Psalms 60:6

God hath spoken in his holiness,.... Or "in his holy place" (q); in heaven, the habitation of his holiness and of his glory; or "in the house of the sanctuary", as the Targum: in the tabernacle, in

God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.

God hath spoken: having prayed that God would save and hear him, he now intimates that God had done it already, and had prevented his prayers, and had spoken to him and of him, about the stablishing of his throne. In his holiness; or, in the sanctuary or holy place, to which David used to resort to ask counsel, and from whence God usually gave out his oracles. Or rather, by his holiness, as this very word is rendered, , which carries the form of an oath, and implies that God did not simply speak, but swore by his holiness as it is there expressed. I will rejoice; therefore I will turn my prayers into praises and rejoicings for what God had already done, and, as I am assured, will further do, on my behalf. I will divide; or, distribute; which supposeth possession and dominion. Shechem; a place within Jordan, in Mount Ephraim. See . Succoth; a place without Jordan. See . He mentions Shechem and Succoth, either synecdochically for all the land of Canaan within and without Jordan, which, having been formerly divided between him and Ishbosheth, was now entirely in his possession; or because these two places had been in Ishbosheth’ s hands, and possibly were extraordinarily devoted to Saul’ s house, and utterly averse from David; or for some other reason now unknown.

Psalms 60:6 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.Ver. 6. God hath spoken in his holiness] He hath assured me all these following places; therefore I looked upon them long since as already mine, and now I am master of them. I will rejoice] As having peaceable possession of all; though I have come hardly by it. Now I see that whatsoever God by his servant Samuel assured me of, was true, and to be trusted; albeit I sometimes doubted of it, Psalms 116:11 1 Samuel 27:1. I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth] Which places, though they longest held out against me under Ishbosheth, yet now that they are come in, they shall have civil usage under me, and be better dealt with than those outland enemies, Moab, Edom, &c., now brought under my subjection.

(6) In his holiness . . .—The LXX. and Vulg. have “in his sanctuary” which suits the utterance of an oracle. I will rejoice . . .—Rather, I will raise a shout of triumph.I will divide Shechem . . .—Rather, I may divide, &c, implying unquestioned right of ownership. Shechem and Succoth appear to be named as a rude indication of the whole breadth of the country, from west to east. The fact that Dr. Robinson and Vandervelde have identified one Succoth on the right bank of Jordan, does not at all weaken the evidence for the existence of another on the east of that river. See Genesis 33:17; Judges 8:5 seq.; Joshua 13:17 (where çmek is used for valley, as here).

Verse 6. God hath spoken] Judah shall not only be re-established in Jerusalem, but shall possess Samaria, where Shechem is, and the country beyond Jordan, in which is situated the valley of Succoth. Dividing and meting out signify possession.

6. in his holiness] Or, by his holiness, for ‘spoken’ is the equivalent of ‘promised’ or ‘sworn.’ Cp. Psalms 89:35; Amos 4:2. God’s ‘holiness’ includes His whole essential nature in its moral aspect, and that nature makes it impossible for Him to break His promise (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2). It is equivalent to ‘Himself’ (Amos 6:8; Hebrews 6:13; Hebrews 6:17 f). ‘In his sanctuary’ (cp. Psalms 63:2) is a possible but less probable rendering. I will rejoice] Better as R.V., I will exult. But who is the speaker? Is it David or God? The latter alternative is certainly preferable. The language is bold, but not bolder than that of Isa 63:1 ff. God is represented as a victorious warrior, conquering the land, and portioning it out to His people. The language recalls the conquest of the land under Joshua (Joshua 18:10); but it certainly does not imply that the land was now permanently in the possession of foreigners, and needing to be reconquered. He makes Ephraim the chief defence of His kingdom, and Judah the seat of government, and treats the neighbouring nations as His vassals. It is possible that some actual oracle is quoted, but more probable that the drift of the great promise to David (2 Samuel 7:9 f) is freely reproduced in a poetical form. Cp. Psalms 2:7; Psalms 89:19. Shechem … the valley of Succoth] Shechem, as a central place of importance, represents the territory west of the Jordan; Succoth, ‘in the vale’ (Joshua 13:27), somewhere to the south of the Jabbok, between Peniel and the Jordan, represents the territory east of the Jordan. These two places may be named, because of their connexion with the history of Jacob, who halted first at Succoth and then at Shechem, when he returned to Canaan (Genesis 33:17-18). God will fulfil His promise to Jacob, apportioning to His people the land in which their great ancestor settled.

God hath spoken in his holiness - That is, as a holy God; a God who is true; a God whose promises are always fulfilled.

6. God… spoken—Hitherto David has spoken, figuratively, of a “banner displayed on account of the truth;” now, he speaks plainly of the divine oracle as the ground of his faith.