Psalm 60 is a fervent emotional psalm, a prayer to be restored to God. It has a meaningful order. It begins with the despair of feeling that God has cast us away, and has allowed us to be broken down. This leads us to an understanding that the Lord permits us to go through hard experiences so that we may be strengthened and be able to be brought back with truer understanding.

The psalm moves on to use familiar names in the land of Israel to represent the scenes of the Lord’s might and influence. These are the Lord’s possession and they are the means for his power and involvement. The Lord claims them absolutely.

The third part of the psalm finds new courage and confidence from seeing the intimate power and presence of God over all Israel and over each part of it. It asserts that the Lord will unfailingly bring us to safety and lead us, this Lord whom earlier was said to have cast us off and who did not come to our aid. It ends, triumphing in God’s might and the assertion that help from man then is useless.

The first three verses give us a harrowing picture, that somehow God has acted against us in several ways, because he is displeased. This of course is not true, but it pictures a state that can descend on us even though we know and believe the opposite. It is caused by seeing the appearance and not seeing the underlying reality. It is interesting that in the middle of all this, the speaker begs to be restored again. This suggests the spark of some remnant state. (Divine Love and Wisdom 40[2])

The curious phrase in verse 3 about the ‘wine of confusion’ is literally the ’wine of reeling’. Being made to drink this by God means that God allows us to have states where our thoughts and understanding become disturbed and unclear. This allows us to reorder them which then strengthens them, which is then beneficial to us. (Arcana Caelestia 6377)

Verses 4 and 5 are about the ‘banner’ given by God to be displayed so that we can be delivered. What is this ‘banner’? A little further on it says ‘it is displayed because of the truth’, which is the purpose of the ‘banner’ or standard, to raise truth high up to be seen and known. A banner is a war rallying ensign; truth in our mind is our spiritual rallying point to which we turn for courage and confidence. (Arcana Caelestia 8624)

Then we come to the place-names of Israel which God claims and rules. The spiritual meaning of all these together and of Israel as a whole is that they stand for our existence from God. Individually, we are ‘Israel’. God is over it all, directing and governing our lives in every possible way. (Heaven and Hell 307:3)

The reference to dividing Shechem carries the spiritual idea of God almost like a referee, separating our warring factions and strife. Measuring the valley of Succoth stands for the Lord’s knowledge of the true state of us. Gilead, Manasseh and Ephraim become the trinity of life, and the goodness and truth which are needed to guide our life. Judah, the lawgiver, stands for the supreme need to recognise and acknowledge that truth is of and from the Lord. (Arcana Caelestia 4748:3))

It then moves on to more questions, but now they are full of confidence and understanding: ‘Who will bring me…? Who will lead me…?’ ‘Is it not You, O God, who cast me off?’ The speaker is overruling his early complaint to God and now, in this greater realisation, he feels the leading presence and power of God. (True Christian Religion 137[5])

The psalm comes to an end, having journeyed from dismay into instruction and to realisation, by comparing the trust we put in God and the trust we would be wise not to put in man. Spiritually, ‘man’ represents our own will which is fickle and delusory whereas Divine will and truth is an ever-dependable foundation.

6377. 'He washes his clothing in wine' means that His Natural consists in Divine Truth from His Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'washing' as purifying, dealt with in 3147; from the meaning of 'wine' as the good of love towards the neighbour and the good of faith, and in the highest sense as Divine Truth from the Lord's Divine Good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'clothing' as the exterior which covers the interior, dealt with in 5248, thus the natural since this is exterior and covers the rational, which is interior. Therefore 'clothing' also means truth since this is exterior and covers good, which is interior, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954.

[2] The fact that 'wine' means love towards the neighbour and the good of faith may be recognized from what has been shown regarding the bread and wine in the Holy Supper, in 2165, 2177, 3464, 4581, 5915. These paragraphs show that 'bread' is the good of celestial love, and that 'wine' is the good of spiritual love. The same may also be recognized from the minchah and the drink-offering in sacrifices. The minchah in them meant the good of love, and the drink-offering the good of faith. The minchah consisted of the kinds of things that meant the good of love, while the drink-offering consisted of wine that meant the good of faith. The sacrifices themselves were also called 'bread', 2165. For the use in sacrifices of a drink-offering consisting of wine, see Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 23:12-13, 18-19; Numbers 15:2-15; 28:6-7, 18-end; 29:1-7 and following verses.

[3] The meaning that 'wine' has of love towards the neighbour and the good of faith is also evident in Isaiah,

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! And come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1.

