Lament over Defeat in Battle, and Prayer for Help.
For the choir director; according to [a]Shushan Eduth. A [b]Mikhtam of David, to teach; [c]when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
60 O God, You have rejected us. You have [d]broken us;
You have been angry; O, restore us.
2 You have made the [e]land quake, You have split it open;
Heal its breaches, for it totters.
3 You have [f]made Your people experience hardship;
You have given us [g]wine to drink that makes us stagger.
4 You have given a banner to those who fear You,
That it may be displayed because of the truth. [h]Selah.
5 That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and answer [i]us!6 God has spoken in His [j]holiness:
“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth.
7 “Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the [k]helmet of My head;
Judah is My [l]scepter.
8 “Moab is My washbowl;
Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;
Shout loud, O Philistia, because of Me!”9 Who will bring me into the besieged city?
Who [m]will lead me to Edom?
10 Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?
11 O give us help against the adversary,
For deliverance [n]by man is in vain.
12 [o]Through God we shall do valiantly,
And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.
Like the Israelites, none of us are perfect. They found themselves in a bad place, and had been defeated by their enemies. We may not lose an actual battle because of our disobedience, but there are consequences nonetheless. The biggest lesson we often learn is that our strength is not enough.
God doesn’t ask us to trust him for fun, it’s because we actually need his help. The Israelites found this out firsthand. When they realized that it was God who would win the battle rather than man, then they found victory. But until they lost the battle, they were off doing their own things their own way.
How often do we try to do this life on our own? How many times do we have to fall flat on our face before we remember Him? God wants to help us, to be our strength (and more), but He will not barge in and force his way. Rather, we must remember daily that we need God to lead and guide us. He will then be a “light unto our path, and a lamp unto our feet.” We “shall do valiantly”, but only through God, because the victory belongs to Him.