You have shaken the land and torn it open. Heal its fractures, for it is quaking.
PSALM 60 David, who was now settled upon the throne, and had gained several signal victories, tending to confirm him in the kingdom, in this Psalm exalts the goodness of God, that he might at once express his gratitude, and by conciliating the favor of such as still stood out against his interests, unite the community, which had been rent into factions.
Commenting on Psalm 60:1-12
Thou hast made the earth to tremble. Things were as unsettled as though the solid earth had been made to quake; nothing was stable; the priests had been murdered by Saul, the worst men had been put in office, the military power had been broken by the Philistines, and the civil authority had grown despicable through insurrections and intestine contests. Thou hast broken it.
The title gives us an account, 1. Of the general design of the psalm. It is Michtam - David's jewel, and it is to teach. The Levites must teach it to the people, and by it teach them both to trust in God and to triumph in him; we must, in it, teach ourselves and one another.
Commenting on Psalm 60:1-5