this is a pretty short psalm and to be honest i didn’t get a whole lot from it. we do know that it is written by David and it is written in a time of war and battle and so that influences the mood and the atmosphere of the writing.

the one thing i felt when reading the intro, and this may just be me, but it seems to read slightly differently from some of the other psalms. this one begins with the phrase, “You have rejected us, God, and burst upon us” but whereas in some Psalms it seems more like an accusation or a huge question of ‘Why, God?’ the way i read this psalm was almost more an acknowledgement that we deserved it [knowing Israel’s history, probably because once more we were disobedient or turned against you] and so this sense of ‘i get it God, but please turn it around now.’

1 You have rejected us, God, and burst upon us;
    you have been angry—now restore us!
2 You have shaken the land and torn it open;
    mend its fractures, for it is quaking.
3 You have shown your people desperate times;
    you have given us wine that makes us stagger.
4 But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner
    to be unfurled against the bow.

Like i say, that could just be my reading of this piece, but it’s the phrase, ‘now restore us’ that follows the first line, that seems to suggest there is no huge accusation or question, coupled with verse 4 which reads, ‘But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow.’

Verse 9 asks a couple of ‘Who?’ questions with David leading up to his conclusion by moving the focus squarely on to God before giving Him this acknowledgement. Yes, we are confident that our help will come from God:

10 Is it not you, God, you who have now rejected us
and no longer go out with our armies?
11 Give us aid against the enemy,
for human help is worthless.
12 With God we will gain the victory,
and he will trample down our enemies.

[To return to the Intro page and be connected to any of the other Psalms i have walked through before now, click here]