Psa 44:1-3 | KingComments | STEP | In Psalms 42-43, the faithful remnant is outside the land and is in great distress there. Their greatest distress is that they cannot go to God in His sanctuary. Psalm 44 further describes that distress. Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 are an individual lamentation. Psalm 44 is a lamentation of the people. Although the people trust in the LORD, they are still in great distress because of what the nations are doing to them. A division of the psalm: 1. First they remind God of the past, of what they themselves have heard about the occupation of the land ( ). 2. They confess God as their God and express their trust in Him ( ). 3. Then they speak of their current situation: they are terribly persecuted ( ). 4. Then they confess their faithfulness ( ). 5. They conclude the psalm with a cry to God to rise up and be their help ( ). The content of the psalm can also be divided with a few key words: 1. Trust : because of God’s actions in the past ( ). 2. Dejection : because of the defeat by enemies. The slaughter in the land by the king of the North, although the remnant itself escapes the slaughter because they have taken refuge abroad ( ). 3. Confusion : how faith trust and hardship can go together ( ). 4. Request : whether God will grant salvation after all ( ). For “for the choir director”( ) see at Psalm 4:1. For “a Maskil” see at Psalm 32:1. For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalm 42:1. Here they are speaking to God ( ) and not to the LORD, the God of the covenant. This is true of most of the second book of Psalms (see the Introduction to Psalm 42). They are removed from the sanctuary and therefore feel removed from the covenant. They think of the work and wonders of God in overcoming mighty enemies and the promised land that has been given to them. This is what their fathers told them about (cf. ). God has repeatedly commanded that His great deeds must be told by the fathers to their children ( ; ; cf. ). For us as members of God’s New Testament people, the church, His great act is the redemption of our sins. He accomplished this by sending His Son, Who accomplished redemption through His work on the cross. The Son suffered, died and rose again and is now glorified with God in heaven. We may tell about this to our children. When we read “in their days” and “the days of old” we can think of the deliverance from Egypt, but here especially of the taking possession of the land. God did a great “work … in their days” by helping them drive out the nations of the land and giving it to them. They lived there and enjoyed the blessing. Now this work seems to become undone, for they have been driven out of the land. God “drove out the nations” with His hand ( ; ). In their place He “planted” His people (cf. ; ; ). Nothing is said here about the unbelief of the people. The faithful only want to speak about what God has done and thereby remind Him of His earlier dealings with His people. He “drove out” the nations who were then in the land because the measure of their iniquity was complete ( ). His own people He has showered with blessing and “planted them” (cf. ). They are aware that it was not in their own strength and by their own means that they drove the enemies out of the land ( ). It is all due solely to God’s power ( ). They speak of “Your right hand and Your arm”. It is a double display of power, for both speak of God’s power. On top of that, the light of God’s presence was present with them and guided them. It means that He “favored them”. This is evident from the fact that He chose them to be His own people.

‏ Psalms 44:1-3

Introduction

In Psalms 42-43, the faithful remnant is outside the land and is in great distress there. Their greatest distress is that they cannot go to God in His sanctuary. Psalm 44 further describes that distress. Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 are an individual lamentation. Psalm 44 is a lamentation of the people. Although the people trust in the LORD, they are still in great distress because of what the nations are doing to them.

A division of the psalm:

1. First they remind God of the past, of what they themselves have heard about the occupation of the land (Psa 44:1b-3).

2. They confess God as their God and express their trust in Him (Psa 44:4-8).

3. Then they speak of their current situation: they are terribly persecuted (Psa 44:9-16).

4. Then they confess their faithfulness (Psa 44:17-22).

5. They conclude the psalm with a cry to God to rise up and be their help (Psa 44:23-26).

The content of the psalm can also be divided with a few key words:

1. Trust: because of God’s actions in the past (Psa 44:1b-8).

2. Dejection: because of the defeat by enemies. The slaughter in the land by the king of the North, although the remnant itself escapes the slaughter because they have taken refuge abroad (Psa 44:9-16).

3. Confusion: how faith trust and hardship can go together (Psa 44:17-22).

4. Request: whether God will grant salvation after all (Psa 44:23-26).

Remembrance of the Past

For “for the choir director”(Psa 44:1a) see at Psalm 4:1.

For “a Maskil” see at Psalm 32:1.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalm 42:1.

Here they are speaking to God (Psa 44:1b) and not to the LORD, the God of the covenant. This is true of most of the second book of Psalms (see the Introduction to Psalm 42). They are removed from the sanctuary and therefore feel removed from the covenant. They think of the work and wonders of God in overcoming mighty enemies and the promised land that has been given to them. This is what their fathers told them about (cf. Jdg 6:13). God has repeatedly commanded that His great deeds must be told by the fathers to their children (Exo 10:2 ; Exo 13:14; Deu 4:9; cf. Exo 12:26-27).

For us as members of God’s New Testament people, the church, His great act is the redemption of our sins. He accomplished this by sending His Son, Who accomplished redemption through His work on the cross. The Son suffered, died and rose again and is now glorified with God in heaven. We may tell about this to our children.

When we read “in their days” and “the days of old” we can think of the deliverance from Egypt, but here especially of the taking possession of the land. God did a great “work … in their days” by helping them drive out the nations of the land and giving it to them. They lived there and enjoyed the blessing. Now this work seems to become undone, for they have been driven out of the land.

God “drove out the nations” with His hand (Psa 44:2; Deu 7:1). In their place He “planted” His people (cf. Exo 15:17; Psa 80:8; Amos 9:15). Nothing is said here about the unbelief of the people. The faithful only want to speak about what God has done and thereby remind Him of His earlier dealings with His people. He “drove out” the nations who were then in the land because the measure of their iniquity was complete (Gen 15:16). His own people He has showered with blessing and “planted them” (cf. Psa 80:8-11).

They are aware that it was not in their own strength and by their own means that they drove the enemies out of the land (Psa 44:3). It is all due solely to God’s power (Deu 8:17-18 ; Deu 9:3-6). They speak of “Your right hand and Your arm”. It is a double display of power, for both speak of God’s power. On top of that, the light of God’s presence was present with them and guided them. It means that He “favored them”. This is evident from the fact that He chose them to be His own people.