Psalms 44

Psalms 441. To the Chief Musician. To the Sons of Korah. Maschil. The same question here arises as in Psalms 42, as to the sense in which the psalm is ascribed to the Sons of Korah. For the reasons there assigned, it is, on the whole, most probable that David is the author, however difficult it may be to account for the omission of his name in the inscription, and the appearance of the sons of Korah in the place which it usually occupies.

See above, on Psalms 42:1. The addition of Maschil, i.e. a didactic psalm, is meant to show that though occasioned by a particular event, perhaps the same as in Psalms 40., it was composed and left on record for the permanent use and edification of God’s people. See above, on Psalms 32:1. The train of thought is marked with unusual distinctness. God was, in ancient times, the protector and deliverer of Israel, Psalms 44:2-5 (1-4). He is still their national and covenanted God, Psalms 44:6-10 (5-9).

But he seems to have given themup to their enemies, Psalms 44:11-18 (10-17). Yet Israel still cleaves to him and suffers for his sake, Psalms 44:19-23 (18-22). He is therefore importuned to reappear for their deliverance, Psalms 44:24-26 (23-26). The state of things described and the sentiments expressed in this psalm, do not afford the slightest reason for referring it to any later period than that of David, when the same occasions of complaint and importunity were in existence, although not to so great an extent as afterwards.

2. (Psalms 44:1). O God, with our ears have we heard, our fathers have recounted to us, the work thou didst work in their days, in the days of old. What they had heard with their ears is tacitly contrasted with the very different things which they had seen with their eyes. See below, Psalms 48:9 (8), and compare Judges 6:13, 2 Chronicles 20:7, Habakkuk 3:2. Our fathers have told us, as enjoined or predicted in Exodus 10:2. The verb means properly to count, and then to recount or relate, with particular reference to the detailed enumeration of particulars.

See above, on Psalms 2:7. The last clause may be construed as a separate proposition. A work thou didst work, &c. But this leaves the active verbs of the first clause without a grammatical object. The emphatic combination of the verb and its derivative noun is greatly weakened in the English Bible, what work thou didst, and still more in the Prayer-book version, what thou hast done. The particular work meant, as appears from what follows, is the conquest of Canaan and the settlement of Israel in it.

3. (Psalms 44:2). Thou (with), thy hand didst nations dispossess and plant them, didst crush peoples and extend them. This, though a literal translation, is obscure in English, because the pronoun them in both clauses refers to Israel. In the second clause it might indeed have reference to the Canaanites, and the verb be taken in the sense of sending out, expelling, as in Genesis 3:23, 1 Kings 9:7, Isaiah 1:1. But as it is also used to signify the sending out of shoots or branches by a tree or vine, Psalms 80:12 (11), Jeremiah 17:8, Ezekiel 17:6-7; Ezekiel 31:5, the parallelism seems decisive in favour of that meaning here. The verb translated dispossess means properly to cause to inherit, but is sometimes applied to the substitution of one heir or possessor for another.

See Exodus 34:24, Numbers 32:21; Numbers 33:52, Deuteronomy 4:38. The verb translated crush may simply mean to injure; but the stronger sense is here entitled to the preference.

4. (Psalms 44:3). For not with their sword did they possess the land, and their (own) arm did not save them; for (it was) thy right hand, and thy arm and the light of thy countenance; for thou didst favour them. The for at the beginning introduces the proof or amplification of the general statement in the preceding verse, that it was God who planted and settled them. Save them, literally to or for them. i.e. did not bring deliverance to them, or work out deliverance for them. The translation of the second by but gives the sense but not the form of the original, as the use of the particle, in its strict sense, just before and after, forbids our taking the intermediate one in any other. With the first clause compare Joshua 24:12 with the last clause,Psalms 4:7 (6).

5. ( Psalms 44:4). Thou art He, my King, (O) God! Command deliverances for Jacob. The form of expression in the first clause is highly idiomatic and somewhat obscure. It may either mean, “Thou who hast done all this art still my king,” or “Thou art he who is my king,” which last may be thus resolved into the English idiom, “It is thou who art my king.” Compare 2 Samuel 7:28, 1 Chronicles 21:17. The church here claims the same relation to Jehovah that was sustained by the former generations of his people. The last clause may also be translated, order the salvations of Jacob, i.e. cause them to take place and regulate them by thy providence. The personal name of the patriarch is poetically substituted for his official title as the father of the chosen people. See above, on Psalms 24:6.

