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Illustration for Psalm 60: Restore Us, O God

Psalm 60

Restore Us, O God

When AfraidComfort

Israel had lost a battle and felt abandoned by God. David prays for God to restore and help His people. He remembers that with God's help, they can do mighty things — for human help is worth nothing without God.

  1. 1You have rejected us, O God, and burst upon us; You have been angry— now restore us!
  2. 2You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking.
  3. 3You have shown Your people desperate times; You have given us wine that makes us stagger.
  4. 4But for those who fear You, You have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow. Selah
  5. 5Save us and help us with Your right hand, that those You love may be delivered.
  6. 6God has spoken from His sanctuary: "In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Succoth.
  7. 7Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is the helmet for My head, Judah is My scepter.
  8. 8Moab is My washbasin, on Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph."
  9. 9Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
  10. 10Is it not You, O God, who have rejected us and no longer march out with our armies?
  11. 11Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.
  12. 12With God we will gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies.

What it means

This prayer comes right after a defeat, when everything had gone wrong and God felt far away. The people didn't hide it — they said it plainly and asked God to put things right. Losing is not the end of your story with God. He can restore what went wrong.

A little prayer

God, sometimes I lose and I fail and it feels like You are far away. Please come and put things right again. I know that with Your help I can do things I could never do alone. Amen.

Memory verse

“With God we will gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies.”

Psalm 60:12 (BSB)

It puts human effort and God's help in the right order without cancelling either.

Talk about it

Questions with no single right answer — for a family table or a Sunday-school circle.

  1. The people lost a battle and felt God had let them down. Is it alright to tell God you feel let down?
  2. The psalm says human help is worthless without God. Does that mean help from people does not matter?
  3. It ends confident even though nothing has been won yet. Where does that confidence come from?
  4. When did something go wrong that turned out to matter less than you thought?

Try this

After the loss

Talk about a game or a competition you lost. Say one thing you would do differently and one thing that was fine as it was. Read verse 12 at the end.

Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB)