Deeper Commentary
Psa 44:1 For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. A contemplative psalm- "By" can as well be "for", so the Psalm may still be Davidic, but is dedicated to the memory of the sons of Korah. Korah had died in rebellion against God, but his children had been preserved (Num. 26:9-11); they therefore became representative of all who had overcome bad background to worship Yahweh independently, regardless of the sins of their fathers. They were therefore inspirational to the righteous remnant amongst the exiles in Babylon. Or these "sons of Korah" may refer to a group of musicians who were to perform the Psalm, the Levitical singers mentioned in 1 Chron. 26:1,2; 2 Chron. 20:19. Or if we insist on reading "by", it could have been a Davidic Psalm edited and as it were released by a group called "the sons of Korah" during the captivity in Babylon.
The Psalm appears to be reflection upon Israel's defeat, at least temporarily. This isn't recorded in the historical records of David's life. But the Psalm has many connections with Psalm 60, which is Davidic Ps. 60:1,10 = Ps. 44:9,10; Ps. 60:11 = Ps. 44:26 etc.). So it appears to be a comment upon a temporary set back and defeat during this campaign against Edom. See on 2 Sam. 8:1 and Ps. 60. Much of Psalm 60 is repeated in Psalm 108 as a victory song. Likewise in Psalm 44. The war with Edom clearly had a far larger dimension than the simple note in 2 Samuel 8 that David defeated Edom. He did, but after a stunning defeat, and an amazing victory by God's grace alone, for which David gave ample thanks in at least three Psalms, 44,60 and 108.
We have heard with our ears, God; our fathers have told us, what work You
did in their days, in the days of old-
In the times of mass illiteracy, the history of Israel would have been
repeated orally. This was not to be just the job of the priests, the
teachers of Israel, but of the "fathers" of all the tribes. The emphasis
in the Psalm is upon God's work being greater than any human
work.
Psa 44:2 You drove out the nations with Your hand, but You planted them.
You afflicted the peoples, but You spread them abroad- The "them" is
Israel, contrasted with "the nations / peoples". "Drove out" is the word
for "inherit" in the promises that Abraham's seed would "inherit" the land
(:3; Gen. 15:7,8; 28:4). As in our experience, there is always a primary
fulfilment of God's promises and eternal covenant, which was based around
the promises to Abraham. This was of particular comfort to the exiles
(s.w. Ps. 69:35). Although God appeared not to be coming through for them
at the time (see on :1), they were to take comfort in the covenant with
Abraham; God's hand had worked in the past and would do so again, and the
land was ultimately theirs. Even if at the moment their enemies were in
the ascendancy.
Psa 44:3 For they didn’t get the land in possession by their own sword,
neither did their own arm save them; but Your right hand, and Your arm, and
the light of Your face, because You were favourable to them-
This contrasts with how Jacob's final words were to the effect that he
had carved out his own inheritance at Shechem by his sword and bow (Gen.
48:22). David is recognizing that this attitude was wrong; and yet the
spiritually weak "Jacob" was still to be saved by God's grace (:4).
Psa 44:4 You are my King, God. Command victories for Jacob!-
David the king repeatedly calls God his
"king". His exaltation didn't lead him to pride, as he was always under
the deep impression that he was not the ultimate king (Ps. 5:2; 10:16;
29:10; 44:4; 47:6). His personal relationship with God was, he believed,
the basis for "victories for Jacob", all God's weak and wandering people.
Psa 44:5 Through You will we push down our adversaries. Through Your name
will we tread them under who rise up against us-
The connections with Ps. 60 (see on :1). lead us to conclude that this
prayer was heard in the final victory against Edom (see on Ps. 60:1), who
had 'risen up' against Israel.
Psa 44:6 For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me-
The more closely we analyze the Bible heroes, the more apparent it is
that they were shot through with weakness; and some of those weaknesses it
seems they unsuccessfully battled with until the day of their death. I
think of Jacob, always trusting in his own strength, being progressively
taught to trust in Yahweh's strength. And yet right at the very end of his
life, he lets slip a comment which would seem more appropriate to his
earlier life: "Shechem... which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with
my sword and with my bow" (Gen. 48:22). The wrongness of
this attitude seems to be alluded to in Josh. 24:12, which says that God
drove out the Amorites "but not with your sword, neither with your bow" .
And here in Ps. 44:3,6 also. So
Jacob, right at the end of his life, still hadn't completely overcome that
besetting weakness of self-reliance. This is, of course, a dangerous road
to go down. In no way can we be complacent about our urgent need for
spiritual growth. But on the other hand, we will never reach the stature
of Christ without righteousness being imputed to us. In this sense, true
Christian believers aren't good people.