6. (Psalms 44:5). In thee our adversaries will we push; in thy name will we trample our assailants. The hopes of Israel still rely upon that power which expelled the Canaanites. The word translated adversaries properly means those who press, oppress, or persecute. See above, on Psalms 3:2 (1), and compare Psalms 13:5 (4), Psalms 27:2; Psalms 27:12. Our assailants, literally our risers up, those rising up against us.

See above, on Psalms 18:40 (39), and compare Deuteronomy 33:11. The verb in the first clause means specifically to push with the horns, to toss, or gore. See Exodus 21:28-32, and compare Deuteronomy 33:27, 1 Kings 22:11. In thy name, not merely by thy authority, or as thy representatives, but in thyself, in union and communion with thee. See above, on Psalms 5:12 (11), Psalms 18:30 (29). The meaning of the future verbs in this connection is, that they will triumph, if at all, in this way.

They must prevail thus or be vanquished.

7. (Psalms 44:6). For not in my bow will I trust, and my sword will (or can) not save me. “What was true of my fathers is equally true of me. As they did not prevail by their own strength, neither can I hope to prevail by mine.”

8. (Psalms 44:7). In God have we praised all the day, and thy name unto eternitywill we acknowledge. Selah. The construction in the first clause, although foreign from our idiom, is more expressive than the simple phrase, we have praised God. It names God first, as the object in which the occasion and the theme of praise had been sought and found. “It is in God that we find the subject of our praises.” The common version (boasted) confounds the verb here used with another derivative of the same root. Thy name, thy manifested nature. See above, on Psalms 5:12 (11). To eternity, or perpetuity, for ever. All the day (long), i. e. always. See above, on Psalms 25:5; Psalms 42:11 (10). Acknowledge, i. e. gratefully give thanks. See above, on Psalms 6:6 (5).

9. (Psalms 44:8). For thou hast saved us from our adversaries, and our haters (or those hating us) hast shamed. The preterites in this verse are explanatory of the futures in the one before it. “We will not rely upon ourselves hereafter, because it is thou who hast helped us heretofore.” This logical relation of the verses is destroyed by confounding the preterites and futures with each other, or explaining both as presents. Shamed, i.e. defeated, disappointed. See above, on Psalms 6:10 (9), Psalms 14:6.

10. (Psalms 44:9). Nay, thou hast rejected and disgraced us, and thou wilt not go forth with our hosts. The particle at the beginning implies something more than a negation of the favours just described. “But now thou dost not so deal with us; nay more, thou hast rejected us.” This Hebrew verb implies disgust and abhorrence. See above; on Psalms 43:2. The other verb means to put to shame, to cover with disgrace, as in Psalms 35:4; Psalms 40:15 (14). The past tense of the first verbs implies that the rejection was already manifest; the future following implies an apprehension that it would continue. Go out with our hosts, as a guide, a commander, and an ally. Compare 2 Samuel 5:24.

11. (Psalms 44:10). Thou wilt make us turn back from the adversary, and (already) those hating us have plundered for them, i.e. for themselves. Two of the most unwelcome incidents of warfare are here specified, flight and spoliation. Spoiled for themselves, not merely for their own advantage, but at their own will and discretion. Compare 1 Samuel 14:48; 1 Samuel 23:1.

12. (Psalms 44:11). Thou wilt give us as sheep (for) food, and among the nations hast scattered us. The consecution of the tenses is the same as in the preceding verse. Sheep for food, or flocks of food, i. e. intended and accustomed to be eaten. Give may either mean place, render, constitute, or give up, abandon. The last clause has by some been understood to refer to the Babylonish exile, and regarded as a proof of later date. But in every war with the surrounding countries, there were partial deportations and dispersions. See Joe 3:2, Amos 1:6; Amos 1:9, and compare 1 Kings 8:46.

13. (Psalms 44:12). Thou wilt sell thy people without gain, and hast not increased by their price. They seemed to be gratuitously given up, i.e. without necessity or profit. Without gain, literally wealth or riches, as a product or equivalent. The same noun may be repeated in the next clause, thou hast not increased (thy wealth), just as the verb gain is absolutely used in English. Their price, literally their prices, perhaps with reference to the individual captives, or to repeated sales of the kind here mentioned.

Another possible but far less natural construction, treats the preposition as a mere connective, and reads, thou hast not enhanced their price, i. e. set a high price upon them, implying that he had, on the contrary, sold them for too little, or rather given them away for nothing. Compare Jeremiah 15:13.

