Pslams 44

Psalm 44

Former Deliverances and Present Troubles.

For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.

1O God, we have heard with our ears,
Our (A)fathers have told us
The (B)work that You did in their days,
In the (C)days of old.
2You with Your own hand (D)drove out the nations;
Then You (E)planted them;
You (F)afflicted the peoples,
Then You (G)spread them abroad.
3For by their own sword they (H)did not possess the land,
And their own arm did not save them,
But Your right hand and Your (I)arm and the (J)light of Your presence,
For You (K)favored them.
4You are (L)my King, O God;
(M)Command victories for Jacob.
5Through You we will (N)push back our adversaries;
Through Your name we will (O)trample down those who rise up against us.
6For I will (P)not trust in my bow,
Nor will my sword save me.
7But You (Q)have saved us from our adversaries,
And You have (R)put to shame those who hate us.
8In God we have (S)boasted all day long,
And we will (T)give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.
9Yet You (U)have rejected us and brought us to (V)dishonor,
And (W)do not go out with our armies.
10You cause us to (X)turn back from the adversary;
And those who hate us (Y)have taken spoil for themselves.
11You give us as (Z)sheep to be eaten
And have (AA)scattered us among the nations.
12You (AB)sell Your people cheaply,
And have not [a]profited by their sale.
13You make us a (AC)reproach to our neighbors,
A scoffing and a (AD)derision to those around us.
14You make us (AE)a byword among the nations,
A (AF)laughingstock among the peoples.
15All day long my dishonor is before me
And my (AG)humiliation has overwhelmed me,
16Because of the voice of him who (AH)reproaches and reviles,
Because of the presence of the (AI)enemy and the avenger.
17All this has come upon us, but we have (AJ)not forgotten You,
And we have not (AK)dealt falsely with Your covenant.
18Our heart has not (AL)turned back,
And our steps (AM)have not deviated from Your way,
19Yet You have (AN)crushed us in a place of (AO)jackals
And covered us with (AP)the shadow of death.
20If we had (AQ)forgotten the name of our God
Or extended our hands to (AR)a strange god,
21Would not God (AS)find this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22But (AT)for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are considered as (AU)sheep to be slaughtered.
23(AV)Arouse Yourself, why (AW)do You sleep, O Lord?
Awake, (AX)do not reject us forever.
24Why do You (AY)hide Your face
And (AZ)forget our affliction and our oppression?
25For our (BA)soul has sunk down into the dust;
Our body cleaves to the earth.
26(BB)Rise up, be our help,
And (BC)redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.

This psalms is a very interesting one. It begins completely recognizing the sovereignty of God and ends recognizing the sovereignty of God and yet begins v.1-9 with incredible praise and then 10-26 in great despair. I could just feel the joy and goodness of the beginning and then the incredible despair. How great is the psalmists despair that he cries out "Why do You sleep, O lord?" and "Why do You hide Your face and forget our affliction and our oppression?" Surely our God is not alseep and not forgetful the way man is and yet his despair makes him feel so. Even in despair he follows the same believe that, "I will not trust in my bow, nor will my sword save me" because it is all God, all God and no one else. In good times and bad he can see this. But recognizing such sovereignty makes it seems as if Maskil is accusing God-and in a way he is. He accuses God of sleeping and forgetting because with his pinkie or his breathe, God could rescue His people. I can completely understand both. Is Maskil wrong? David does this often too, pleading for God almighty to rescue them and pleading for him not to turn his face and forget. Even Moses does this pleading with God to save Israel after the golden calf. I guess that's the position we are meant to be in, completely powerless, stripped of agency and therefore humbled, pleading God on the basis of his own nature to save. The same God is constant forever and is still the God who will "redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness."