Psalm 60 is a tough chapter. The psalmist is struggling – he feels alone and rejected by God. “Oh God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses, you have been angry”! What causes God to be angry with us? It isn’t what He desires. But we bring that reaction on by the way we live. Sin and disobedience cause God to be angry and to reject us. His nature does not allow Him to just look the other way. He can’t pretend we didn’t do it. He can only respond by separating Himself from us.
How do we fix it when we have messed up and made choices that cause us to be separated from God? We have to be restored. That is what Jesus life, death and resurrection is all about. He came and died and rose again so we could come back into right standing with God. He is the way we are redeemed. Reconciliation happens, restoration occurs, when we make Jesus Lord of our life. God isn’t going to tolerate sin. He makes “the land to quake….torn it open….made people see hard things…..make us stagger”. Let’s face it – God can’t look the other way. We will pay a price for our sin.
But God “set up a banner for those who fear You, that they may flee to it”. We can run to God. He never leaves even when we make choices that lead to sin and separate us from Him. We can come to Him in our pathetic sinful state, and we “may be delivered….salvation by your right hand….God has spoken with His holiness”. God will deliver us if we come to Him through Christ. Jesus is our means. He is all we need to be set free from the sins we commit. God provides us salvation, even though we make the choices to sin. God gives salvation freely – what a blessing. We don’t earn or deserve it.
When we sin, we lose God’s presence. The psalmist makes it clear: “you do not go forth….with our armies”. We have to realize that there truly is a price to pay for our sin. The difference between facing challenges alone, without God, and facing enemies with God is huge. “With God we shall do valiantly, it is he who will tread down our foes”. The difference is night and day. When we are walking with God we have His power doing battle for us. When we are not walking His way, we are on our own and will be trampled down. God is the difference. He is our help. He is the salvation of man!