14. (Psalms 44:13). Thou wilt make us a reproach to our neighbours, a scoff and a jestto those around us. If this state of things continues, such will be the necessary issue. Make us, literally place us, set us up, expose us. See above, on Psalms 39:9 (8), and with the whole verse compare Psalms 79:4; Psalms 89:42 (41).

15. (Psalms 44:14). Thou wilt make us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples. A byword, literally a likeness or comparison, a case that may be cited as a memorable instance or example. The expression is borrowed from Deuteronomy 28:37. A shaking of the head, i.e. an object at which men will shake their heads, as an expression of contemptuous pity. See above, on Psalms 22:8 (7).

16. (Psalms 44:15). All the day my disgrace is before me, and shame my face has covered. It is before me so that I cannot fail to see it or lose sight of it. See above, Psalms 38:18 (17). Shame is here represented as a covering, as in Jeremiah 25, but perhaps with special reference to the suffusion of the face with blushes, as in Psalms 69:8 (7).

17. (Psalms 44:16). From the voice of slanderer and reviler, from the face of enemy and avenger. The preposition indicates the source or the occasion of the shame described in the preceding verse. Face may here mean either presence or the expression of the countenance. The last word is properly a participle, and means taking vengeance or avenging one’s self. Here, as in Psalms 8:3 (2), it denotes a spiteful and revengeful enemy.

18. (Psalms 44:17). All this has come upon us, and we have not forgotten thee, and have not been false to thy covenant. With the first clause compare Judges 6:13. Come upon us: the construction is the same as in Psalms 35:8. We have not been false, or acted falsely. The same verb with the same preposition, in Leviticus 19:11, has the sense of lying, or acting fraudulently, towards another. See also Psalms 89:34 (33). What is here professed is not entire exemption from all acts of infidelity, but freedom from the deadly sin of total oblivion and apostasy. In spite of his unfaithfulness, Israel still claimed to be and was the chosen people of Jehovah.

19. (Psalms 44:18). Our heart has not turned back and our steps declined from thy path. The force of the negative extends to both clauses, as in Psalms 9:19 (18). Heart and steps are put for inward affection and its fruit, external action. Turned back and turned aside are natural and common figures for moral delinquency. Thy path, the way of thy commandments.

20. (Psalms 44:19). That thou hast crushed us in a place of dragons, and hast covered over us with deathshade. The construction is continued from the preceding sentence. The connection may be thus made plain in our idiom. “We have been guilty of no such infidelity or total apostasy, that thou shouldest deal with us in this way.” Crushed, bruised, or broken in pieces. See above, on Psalms 10:10, and below, on Psalms 51:9 (8). Dragons may here be understood as meaning wild beasts or lonely animals in general.

Whether the Hebrew word specifically signifies wild-cats, wolves, or jackals, is a question of little exegetical importance. The essential meaning of the whole phrase is a place inhabited by lonely creatures, i.e. a wilderness or desert. Compare Isaiah 13:22; Isaiah 34:13; Isaiah 43:20, Jeremiah 9:10 (11), Jeremiah 10:22; Jeremiah 49:33, Psalms 63:11 (10). Covered over, i.e. covered up, completely covered, a stronger expression than the simple verb. Deathshade, or the shadow of death, a strong poetical expression for the profoundest darkness. See above, on Psalms 23:4.

21. (Psalms 44:20). If we have forgotten the name of our God, and spread our hands to a strange God. Some regard this as the common elliptical formula of swearing. “(God do so to us and more also) if we have forgotten,” which is equivalent to saying, “we have not forgotten.” Another method of supplying the ellipsis is exemplified in Joshua 22:22. But since the verse, conditionally understood, yields a good sense in connection with the next verse, this, as being the more obvious construction, is entitled to the preference. The act of holding up or stretching out the hands is often mentioned as a natural gesture of entreaty. See Exodus 9:29; Exodus 9:33, 1 Kings 8:38, Isaiah 1:15.

The word God in the version represents two different divine names in Hebrew, Elohim and El. See above, on Psalms 43:4. A strange God, or a God (who is) a stranger, i.e. to Jehovah and his people. The Hebrew word is applied by Moses both to men (Exodus 30:33) and idols (Deuteronomy 32:16).