Psa 44:7 But You have saved us from our adversaries, and have shamed those
who hate us- The Psalm will go on to complain that now, their
adversaries were in the ascendancy (:22,23 etc.). But David refuses to
thereby forget that God has indeed amazingly come through for His people
in the past. So often, the sense that God is not coming through for us
right now leads people to discount all His amazing historical grace. And
that is one function of Biblical history.
Psa 44:8 In God we have made our boast all day long, we will give thanks
to Your name forever. Selah- As noted on :7, it is quite a reflection
of David's faith and spirituality that he could praise and boast of God,
even when (as the Psalm goes on to state), he feels God has not come
through for him as He ought to have done.
Psa 44:9 But now You rejected us, and brought us to dishonour, and don’t
go out with our armies- Even when feeling rejected by God, David still
praised God and boasted of what He had done in the past (:7,8). This
should be our attitude- that even if rejected by God, or feeling rejected,
our basic love and respect of Him should continue. God not going out with
Israel's armies, and their turning back from their enemies (:10), is all
the language of the punishments for Israel breaking the covenant. Instead
of confessing this, David instead focuses upon the sinfulness of their
enemies, and asking God to reverse the situation. As in his own attitude
to his sin with Bathsheba, he appears more interested in seeing the
consequences of sin taken away than in actually repenting and receiving
forgiveness.
Psa 44:10 You make us turn back from the adversary. Those who hate us take
spoil for themselves- As noted on :9, turning backs before enemies
was a curse for breaking the covenant. David should have recognized this,
and confessed it and urged Israel to repent. Instead, rather like in his
own difficulty in repenting over his sin with Bathsheba, he instead
focuses upon the consequences for sin and begs God to remove them.
Psa 44:11 You have made us like sheep for food, and have scattered us
among the nations- This was surely added, under inspiration, by the
exiles using this psalm of David.
Psa 44:12 You sell Your people for nothing, and have gained nothing from
their sale- This would imply that Yahweh as the seller considered His
people worthless, and was pleased to get rid of them for nothing. This is
far from a fair description of what happened at the captivity. The
explanation as to why they were sold for nothing is given clearly in Jer.
15:13: "Your substance and your treasures will I give for a spoil without
price and that for all your sins". Just as David struggled to
accept that the consequences of his sin with Bathsheba were appropriate
and just, so did the exiles. They had sold themselves into captivity,
according to their own prophets. If God has as it were profited by their
sale, then they would have criticized that too. In fact, Is. 50:1 presents
God's lack of gain from their 'sale' as an example of His love and grace:
"Thus says Yahweh, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorce, for which I
have put her away? Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you?
Behold, for your iniquities were you sold".
Psa 44:13 You make us a reproach to our neighbours, a scoffing and a
derision to those who are around us- This was exactly as the prophets
had warned would happen if they continued in their sins (Ez. 23:32; Hos.
7:16 etc.). To complain about it was simply refusing to accept the
consequence for sin.
Psa 44:14 You make us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head
among the peoples- As noted on :13, this was exactly as the prophets
had warned would happen if they continued in their sins and suffered the
curses for breaking the covenant (Dt. 28:37; Jer. 24:9 etc.). To complain
about it was simply refusing to accept the consequence for sin.
Psa 44:15 All day long my dishonour is before me, and shame covers my face-
Verses 13 and 14 are clearly the feelings of the exiles, but they were
based upon David's own feelings of shame over the sins connected with
Bathsheba and Uriah. Again we note that he seems more concerned about the
removal of the consequence for his sins, especially his shame, rather than
in receiving forgiveness.
Psa 44:16 at the taunt of one who reproaches and verbally abuses, because
of the enemy and the avenger- This is the term used of Goliath in Ps.
8:2. But the taunts of the likes of Shimei, reproaching him for being a
"man of blood" (2 Sam. 16:8), were largely true. Shimei's words were
painful to David, perhaps because they contained a fair amount of truth.
Psa 44:17 All this has come on us, yet have we not forgotten You, neither
have we been false to Your covenant- The language now again returns
to "we", the exiles. Perhaps at best they were saying 'We have
not broken the covenant, so it is unfair we are suffering the results of
our fathers breaking the covenant'. Ezekiel was up against the same
argument. And his answer was that indeed God punishes men for their own
sins and not those of their fathers- and the new generation of exiles had
indeed sinned themselves. And also to be factored in to this is the fact
that sin often brings consequences to others. That is part of what sin is.
Like David, they were struggling to accept consequences of sin.
