Psalms 44

Psalms 44:1

Psalm 44: Sheep for the SlaughterThe pain of defeat is made more bitter by the memory of former victories, and we never value our fellowship with God so much as when His face seems to be hidden from us. 44:1-3 Israel’s history was replete with soul-thrilling instances of God’s intervention on their behalf. He had driven the heathen out of the land of Canaan and had given it to His own people. By subduing the Canaanites He had set Israel free in a country of their own. It certainly wasn’t because of any military superiority that the Jews won possession of the pleasant land, nor was it by their own strength that they came off victorious. It was by God’s powerful right hand, by His omnipotent arm, by His loving favor showered down on them. 44:4-8 The memory of what the Lord has done inspires our own hearts to praise Him. He is the great King and mighty God who gives victories to the unworthy sons of unworthy Jacob. It is through Him that Israel has been able to bulldoze through the ranks of her enemies and to walk triumphantly over her attackers. She has learned that the battlebow is not to be trusted for success, nor is the sword a sufficient savior. God is the One who has delivered His people and thoroughly confused their foes! No wonder the people kept boasting of their connection with Him, kept saying they would never cease to thank Him! 44:9-12 But something has happened in the meantime to change their song to a lament. It seems that the Lord has forsaken His people and made them suffer dishonor. The armies marched out without God’s presence and help, and soon they were retreating in panic, with the enemies looting all Israel’s wealth. The Lord has abandoned His sheep to the butchers and scattered the survivors among the Gentile nations. It all happened like a business deal in which God sold His people for next to nothing. And the enemy apparently got away with it all without having to pay the consequences. 44:13-16 Poor Israel became the laughingstock of the other nations, an object of ridicule and scorn. Traditional bywords and epithets of derision were used to defame these Jews. God’s ancient people became the butt of crude jokes among the nations. Theirs was a shame from which they could not escape. Their faces were constantly crimsoned by the reproaches and jeers of their enemies, by the very sight of the vengeful foe. 44:17 The puzzling thing about all this defeat and shame was that it was not brought on by any conscious backsliding on Israel’s part. At other times in history there was a definite connection between suffering and sin. But in this particular case it was not so. It seemed instead that the people’s plight was due to the fact that they were God’s chosen people. It was a case of suffering for God and for His covenant. 44:18, 19 The calamities had come to a people who had not turned their backs on God or violated His covenant. They had not abandoned their love for Him or the pathway He had marked out for them. Yet the Lord had shattered them in the forsaken land of jackals, and covered them with the shadow of death. 44:20-22 If they had forgotten the name of their God or worshiped idols, wouldn’t God have known it? He knows the innermost thoughts and motives. No, that was not the cause. The people were suffering because of their connection with Jehovah. It was for His sake that they were enduring a living death, abused like animals destined for the slaughterhouse. Centuries later the Apostle Paul found himself in the same situation, and quoted Psa_44:22 to describe the sufferings of God’s people in every age (Rom_8:36). 44:23-26 The Psalm reaches a peak of bold urgency in verse 23, when the Lord is roused from His apparent slumber and asked to intervene for His people. It is more than the psalmist can understandhow God can hide His face in neglect and indifference while His people lie prostrate in the dust. And so he sounds reveille once again: Arise for our help, And redeem us for Your mercies’ sake.