Psalm 44
Sunday, 21 February 2021
“Arise for our help, And redeem us for Your mercies’ sake.” -Psalm 44:26
This Psalm is a cry that emanates from every human at some point in their life and so we are able to immediately connect with the Psalmist. The undeserved sufferings of godly people, along with the incomprehensible fact that such is in keeping with the will of God has baffled many from the beginning of time. The Book of Job is a perfect example of a man wrestling with the supposed injustice from God. Many a debate, answer, question, etc. have been sought and put forward and finally the only answer that makes sense is that GOD can be trusted in all situations. The Psalmist though feels dejected, has the confidence of God’s help and so cries out for God’s mercy.
This Psalm can be divided into five stanzas:
Testimonies of old (Psa 44:1-3)
Testimonies of the recent past. (Psa 44: 4-8)
Current distress that compelled the Psalmist to remind God of his mercy (Psa 44: 9-16)
Declaration of innocence and complaint against the injustice (Psa 44: 17-22)
Utter helplessness and dependency on God for deliverance. (Psa 44: 23-26)
Just as the Lord was sovereign and in control in the past, so is He now; just as He provided victory in the past, so is He able to provide it now; just as past endeavors could not have been successful without God, neither can the present ones.
As children of God and heirs like the Israelites but by adoption, we should take counsel from the dealings of God in their lives as an encouragement. We also react to adverse circumstances in life by complaining like the Psalmist did in the key verse. So why are we not able to stand on the promises from God? There are different reasons. We forget that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28)and those who wait upon Him will never be put to shame (Ps 25:3). Our lives will be much easier if we truly understood the full implications of these scriptures.
God often upsets our world, giving us the opportunity to consider the realities of life, determining what is truly important and what is not. It is not the purpose of God to grant us a life of ease and wealth alone, but rather to keep our hearts turned towards Him. Even though the Psalmist seems to be doubting God by expressing it, yet his faith and hope really does rest in God as seen from the testimonies of past victories. As Christians, there are many times it may seem as though we have been cast off by God. At times such as this, we must remember that it is not necessary to know all of the answers to the perplexities of life. God calls us to love and trust in Him--a trust that will never leave us ashamed, for in Him is no darkness, neither shadow of turning.
Apostle Paul went through great trials and he was also strengthened by this Psalm for he quotes from it and gives us great encouragement through Romans 8: 35 -37: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” (Psalm 44:22)
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. “
Thought for the Day:
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
– Corrie Ten Boom
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