Psalms 60:1-3 (ESV)
TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO SHUSHAN EDUTH. A MIKTAM OF DAVID; FOR INSTRUCTION; 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.
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.
The superscription before this song/prayer starts is very informative. It credits both David and his commander of the armies, Joab, we great victories. However, the song/prayer starts out with the reason for their defeat. It might seem odd, but the writer is outlining for the reader the reasons for their conflicts, rather than expressing joy over the victory of the conflicts.
The above statements indicate that God was not pleased with His people. This can be seen throughout the Old Testament. The facts that the followers of God forsake Him and disobey Him is the reason for God’s declarations of His steadfast love for us.
This song unfolds by having the writers recognize that God will still be with them, despite their disobedience to Him. Yes, God was against them for a time, but note how the writers ends this song/prayer:
Psalms 60:12 (ESV)
With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
They know that they need God to help them. They are relying on His steadfast love for them. Even when we think God is not for us, let us rest in His steadfast love for us. Pray these verses over yourself each day of the month to remind yourself of His great love for you:
John 17:26
I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
1.
Psalms 5:7 (ESV)
But I, through the abundance of your STEADFAST LOVE, will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.
We only enter a relationship with Him because of His steadfast love for us.
2.
Psalms 6:4 (ESV)
Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your STEADFAST LOVE.
He saves us for the sake of His love, not because we deserve to be saved.
3.
Psalms 13:5 (ESV)
But I have trusted in your STEADFAST LOVE;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
Trusting in His steadfast love produces rejoicing in the heart.
4.
Psalms 17:7 (ESV)
Wondrously show your STEADFAST LOVE,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.
God will show His steadfast love the most when we have safety in our lives the least.
5.
Psalms 18:50 (ESV)
Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows STEADFAST LOVE to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.
Psalms 21:7 (ESV)
For the king trusts in the LORD,
and through the STEADFAST LOVE of the Most High he shall not be moved.
It is by faith in God’s steadfast love for us that we are assured stability in this world by Him.
6.
Psalms 25:6-7 (ESV)
Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your STEADFAST LOVE,
for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your STEADFAST LOVE remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!
God’s memory and mercy are guided and governed by His steadfast love for us.
7.
Psalms 25:10 (ESV)
All the paths of the LORD are STEADFAST LOVE and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
Steadfast love by God flows down on those who walk on Obedience Avenue.
8.
Psalms 26:3 (ESV)
For your STEADFAST LOVE is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.
When we see His steadfast love with our eyes it guides the faithfulness of our walk.
9.
Psalms 31:7 (ESV)
I will rejoice and be glad in your STEADFAST LOVE,
because you have seen my affliction;
you have known the distress of my soul,
His steadfast love can turn even distress and affliction into a time of rejoicing and jubilation.
10.
Psalms 31:16 (ESV)
Make your face shine on your servant;
save me in your STEADFAST LOVE!
God’s steadfast love to save us is God’s face shining on us. The psalmist just wants to know that God sees him.
11.
Psalms 31:21-22 (ESV)
Blessed be the LORD,
for he has wondrously shown his STEADFAST LOVE to me
when I was in a besieged city.
I had said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from your sight.”
But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
when I cried to you for help.
The steadfast love of God is provided even in the worst case situations of man.
12.
Psalms 32:10 (ESV)
Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but STEADFAST LOVE surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.
While the wicked are pierced with hurtful sorrows, those who trust in God are surrounded by God’s steadfast love.
13.
Psalms 33:5 (ESV)
He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the STEADFAST LOVE of the LORD.
Like air, the steadfastness love of God is the oxygen for all of life. Because of God’s love, even those who hate Him breath because of His steadfast love loves them.
14.
Psalms 33:18 (ESV)
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his STEADFAST LOVE,
Psalms 33:22 (ESV)
Let your STEADFAST LOVE, O LORD, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
We can have hope in God when we have our trust in the steadfast love of God.
15.
Psalms 36:5-7 (ESV)
Your STEADFAST LOVE, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O LORD.
How precious is your STEADFAST LOVE, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
God’s steadfast love is high above us but also low enough to cover us.
16.
Psalms 36:10 (ESV)
Oh, continue your STEADFAST LOVE to those who know you,
and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
The more we know Him the deeper we know His steadfast love.
17.
Psalms 40:10 (ESV)
I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your STEADFAST LOVE and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.
When His steadfast love is believed in our hearts, it must be proclaimed from our lips.
18.
Psalms 42:8 (ESV)
By day the LORD commands his STEADFAST LOVE,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
Since God’s steadfast love is commanded over our lives, we can sing and praise God in our lives.
19.
Psalms 44:26 (ESV)
Rise up; come to our help!
Redeem us for the sake of your STEADFAST LOVE!
God did not redeem us based upon our worth, but rather based upon his steadfast love, which then gives us worth.
20.
Psalms 48:9 (ESV)
We have thought on your STEADFAST LOVE, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
Anytime we come to worship our God we ought to spend time in thought about the steadfast love of our God.
21.
Psalms 51:1 (ESV)
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your STEADFAST LOVE;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
It is by His steadfast love that we have steadfast forgiveness.
22.
Psalms 52:8 (ESV)
But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the STEADFAST LOVE of God
forever and ever.
Olive trees are virtually indestructible. They live under any harsh conditions. Their root systems are so deep and vast you can’t get rid of them. God’s steadfast love toward us, makes indescribable in life.
23.
Psalms 57:3 (ESV)
He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his STEADFAST LOVE and his faithfulness!
God’s steadfastness in love is a companion of His faithfulness in protection.
24.
Psalms 59:16-17 (ESV)
But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your STEADFAST LOVE in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me STEADFAST LOVE.
Because God’s love is steadfast, it is our most secure fortress.
25.
Psalms 61:6-7 (ESV)
Prolong the life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint STEADFAST LOVE and faithfulness to watch over him!
When God puts the king in place, he puts steadfast love to watch over the king. God not only does that for the king He also does so for the members of His kingdom.
26.
Psalms 62:11-12 (ESV)
Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
and that to you, O Lord, belongs STEADFAST LOVE.
For you will render to a man
according to his work.
God’s power is used in perfect harmony with His steadfast love. Therefore we can know we have one when we have the other.
27.
Psalms 63:3 (ESV)
Because your STEADFAST LOVE is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
Having God’s love is BETTER THAN life, because His steadfast love does not end in our death.
28.
Psalms 66:20 (ESV)
Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his STEADFAST LOVE from me!
God loves us so steadfast we are never rejected by Him or removed from Him.
29.
Psalms 69:13 (ESV)
But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your STEADFAST LOVE answer me in your saving faithfulness.
Psalms 69:16 (ESV)
Answer me, O LORD, for your STEADFAST LOVE is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
In the deepest crisis, when all else fails, and hope is diminished, we have a sure anchor for our soul in God’s steadfast love.
30.
Psalms 85:7 (ESV)
Show us your STEADFAST LOVE, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.
Psalms 85:10 (ESV)
STEADFAST LOVE and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
God’s steadfast love meets and transcends all other forms of expression. He LOVES us like NO ONE ELSE CAN.
31.
Psalms 86:5 (ESV)
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in STEADFAST LOVE to all who call upon you.
Psalms 86:15 (ESV)
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in STEADFAST LOVE and faithfulness.
Since He ABOUNDS in steadfast love He can’t ever run out of steadfast love.
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