Psa 44:18 Our heart has not turned back, neither have our steps strayed
from Your path- To judge oneself as innocent of any sin of the heart
is surely arrogance. 'Turning back' is associated with idolatry (Is.
42:17). And there is plenty of evidence within Ezekiel that the exiles
were still idolatrous. We note how the names 'Mordecai' (based upon
'Marduk') and 'Esther' were reflective of idolatry.
Psa 44:19 though You have crushed us in the haunt of jackals, and covered
us with the shadow of death- "The haunt of jackals" is likely a
reference to Babylon, seen as the land of the shadow of death. David had
felt "broken" (s.w. "crushed") because of his sin with Bathsheba and the
consequences (Ps. 51:8). It seems the exiles edited his words and applied
them to themselves- whilst missing the point, that David suffered rightly,
and so did they. Their 'covering' with death was appropriate judgment
(s.w. Is. 29:10).
Psa 44:20 If we have forgotten the name of our God, or spread forth our
hands to a strange god- Ps.
44:20 balances the sin of omission against the sin of commission: “If we
have forgotten the name of our God [omission], or stretched out our hands
to a strange god” [commission]. It makes a good exercise to watch for how
many times the Proverbs treat sins of omission as if they are sins of
active commission. "He that is slothful in his work is brother to him that
is a great waster" (Prov. 18:9)- 'mere' laziness, as we may see it, an
omission of working- is the same as the commission of a purposefully
destructive person. But as noted on :18, the exiles generally were guilty
of idolatry. So even if those now appropriating David's Psalm to
themselves were innocent, they needed to be far more honest and realistic
about the state of their community.
Psa 44:21 won’t God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the
heart- As David confidently asked God to search his heart, so did the
exiles (s.w. Ps. 139:1,23). But Judah were in captivity exactly because
God had searched their hearts and found them seriously astray from Him
(s.w. Jer. 17:10). It was their duty now in exile to search their own
hearts and repent (s.w. Lam. 3:40).
Psa 44:22 Yes, for Your sake we are killed all day long. We are regarded
as sheep for the slaughter- "For Your sake" implies God was somehow
unjust in treating them as sheep for the slaughter. It was the Lord Jesus
who was to save them by becoming the "sheep for the slaughter",
identifying with their condemnation, so that any who identified with Him
could be saved from it. But instead, the exiles here lament their
situation and asked for these consequences of their sins to be removed-
with no mention of repentance or guilt.
This verse is quoted in Rom. 8:36, in the context of talking about the condemnation of sin (Rom. 8:34). In the context of Romans, Paul has been arguing that we are all rightly condemned. But his final point at the climax of his argument here at the end of Romans 1-8 is that despite that, God's love is still with us and He shall by grace save His true people from that condemnation which they rightly experience (Rom. 8:37-39). This was the perspective which the exiles, and David, ought to have had; and Paul uses this verse precisely in the way I have suggested we interpret it.
Psa 44:23 Wake up! Why do You sleep, Lord? Arise! Don’t reject us forever-
To accuse God of sleeping seems as inappropriate as the disciples' demand
for the Lord Jesus to awake from sleep because His apparent sleeping
showed that He didn't care that they perished (Mk. 4:38). He did of course
care for their perishing. He gave His life for that. David in better
moments realized that God doesn't sleep (Ps. 121:4). Likewise it was
inappropriate to claim that God was going to reject His people forever
(also in Ps. 74:1). The prophets had made it abundantly plain that God
would not reject forever. Israel had "the hope of Israel" as surely as the
planets are in the sky.
Psa 44:24 Why do You hide Your face, and forget our affliction and our
oppression?-
"Oppression" was what God's later people were to suffer at the hands of
their enemies for their sins (s.w. Is. 30:20; Dt. 26:7); David's suffering was seen as
that of God's later people, and so his Psalms were reused in this context.
But that suffering was judgment and consequence for sin. It was the cloud
of their sin which hid them from God's face, rather than Him losing
interest in them and looking somewhere else.
Psa 44:25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust. Our body clings to the
earth- "Bowed down" is used of the exiles in Lam. 3:20. But it is
David who speaks of his body clinging or cleaving to the dust (Ps.
119:25). Again we have to conclude that the person feelings of David after
his sin with Bathsheba are appropriate by the exiles, and his Psalm
rewritten in their context.
Psa 44:26 Rise up to help us- This is the appeal of David personally
(Ps. 35:2), but now appropriated to the exiles.
Redeem us for Your grace’ sake- After all the insistence that they are suffering unreasonably (see on :13,14), there does come an appeal to God's grace. We would perhaps rather see confession of sin and of Divine justice; but at least there is an awareness of grace.
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