Day 95

Psalm 44: Read here – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2044&version=NASB

This psalm speaks of the nation of Israel in a season of great defeat, calling out to God for rescue. The psalmist begins by recounting the past as their future hope. Alluding to the story of Joshua (Joshua 24:12-13), he reminds himself that it was not by their own works that these mighty deeds were done in the past. In v5 he is praying for victory over their enemies. (Our Enemies are invisible)

The vivid image of v5 is taken from the manner of fighting common to wild horned animals, who first prostrate their foe by their fierce charge and then trample them.

Speaking on behalf of Israel in v6, the psalmist assured God that their faith was in God and His power, not in their own strength or skill. God gives the victory, and to him must be ascribed the praise, and the power, and the glory.

V7 implies thanks for past victories. The psalmist didn’t speak as if God had done nothing like this before in his own generation. Selah: A reflective pause comes in fitly here. Notice the repetition of the word You in vs7-14. The distress of God’s people deepens with every line of verses 10-12, with rout, spoil, slaughter, scattering, and slavery.

The psalmist felt duty-bound (v17-19) to tell God that despite the feeling they had been forsaken, they had not departed from God. They remembered Him and remained faithful to His covenant. The mention of the covenant was of special purpose. Under the Old Covenant (sometimes known as the Mosaic or Sinai Covenant) God promised to bless an obedient Israel and curse a disobedient Israel (as in Deuteronomy 28). The psalmist implied that God must now be faithful to His part of the covenant because Israel had been faithful to their part.

Without claiming sinless perfection, the psalmist insisted that as a whole, Israel was still committed to God in heart and in conduct (our steps).

In Ps44 we sense the psalmist honestly (and not self-righteously) makes the case that their present distress was not due to unaddressed sin or rebellion. God’s disappearances are sometimes to stimulate our pursuit of Him.