No one can fail to see that they did not have to buy wine and milk, but that they were to acquire what is meant by 'wine and milk', which is love towards the neighbour and faith. These gifts come from the Lord 'without money and without price'.

[4] In Hosea,

Threshing-floor and winepress will not feed them, and new wine will be deceptive to her. ¹ Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean. They will not pour libations of wine to Jehovah, their sacrifices will not be pleasing to Him. Hosea 9:1-4.

Here also in the internal sense reference is made to the good of love and the good of faith, to the demise of them. The good of love is meant by 'threshing-floor' by virtue of the grain there and the bread made from it, while the good of faith is meant by 'winepress', 'new wine', and 'libation of wine'. 'Ephraim will return to Egypt' stands for the fact that the understanding would resort to factual knowledge for advice concerning the arcana of faith; 'in Assyria they will eat what is unclean' stands for that which is the outcome of consequent false reasoning - 'Ephraim' being the area of understanding in the Church, see 5754, 6112, 6238, 6267; 'Egypt' the area of factual knowledge, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 5702; and 'Assyria' that of reasoning, 1186. The line of thought in this passage also shows that the words used here contain something more than what one sees in the letter. For everything hangs together in the internal sense, but not so in the external sense, for example when it says that 'threshing-floor and winepress will not feed them, and new wine will be deceptive to her', immediately followed by 'Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean'. Moreover, without the internal sense what meaning would Ephraim's return to Egypt and their eating in Assyria what is unclean have?

[5] 'Winepress' and 'wine' are also used in Jeremiah to describe the demise of mutual love and the good of faith,

He who lays waste has fallen on your vintage, therefore joy and gladness have been plucked from Carmel, and from the land of Moab, for I have made the wine cease from the winepresses; none will tread the headed. ² Jeremiah 48:32-33.

[6] The fact that 'wine' means the good of mutual love and of faith is also evident in John,

I heard a voice from the midst of the four living creatures, saying, Do no harm to oil and wine. Revelation 6:6.

[7] 'Oil' stands for the good of celestial love, and 'wine' for the good of spiritual love.

'Oil' and 'wine' have a similar meaning in the Lord's parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke,

A certain Samaritan was journeying, and seeing him who had been wounded by the robbers was moved with compassion for him; going therefore to him, he bandaged his wounds, and poured on oil and wine. Luke 10:33-34.

'He poured on oil and wine' means that he performed the works of love and charity, 'oil' being the good of love, see 886, 3728. A like meaning was involved in the practice of the ancients, who poured oil and wine onto a pillar when they consecrated it, Genesis 35:14, 4581, 4582.

[8] The fact that 'wine' means the good of love and faith is evident from the words the Lord used when He instituted the Holy Supper. He said then regarding the wine,

I tell you that I shall not drink from now on of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom. Matthew 26:29; Luke 22:17-18.

Anyone can see that He was not about to drink wine in that kingdom, but that the good of love and faith is meant, which He was about to impart to those who belonged to His kingdom. Much the same is meant by 'wine' in Isaiah 24:9, 11; Lamentations 2:11-12; Hosea 14:7; Amos 9:13-14; Zechariah 9:15-16; Luke 5:37-39.

[9] Since 'wine' means the good of love and faith, Divine Truth from the Lord's Divine Good is therefore meant in the highest sense, for that Truth, when it flows into a person and is accepted by him, brings him the good of love and faith.

[10] Since most things in the Word also have a contrary meaning, so too does 'wine', the contrary meaning of which is falsity from evil, as in Isaiah,

Woe to those who rise in the morning around dawn, and then follow strong drink, who continue into dusk, so that wine may inflame them! Woe to heroes at drinking wine, and to valiant men in mixing strong drink! Isaiah 5:11, 22

In the same prophet,

Also these err through wine, and go astray through strong drink. The priest and the prophet err through strong drink. They are swallowed up by wine, they go astray through strong drink. They err among the seers, they are tottery in judgement. Isaiah 28:7.

In the same prophet,

The shepherds know no understanding, they all look to their own way. Come, I will get wine, and we will be drunken from strong drink; and let there be tomorrow, as there is this day, great abundance. Isaiah 56:11-12.

In addition to these places 'wine' is used with the contrary meaning in Jeremiah 13:12; Hosea 4:11; 7:5; Amos 2:8; Micah 2:11; Psalms 75:8; Deuteronomy 32:33.

Falsity from evil is also meant by the cup of the wine of wrath in Jeremiah 25:15-16; Revelation 14:8, 10; 16:19; the winepress of the wrath of God's anger, Revelation 19:15; and the wine of whoredom, Revelation 17:2; 18:3.

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