Psalms 60:3

_THOU HAST SHEWED THY PEOPLE HARD THINGS: THOU HAST MADE US TO DRINK THE WINE OF ASTONISHMENT._ Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment -- judgments stupifying and confounding, as wine intoxicates the brain (Jeremiah 13:12; 1 Kings 22:27). "Bread of affliction ... water of affliction" (Psalms 75:8; Isaiah 51:17). As drunkenness prostrates the bodily powers, so were we in a state of helpless misery....

3._Thou hast showed thy people hard things _He says, first, that the nation had been dealt with severely, and then adds a figure which may additionally represent the grievousness of its calamities, speaking of it as drunk with the wine of stupor or astonishment. Even the Hebraist interpreters are not agreed among themselves as to the meaning of תרעלה, _tarelah, _which I have rendered _astonishment. _Several of them translate it _poison. _But it is evident that the Psalmist alludes to some kind of poisoned drink, which deprives a person of his senses, insinuating that the Jews were stupified by their calamities. (383) He would place, in short, before their eyes the curse of God, which had pressed upon the government of Saul, and induce them to abandon their obstinate attempts to maintain the interests of a throne which lay under the divine reprobation....

1-5 David owns God's displeasure to be the cause of all the hardships he had undergone. And when God is turning his hand in our favour, it is good to remember our former troubles. In God's displeasure their troubles began, therefore in his favour their prosperity must begin. Those breaches and divisions which the folly and corruption of man make, nothing but the wisdom and grace of God can repair, by pouring out a spirit of love and peace, by which only a kingdom is saved from ruin. The anger of God against sin, is the only cause of all misery, private or public, that has been, is, or shall be. In all these cases there is no remedy, but by returning to the Lord with repentance, faith, and prayer; beseeching him to return to us. Christ, the Son of David, is given for a banner to those that fear God; in him they are gathered together in one, and take courage. In his name and strength they...

Verse Psalms 60:3. _THOU HAST MADE US TO DRINK THE WINE OF ASTONISHMENT_] We reel as _drunken_ men; we are _giddy_, like those who have drank too much wine; but _our giddiness_ has been occasioned by the _astonishment_ and _dismay_ that have taken place in consequence of the prevalence of our enemies, and the unsettled state of the land. It has been remarked that the _three first verses_ of this Psalm do not agree with the rest, and it also appears that the _three first_ verses of Psalms 85:1 do not agree with the rest of _that_ Psalm. But let them change places, and the three first verses of this be set instead of the three first verses of Psalms 85:1, and let those be placed her...

THOU HAST SHOWED THY PEOPLE HARD THINGS - Thou hast caused them to see reverses, disappointments, and trials. This refers, according to the supposition in the Introduction to the psalm, to some calamitous events which had occurred. The probability seems to be that the Edomites may have spread desolation over the land. THOU HAST MADE US TO DRINK THE WINE OF ASTONISHMENT - The word rendered “astonishment” - תרעלה _tar‛êlâh_ - occurs only here and in Isaiah 51:17, Isaiah 51:22 - in both of which verses in Isaiah it is rendered trembling. It means properly reeling, drunkenness; and the idea here is, that it was as if he had given them a cup - that is, an intoxicating drink - which had caused them to ree

EXPOSITION IN the case of this psalm, the "title" is again our best guide, both with respect to the author and to the occasion of the composition. The title is unusually full, and contains such a number of minute particulars, as a later compiler or commentator would scarcely have ventured upon. The history involved in the title—reconcilable on the whole with the accounts in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles—is certainly not contained in those accounts. It implies an author, writing from his own knowledge of facts—an author who, if not David himself, must have been a contemporary. The psalm itself has every characteristic of the Davidic style—liveliness, rapid transitions, terse yet comprehensive language, strong metaphors, intense feeling, hopefulness. It belongs to the time when, after his first Syrian campaign (2 Samuel 8:3), David was engaged in a war with

THOU HAST SHOWED THY PEOPLE HARD THINGS,.... As to have their city and temple burial, multitudes of them slain, and the rest carried captive, and put into the hands of cruel lords and hard masters, and made a proverb, a taunt, and a curse, in all places; and all this done to a people that were the Lord's by profession, who called themselves so, though now a "loammi", Hosea 1:9; and these were hard things to flesh and blood, yet no other than what they deserved; THOU HAST MADE US TO DRINK THE WINE OF ASTONISHMENT; or "of trembling" n, Isaiah 51:17; that is, to endure such troubles as made them tremble, and astonished and stupefied them; took away their senses, and made them unfit for anything, being smitten with madness, blindness, and astonishment of heart, as is threatened them,...

Psalms 60 The Lord with His People _ 1. Confessions and prayer (Psalms 60:1)_ 2. The inheritance anticipated (Psalms 60:6) 3. Faith's certainty (Psalms 60:9) This Psalm, “Shushan-Eduth” (the lily of testimony), also a Michtam of David, has for its beginning a confession of the godly in Israel. The Lord they acknowledge had scattered them and is angry with them. They pray for restoration. “That thy beloved may be delivered, save with Thy right hand and hear me.” Then He hears and answers in His holiness and His people rejoice as once more they possess their earthly inheritance. The casting of the shoe upon Edom m

LX. This Ps. really consists of two bound together in an abrupt style. In A, _i.e._ in Psalms 60:1; Psalms 60:10_ b_, Psalms 60:11 f. we have a lament over the desperate condition of Israel, though the Psalmist is driven by his despair to renewed trust in God. In B (Psalms 60:6_ a_) the tone is quite different. Appeal is made to a Divine oracle and the poet exults in the confidence that Israel will recover its possessions and utterly subdue Moab and Edom. The whole of B recurs in Psalms 108:7_ a_: so also does the conclusion of Ps.,

SHEWED. SUFFERED... TO SEE. astonishment: or confusion, or trembling....