficult times, run to him.
Second, in verses 4-8, we find . . .
I want to skip verse 4 for a second and look at verses 5-8. In these verses, David declares two things to be true of God’s character and nature. The first of these is that God is one who loves his people. Note how David refers to the Lord’s people as God’s “beloved ones.” That means that David knows that God loves his people. And second, David notes God’s might and power. Note how he speaks of God’s sovereign power in verses 6-8, saying, “God has spoken in his holiness: ‘With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out the Vale of Succoth. Gildead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter. Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
I want to skip verse 4 for a second and look at verses 5-8. In these verses, David declares two things to be true of God’s character and nature. The first of these is that God is one who loves his people. Note how David refers to the Lord’s people as God’s “beloved ones.” That means that David knows that God loves his people. And second, David notes God’s might and power. Note how he speaks of God’s sovereign power in verses 6-8, saying, “God has spoken in his holiness: ‘With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out the Vale of Succoth. Gildead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter. Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
You see, if God wanted to divide up lands and give them to his people he did so. He divided Schechem and the Valley of Succoth as he saw fit. He had control over Gilead, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Judah. That’s why he’d given these lands to Israel as an inheritance. And the lands that were constant enemies like Moab, Edom, and Philistia were lands that God could destroy any second. They were like dust on the scales compared to his might. This is what David’s declaring in these verses.
So, David’s declaring two things about God’s nature. He is loving toward his people and his might and power extends over all. Why does he remind himself of these things? It’s because if either one of these is not true, David is hopeless. If God loves him but can’t do anything to stop the Edomites, then David will go down to the Edomites thinking, “At least God wishes that I weren’t getting slaughtered.” And if God is almighty but doesn’t love David, then David could think, “God could do something about this, but I don’t know if he wants to. Why would he devote himself to my good?” But David knows that God loves is people and that he is almighty.
And those same things are true today. God loves his people, and he is almighty. We need to know that because there are times when our situations are way beyond what we can do. That’s what I felt in praying for the cost of the adoption, and it may be something that you feel right now. Maybe you feel like there’s something in your life that is beyond what you (or anyone else) can handle. The situation is not too great for God. Or maybe you just desperately wish someone cared enough for you to minister to you. Well, God loves you more than any else ever could. In fact, Paul told the Ephesians that he prayed for them that they might “have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Eph 3:18-19). His love for his people is so great that it surpasses knowledge.
So, I want to say something to you in the midst of your hardship today on the authority of God’s Word. For those who are believers this morning, the almighty God who simply spoke and created the billion trillion stars that are in our universe, some of which dwarf our sun (which dwarfs our planet, which dwarfs us) loves you to a degree that is beyond knowledge. That’s who our God is.
And David also acknowledges what God has done. He writes in verse 4, “You have set up a banner for those who fear you, that they may flee to it from the bow.” You see, the mighty God who loves his people had put up a banner saying, “You can run to me when you are frightened, scared, and threatened, and I will protect you.”
So, David prays from his knowledge of who God is and what he has done. That becomes the foundation for his prayer, then, as he boldly asks in verse 5, “Give salvation by your right hand and answer us!”
In the same way, God has set up a banner for us. He’s said things like, “Make your requests known to me. Cast your cares upon me. Ask me, for I give generously without reproach,” and we could go on and on. Isn’t it the height of foolishness that God’s people wouldn’t run to him and plead with him when we know who he is and what he has done for us? So, run to the one who is holding a banner saying, “Flee to me.”
If you’ve seen your sin this morning, confess, repent, and run to him. If you’ve encountered something bigger than you can handle, run to him and ask him to provide. If you’re needing to know someone cares, run to the one who loves you, cares for you, and sent his Son to die for you. David reminds us of who God is and what he has done.
Finally, we see in verses 9-12 . . .
It’s interesting the way David frames verses 9-12. He starts asking how he can deal with Edom. He says specifically, “Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?” (v. 9).
Now, we might miss the weight of this without understanding a little bit about Edom. Edom’s main city, Petra, was a place that was basically impenetrable. The city was set up behind these steep cliffs where the only entry that was quite narrow. So, you could bring a whole army to fight against the Edomites, but it didn’t matter, they were only entering the city a few at a time. Also, this meant that only a few soldiers could theoretically defend the city. And Edom was known to brag about this. They could not be conquered in their minds. So, when David asks who will bring him to this fortified city and lead him to Edom, he’s asking who would enable him to do the impossible and go to that city and conquer them.
Now, of course, the only answer to that question is: God. God alone is able to pull off such a feat. And yet, there’s the problem. Israel had seemingly been in a place where God had not shown them favor and was letting them suffer. Thus, David writes in verse 10, “Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go forth, O God, with our armies.”
Here’s a man who knows he desperately needs God and unless God comes through on his behalf, he is hopeless. So, he asks for the impossible, saying in verse 11, “Oh, grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of God.” He admits that man cannot do it but asks that God will. Then, he declares his belief that God will indeed answer his prayer, saying in verse 12, “With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.”
And God did do valiantly. Apparently Joab took a group down there to Edom and slew 12,000 men. Later David came and did some conquering of his own so that David’s name became great. But Psalm 60 tells us that David knew who truly was great – his God.
Now, this is a reminder to us to ask God to do those things that are seemingly impossible in our own lives. I wonder how often we’re willing to do that. Isn’t it sometimes easier just to say, “Man, this is difficult,” than to spend time praying and asking God to deal with it? In that moment where I sat down and asked God for $50,000 to adopt a child from Russia, I felt in some ways like I was crazy. The thing is, two years later I could testify that he was pleased to do it. Why don’t we then take serious time to pray when our marriages are under great threat, when our children are walking down rebellious paths, when our financial needs are great, etc? Perhaps you do, and to the degree that you do, this text encourages you to press on in that. But if you’re response is to seek what it is that you can do without your own power, then stop and pray. Maybe even prior to coming to the table this morning you can stop and pray, asking God to do what seems impossible.
But why would he be willing to do such things? The answer is because he sent his Son to die for you. As Jesus was on the cross, he bore God’s judgment for sin. He drank the cup of wrath, the earth quaked, and God’s wrath was poured out on him. And it testified to us how God loves us, even when we were his enemies. Then Christ rose from the dead, being given all might and power so that he could say all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him. Then, he told us that he would be with us and never abandon us. Do you think he wants us to think that he is unwilling to hear and answer our cries for help? Of course not. So, let us pause, pray, and then come to the table where we will remember God’s love, might, and what he has done for us in Jesus Christ. Amen.