John Calvin Commentary Psalms 60:6

"God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult; I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth." — Psalms 60:6 (ASV)

God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice. Until now he has referred to the proofs which had come under their own observation, and from which they might easily see that God had manifested his favor in a manner new, and for many years unprecedented. He had raised the nation from a state of deep distress to prosperity, and had changed the state of affairs so far, that one victory was following another in rapid succession.

But now he calls their attention to a point of even greater importance, the divine promise—the fact that God had previously declared all this with his own mouth. However numerous and striking the practical demonstrations we receive of the favor of God may be, we can never recognize them except in connection with his previously revealed promise.

What follows, although spoken by David as concerning himself individually, may be considered as the language adopted by the people generally, of whom he was the political head. Accordingly, he urges them, provided they were not satisfied with the tangible proofs of divine favor, to reflect upon the oracle by which he had been made king in the most distinct and remarkable terms.

He says that God had spoken in his holiness, not by his Holy Spirit, as some, with an over-refinement of interpretation, have interpreted it, nor by his holy place, the sanctuary; for we read of no response having been given from it to the prophet Samuel. It is best to retain the term holiness, as he refers to the fact that the truth of the oracle had been confirmed, and the constancy and efficacy of the promise had been placed beyond all doubt by numerous practical proofs.

Since no room had been left for question on the point, he uses this epithet to honor the words which had been spoken by Samuel. He immediately adds that this word of God was the chief ground upon which he placed his trust. It might be true that he had gained many victories and that these had tended to encourage his heart; but he intimates that no testimony of this kind which he had received gave him so much satisfaction as the word.

This accords with the general experience of the Lord’s people. While they are unquestionably cheered by every expression of divine goodness, faith must still always be considered as holding the highest place—as being that which dissipates their worst sorrows and quickens them, even when dead, to a happiness that is not of this world.

Nor does David mean that he merely rejoiced himself. In general, he includes all who feared the Lord in that Kingdom. And now he proceeds to give the sum of the oracle, and it is observable that he does so in such a way as to show, in his very narration of it, how firmly he believed in its truth: for he speaks of it as something which admitted of no doubt whatsoever, and boasts that he would do what God had promised.

I will divide Shechem, he says, and mete out the valley of Succoth. The parts he names are those that came into his possession later. These would appear to have still been in the hands of Saul’s son when this psalm was written. Since a severe struggle was necessary for their acquisition, he asserts that, though subdued late, they would certainly be brought under his subjection in due time, as God had condescended to promise this by his word.

So with Gilead and Manasseh. As Ephraim was the most populous of all the tribes, he appropriately terms it the strength of his head, that is, of his dominions.

To gain greater credibility for the oracle by showing that it derived sanction from antiquity, he adds that Judah would be his lawgiver, or chief. This was equivalent to saying that the posterity of Abraham could never prosper unless, in agreement with the prediction of the patriarch Jacob, they were brought under the government of Judah, or of one who was descended from that tribe.

He evidently alludes to what is narrated by Moses (Genesis 49:10): The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come.

The same word is used there, מחוקק, Mechokek, or legislator. It followed that no government could stand which was not resident in the tribe of Judah, this being the decree and the good pleasure of God.

The words are more appropriate in the mouth of the people than of David; and, as already remarked, he does not speak in his own name, but in that of the Church at large.