Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 60:5

"That thy beloved may be delivered, Save with thy right hand, and answer us." — Psalms 60:5 (ASV)

From this verse onward the psalm appears again, with some variations noticed there, in Psalms 108:6-13.

Verses 6, 7, and 8, forming the center of the poem, are, plainly by their style, of different age and authorship from the beginning. Possibly, indeed, they formed an original poem by themselves, an ancient oracular saying descriptive of the relations of Israel to the tribes bordering on her territory, and were then employed by the compilers of this psalm and Psalm 108, to rouse the drooping spirits of the race in some less fortunate time. (See Introduction.) The speaker is God Himself, who, according to a familiar prophetic figure, appears in the character of a warrior, the captain of Israel, proclaiming the triumphs won through His might by their arms. .

Here, however, the picture is rather playful than terrible—rather ironic than majestic. The conqueror is returning, as in the passage of Isaiah referred to above, from the battle, but he is not painted glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength. The fury of the fight, the carnage, the bloodstained garments are all implied, not described. Instead of answering a challenge, as in Isaiah, by a description of the fight, here the champion simply proclaims the result of his victory as he proceeds to disarm and prepare for the bath—figures expressing the utmost contempt for the foe so easily subdued.