I Am His, And He Is Mine

Psalm 60: 1 – 12

I am His, and He Is mine

To the Chief Musician. Set to “Lily of the Testimony.” A Michtam of David. For teaching. When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

1 O God, You have cast us off; You have broken us down; You have been displeased; Oh, restore us again. 2 You have made the earth tremble; You have broken it; Heal its breaches, for it is shaking. 3 You have shown Your people hard things; You have made us drink the wine of confusion. 4 You have given a banner to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah 5 That Your beloved may be delivered, save with Your right hand, and hear me. 6 God has spoken in His holiness: “I will rejoice; I will divide Shechem and measure out the Valley of Succoth. 7 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet for My head; Judah is My lawgiver. 8 Moab is My wash pot; Over Edom I will cast My shoe; Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.” 9 Who will bring me to the strong city? Who will lead me to Edom? 10 Is it not You, O God, who cast us off? And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies? 11 Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless. 12 Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies.

As we begin our study I am inspired to share with all of you, lyrics to a song written in 1876 by George W. Robinson titled I Am His, and He Is Mine

Loved with everlasting love,

Led by grace that love to know;

Gracious Spirit from above,

Thou hast taught me it is so!

Oh, this full and perfect peace!

Oh, this transport all divine!

In a love which cannot cease,

I am His, and He is mine;

In a love which cannot cease,

I am His, and He is mine.

Heav’n above is softer blue,

Earth around is sweeter green;

Something lives in every hue

Christless eyes have never seen;

Birds with gladder songs o’er flow,

Flow’rs with deeper beauties shine,

Since I know, as now I know,

I am His, and He is mine;

Since I know, as now I know,

I am His, and He is mine.

Things that once were wild alarms

Cannot now disturb my rest,

Closed in everlasting arms,

Pillowed on His loving breast;

Oh, to lie forever here,

Doubt and care and self-resign,

While He whispers in my ear

I am His, and He is mine;

While He whispers in my ear

I am His, and He is mine.

His forever, only His;

Who the Lord and me shall part?

Ah, with what a rest of bliss

Christ can fill the loving heart!

Heav’n and earth may fade and flee,

Firstborn light in gloom decline,

But while God and I shall be,

I am His, and He is mine;

But while God and I shall be,

I am His, and He is mine.

He says I am His. The King of kings calls me His own. He says to His Creation regarding me, ‘he’s Mine’. My hope and prayer is that you can also say the same?

To the Chief Musician. Set to “Lily of the Testimony.” A Michtam of David. For teaching. When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

This Psalm is dedicated to the Chief Musician to the tune of Shushan Eduth, ‘the Lily of Testimony’. It is a Michtam, a cry for cover and protection, and was for teaching. Possibly the aim was that it should be learned by heart.

The background to the Psalm was when David had invaded Syria (Aram) to the north (2 Samuel 8.3-8), defeating the kings of Zobah and Damascus. Seemingly the Edomites to the south, with the assistance of the Syrians, had taken advantage of the opportunity to invade Southern Judah. It was at this point that the Psalm was written, when Judah was in despair at this sudden and unexpected invasion by their enemies, a despair shared by David as he learned news of what was going on. Subsequently he sent Joab and Abishai to deal with this invasion with the result that a Syrian-Edomite alliance in the South was driven back, inflicting heavy casualties (2 Samuel 8.13-14).

The opening of the Psalm is explained by this reverse which David initially suffered, of which he received news while he was fighting in the north. It may well be that while he was conducting his successful campaign in the north, the Edomites, encouraged by a contingent of Syrians, had invaded southern Judah. News of this having reached David he penned this Psalm, in which he calls on God, recognizing that the reverse that Israel have suffered reveals that God Is angry with them (otherwise He would surely have protected them). Declaring His certainty of victory because YHWH has raised His banner on His people’s behalf, he ends the Psalm by calling on God for His assistance.