Saturday, December 9, 2023

God You Have Cut Us Off - Psalms 60:1

Psalms chapter sixty begins with the heading, “[[To the chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand.]]” which breaks down “to the chief Musician” or “to the preeminent, overseeing superintendent or chief choir director” “upon Shushaneduth” which means “lilies”, “Michtam” or “a technical term found in Psalm titles which implies an engraving or poem” “of David” which means “belonging to David whose name means blessed and was the second king of Israel”, “to teach” or “to be taught, instructed, trained and exercised”; “when he strove with Aramnaharaim” which means “at the time and moment he, David, struggled, fell into ruined heaps and was desolate and laid waste with Aram-naharaim whose name means Aram of the two rivers or Mesopotamia” “and with Aramzobah” or “and alongside Aram-zobah whose name means exalted station or conflict and was probably the land northeast of Damascus”, “when Joab returned” which means “at the time and moment Joab whose name means Jehovah is father and was the son of David's sister Zeruiah and general of David's army”, “and smote of Edom” or “and struck, hit, beat, slayed and killed the people belonging to Edom whose name means red and was the descendants of Esau in Idumea which was the land south and south east of Palestine” “in the valley of salt” which means “within the narrow gorge, gully or winter-torrent belonging to salt powder which is easily pulverized and dissolved” “twelve thousand” or “twelve thousand troops or men under one leader (See 2 Samuel 8 and 10)”, and in chapter sixty and verse one of Psalms David said, “O God, you have cast us off” where we read,

O God, you have cast us off, you have scattered us, you have been displeased;

O turn yourself to us again.

The verse begins, O God, you have cast us off, you have scattered us, you have been displeased; David began with the words, “O God” or “O Divine judge, ruler and Supreme God”, “you have cast us off” which means “you, Divine judge, have forcefully rejected, forsaken and spurned us, David and his compatriots, as a stench or odious smell”, “you have scattered us” or “you, Divine judge, have broken through, breached, distributed and spread violence upon us, David and his compatriots”, “you have been displeased” which means “you, Divine judge, have existed as breathing hard and angry”. David declared to God how He forsook him and his people because He was angry at them.

The verse goes on to say,O turn yourself to us again. David continued with the words, “O turn yourself” or “turn back, restore, repair and refresh your own self, Divine judge” “to us again” which means “toward us, David and his compatriots, once more”. David appealed to the Divine judge Jehovah God to return Himself toward them once more.

When we consider the words in this verse, we notice how distraught David was in the beginning of this Psalm. He believed that God forsook him and his fellowmen, and that He spread them all over because He was angry with them. David beckoned Jehovah God to move toward them once more, and not leave them in the condition they were at this point. It's not unusual for us to believe we are forsaken by God, however, Jesus said to His believers, “I will never leave you or forsake you”. (See Hebrews 13:5) God desires to have a personal relationship with us through His Son Jesus whom He sent into the world to be crucified for the sins of all mankind, and when we surrender to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will not abandon us and will always “turn” Himself toward us even when we wonder where He is.

Next time David says, “you have made the earth to tremble”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".








 

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