[1][2] It is addressed "to the chief Musician upon Shushan Eduth",[3] referring to the title of a song, presumably identifying the intended melody, mentioned only here and in Psalm 80,[4] and described as "a Michtam of David, when he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand.

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies.

[17] In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the 11th day of the month.

[18] Actor Stephen Fry uses the phrase Moab Is My Washpot for the title of his autobiography covering his early years.

[19] Heinrich Schütz set Psalm 60 in a metred version in German, "Ach Gott, der du vor dieser Zeit", SWV 157, as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628.