Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 60:9

"Who will bring me into the strong city? Who hath led me unto Edom?" — Psalms 60:9 (ASV)

Who will ... — that is, how can this ancient Divine oracle be fulfilled now in present circumstances? This is the poet’s question. He may be a king himself eager for triumph, or more probably Israel personified. (See the plural in Psalms 60:10-12.) Edom is the particular foe in view, and as the difficulties of the undertaking present themselves, misgivings arise, and the assurance gained from the triumphs of former times turns into prayer, half plaintive, half confident, that Divine favor and power may once again be on the side of the chosen people.

The strong city. —As in Hebrew, the article is lacking, any strongly fortified city might be intended, were it not for the parallelism. Here it must stand for Selah or Petra, the capital of Edom. For its impregnable position . The question, Who will lead me into Petra? is explained by the fact that there are only two possible approaches to the city, each a long, narrow, tortuous defile, and that the place itself is so buried in its ravines that it cannot be seen from any spot in its neighborhood, far or near.