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.
A. the unexpected defeat
1 O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us,
thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.
2 Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it:
heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
3 Thou hast shewed thy people hard things:
thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.
B. the appeal for deliverance
4 Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee,
that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
5 That thy beloved may be delivered;
save with thy right hand, and hear me.
B’. the reply
6 God hath spoken in his holiness;
I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem,
and mete out the valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine,
and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim also is the strength of mine head;
Judah is my lawgiver;
8 Moab is my washpot;
over Edom will I cast out my shoe:
Philistia, triumph thou because of me.
A’. the ultimate victory
9 Who will bring me into the strong city?
who will lead me into Edom?
10 Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off?
and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies?
11 Give us help from trouble:
for vain is the help of man.
12 Through God we shall do valiantly:
for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.
Note vv 6-9 : The following is from: The Politics of Psalmody: Psalm 60 and the Rise and Fall of Judean Independence, Craig Evan Anderson, Journal of Biblical Literature Vol. 134, No. 2 (Summer 2015), pp. 313-332
“The two chiasms consist of pairs of matching couplets … flanking a triplet . Not only is this triplet signaled by the parameters designated by the two chiasms, but also the triplet is itself internally consistent. Each of the three components within the triplet consists of a political entity identified as a piece of personal equipment featuring a first person common singular suffix”
A. 6 I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem,
B. and mete out the valley of Succoth.
B’. 7 Gilead is mine,
A’. and Manasseh is mine;
A. Ephraim also is the strength of mine head;
B. Judah is my lawgiver;
C. . 8 Moab is my washpot;
A. over Edom will I cast out my shoe:
B. Philistia, triumph thou because of me.
B’. 9 Who will bring me into the strong city?
A’. who will lead me into Edom?