22. (Psalms 44:21). Shall not God search this out? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart. This is the apodosis of the sentence begun in the preceding verse." If we have done thus, must not God know it?" The primary meaning of the verb translated search out is to dig, to bring to light what is hidden under ground. Thence, by a natural transition, it denotes the investigation and disclosure of all secrets. The interrogation is an indirect but strong affirmation of the fact in question. The for, at the beginning of the last clause, does not indicate the reason of the question, but of the affirmative answer which is tacitly implied. He (is) knowing, a form of expression which denotes continued and habitual knowledge. See above, on Psalms 1:6, and with the sentiment compare that of Psa 7:10 (9).

23. (Psalms 44:22). Because for thee have we been killed all the day; we have been reckoned as sheep for slaughter. The causal particle at the beginning does not refer to what immediately precedes, but to the remoter context, and adduces a proof of the assertion, that the church had not forgotten or forsaken God. This proof is afforded by the fact that their very sufferings were on his account. For thee, for thy sake, literally on thee, on (account of) thee, on thy account. The preterite form, we have been killed, includes the present, we are killed, but with the additional idea that the sufferings in question were not new or altogether recent, but had long been experi- enced.

Reckoned, counted, estimated, i. e. by our enemies, who set no higher value on our lives than on those of sheep for the slaughter, literally a flock of slaughter, i.e. one destined or accustomed to be slaughtered. This expression ccrresponds exactly to sheep for food, or flock of food, in Psalms 44:12 (11) above. The whole verse is a strong poetical description of severe persecution or distress arising from the spite of enemies, and as such is applied by Paul to the sufferings of the church of Christ, in which the ancient Israel continues to exist. See Romans 8:36.

24. (Psalms 44:23). Arouse thee! Why wilt thou sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not cast off for ever. This bold apostrophe implies strong faith, as well as warm affection. Such an address would not be made to an inanimate object, or an imaginary being.

The idea is the same as in Psalms 3:8 (7), to wit, that the withholding of God’s help, or of his sensible presence, may be figuratively described as a state of inaction or of sleep, from which he awakes and arises when he once more manifests his presence and affords his aid. Compare Psalms 121:4, Matthew 8:25. The verse is therefore really nothing more than an importunate petition for divine assistance. Cast off, reject with loathing and contempt, the same strong expression that occurs in Psalms 44:10 (9), above. For ever, literally to perpetuity. The Hebrew phrase is not the same, however that occurs in Psalms 44:9 (8). above.

25. (Psalms 44:24). Why wilt thou hide thy face, wilt thou forget our suffering and our persecution (or oppression)? The same thing which had just been represented by the figure of sleep is here described as a refusal to see and to remember. Both figures are employed in Psalms 13:2 (1), above, in reference to precisely he same subject. These anthropomorphisms, which would be unlawful in an uninspired writer, are perfectly intelligible, and exceedingly expressive. The word translated suffering (or affliction) is generic, and includes all forms of physical evil, one of which is then specified, to wit, the suffering caused by powerful and spiteful enemies.

The same word denotes oppression or persecution at the hand of wicked men, in Psalms 42:10 (9), Psalms 41:2. Why wilt thou forget is evidently more than why dost thou forget, for it conveys the additional idea, “Why wilt thou persist in doing as thou hast done heretofore, and art doing now?” 26. (Psalms 44:25). For bowed (or sunk) to the dust is our soul, fixed to the earth is our belly. Both Hebrew verbs are active, and literally mean, our soul has bowed down, our belly has adhered. Belly may either have the sense of body, as opposed to soul, as in Psalms 31:10 (9), above, or be taken in its proper sense, in which case the whole clause is descriptive of the deepest degradation, a grovelling on the earth, without the capacity or wish to rise, a state like that of the lowest reptiles, or the one denounced upon the serpent in Genesis 3:14. Whatever the image here presented may be, it is evidently meant to represent a state of deep depression and debasement.

27. (Psalms 44:26). Rise, a help for us, and redeem us for the sake of thy mercy! This is the conclusion of his arguments, and the sum of his petitions. Arise, from this state of apparent inaction, and exert thy power. Not merely for our help, as in Psalms 38:22 (21), but as our help, thou who art thyself our help, its source, its author, a much stronger expression than our helper, though essentially synonymous. See above, Psalms 40:17 (16), and below, Psalms 63:8 (7). Because of thy mercy, as a ground or reason; ccording to thy mercy, as a rule or measure; for the sake of thy mercy, i.e. for its honour, as a motive and an end to be accomplished.