Psa 44:13-16 | KingComments | STEP | In , the tone of the psalm changes. This change is introduced with the word “yet”. “Yet” implies: despite the daily thanksgiving in in response that God was kind to them. Embedded in this is the question, how the God of the fathers can now reject their children (cf. ). The faithful – who identify with the rest of the people, as, for example, Daniel does ( ) – look at the circumstances in which they now find themselves. They then note that the God Whom they praise and glorify has “rejected [us] and brought us to dishonor”. That He has rejected them, they describe in ; that He has put them to shame, they describe in . The enemy has come, but God did not go with the armies of Israel. As a result, they have turned back from the adversary ( ). God has given the enemy the upper hand over them, and now they are being plundered by those who hate them to benefit from it. They complain to God that He gives them to their enemies “as sheep to be eaten” ( ; cf. ). This “eaten” is done by the enemies of God’s people. The remnant has fled from the enemy, but nowhere are they safe. They experience what they as a nation did to their Messiah at the time. Their Messiah was sold by the people for little money ( ; ). Now they themselves are sold for little money ( ; cf. ; ; ). They despised Him and now they themselves are despised. They are reaping the fruits of their rejection of their Messiah. What they are experiencing, the Lord Jesus, their Messiah, also experienced during His days on earth. They are reaping what they have sown. God makes them a reproach to their “neighbors” ( ), which are primarily their neighboring peoples of Edom, Ammon and Moab. “The nations” – where we can think of the nations among whom they are scattered, a wider circle therefore than the “neighbors” in the previous line – make them a byword ( ; ; ). They are a laughingstock among peoples. The remnant sees in the actions of the nations and the peoples the actions of God. Time and again they speak of “You”, “You”, “You”…. He works this mocking behavior. They don’t sue God about this, but acknowledge that they deserve it. In , the king is speaking – he is the “me” in this verse. Literally he says “the shame of my face has covered me”. This goes further than “my humiliation has overwhelmed me”. In fact, it says: Shame has totally surrounded and covered me. This happens all day long. This is a great contrast to “all day long” boasting in God ( ). The cause of this is “the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the enemy and the avenger” ( ). In this we recognize the antichrist, who has a big mouth and speaks blasphemies ( ).

‏ Psalms 44:13-16

Complaint of the Rejected People

In Psa 44:9, the tone of the psalm changes. This change is introduced with the word “yet”. “Yet” implies: despite the daily thanksgiving in Psa 44:7 in response that God was kind to them. Embedded in this is the question, how the God of the fathers can now reject their children (cf. Psa 89:38).

The faithful – who identify with the rest of the people, as, for example, Daniel does (Dan 9:5) – look at the circumstances in which they now find themselves. They then note that the God Whom they praise and glorify has “rejected [us] and brought us to dishonor”. That He has rejected them, they describe in Psa 44:10-12; that He has put them to shame, they describe in Psa 44:13-16.

The enemy has come, but God did not go with the armies of Israel. As a result, they have turned back from the adversary (Psa 44:10). God has given the enemy the upper hand over them, and now they are being plundered by those who hate them to benefit from it.

They complain to God that He gives them to their enemies “as sheep to be eaten” (Psa 44:11; cf. Zec 11:4 ; 7). This “eaten” is done by the enemies of God’s people. The remnant has fled from the enemy, but nowhere are they safe. They experience what they as a nation did to their Messiah at the time. Their Messiah was sold by the people for little money (Zec 11:12-13; Mt 26:15 ; Mt 27:9). Now they themselves are sold for little money (Psa 44:12; cf. Deu 32:30; Jdg 2:14; Isa 52:3). They despised Him and now they themselves are despised.

They are reaping the fruits of their rejection of their Messiah. What they are experiencing, the Lord Jesus, their Messiah, also experienced during His days on earth. They are reaping what they have sown. God makes them a reproach to their “neighbors” (Psa 44:13), which are primarily their neighboring peoples of Edom, Ammon and Moab.

“The nations” – where we can think of the nations among whom they are scattered, a wider circle therefore than the “neighbors” in the previous line – make them a byword (Psa 44:14; Deu 28:37; Jer 24:9). They are a laughingstock among peoples. The remnant sees in the actions of the nations and the peoples the actions of God. Time and again they speak of “You”, “You”, “You”…. He works this mocking behavior. They don’t sue God about this, but acknowledge that they deserve it.

In Psa 44:15, the king is speaking – he is the “me” in this verse. Literally he says “the shame of my face has covered me”. This goes further than “my humiliation has overwhelmed me”. In fact, it says: Shame has totally surrounded and covered me. This happens all day long. This is a great contrast to “all day long” boasting in God (Psa 44:8). The cause of this is “the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the enemy and the avenger” (Psa 44:16). In this we recognize the antichrist, who has a big mouth and speaks blasphemies (Rev 13:5-6 ; 11).