Psalms 44
44
PSALM 44
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
To the chief Musician, for the sons of Korah, Maschil.
1O God, we with our ears have heard,
our fathers have us told,
What works thou in their days hadst done,
ev'n in the days of old.
2Thy hand did drive the heathen out,
and plant them in their place;
Thou didst afflict the nations,
but them thou didst increase.
3For neither got their sword the land,
nor did their arm them save;
But thy right hand, arm, countenance;
for thou them favour gave.
4Thou art my King: for Jacob, Lord,
deliv'rances command.
5Through thee we shall push down our foes,
that do against us stand:
We, through thy name, shall tread down those
that ris'n against us have.
6For in my bow I shall not trust,
nor shall my sword me save.
7But from our foes thou hast us sav'd,
our haters put to shame.
8In God we all the day do boast,
and ever praise thy name.
9But now we are cast off by thee,
and us thou putt'st to shame;
And when our armies do go forth,
thou go'st not with the same.
10Thou mak'st us from the enemy,
faint-hearted, to turn back;
And they who hate us for themselves
our spoils away do take.
11Like sheep for meat thou gavest us;
'mong heathen cast we be.
12Thou didst for nought thy people sell;
their price enrich'd not thee.
13Thou mak'st us a reproach to be
unto our neighbours near;
Derision and a scorn to them
that round about us are.
14A by-word also thou dost us
among the heathen make;
The people, in contempt and spite,
at us their heads do shake.
15Before me my confusion
continually abides;
And of my bashful countenance
the shame me ever hides:
16For voice of him that doth reproach,
and speaketh blasphemy;
By reason of th' avenging foe,
and cruel enemy.
17All this is come on us, yet we
have not forgotten thee;
Nor falsely in thy covenant
behav'd ourselves have we.
18Back from thy way our heart not turn'd;
our steps no straying made;
19Though us thou brak'st in dragons' place,
and cover'dst with death's shade.
20If we God's name forgot, or stretch'd
to a strange god our hands,
21Shall not God search this out? for he
heart's secrets understands.
22Yea, for thy sake we're kill'd all day,
counted as slaughter-sheep.
23Rise, Lord, cast us not ever off;
awake, why dost thou sleep?
24O wherefore hidest thou thy face?
forgett'st our cause distress'd,
25And our oppression? For our soul
is to the dust down press'd:
Our belly also on the earth
fast cleaving, hold doth take.
26Rise for our help, and us redeem,
ev'n for thy mercies' sake.
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Psalms 44: MP1650
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 44
44
PSALM 44
Former Times of Help and Present Troubles.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem.
1We have heard with our ears, O God,
Our fathers have told us
The work You did in their days,
In the days of old.
2You drove out the [pagan] nations with Your own hand;
Then you planted and established them (Israel);
[It was by Your power that] You uprooted the [pagan] peoples,
Then You spread them abroad.
3For our fathers did not possess the land [of Canaan] by their own sword,
Nor did their own arm save them,
But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence,
Because You favored and delighted in them.
4You are my King, O God;
Command victories and deliverance for Jacob (Israel).
5Through You we will gore our enemies [like a bull];
Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us.
6For I will not trust in my bow,
Nor will my sword save me.
7But You have saved us from our enemies,
And You have put them to shame and humiliated those who hate us.
8In God we have boasted all the day long,
And we will praise and give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.
9But now You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor,
And You do not go out with our armies [to lead us to victory].
10You make us turn back from the enemy,
And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.
11You have made us like sheep to be eaten [as mutton]
And have scattered us [in exile] among the nations.
12You sell Your people cheaply,
And have not increased Your wealth by their sale.
13You have made us the reproach and taunt of our neighbors,
A scoffing and a derision to those around us.
14You make us a byword among the nations,
A #Lit shaking of the head.laughingstock among the people.
15My dishonor is before me all day long,
And humiliation has covered my face,
16Because of the voice of the taunter and reviler,
Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.
17All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten You,
Nor have we been false to Your covenant [which You made with our fathers].
18Our heart has not turned back,
Nor have our steps wandered from Your path,
19Yet You have [distressingly] crushed us in the place of jackals
And covered us with [the deep darkness of] the shadow of death.
20If we had forgotten the name of our God
Or stretched out our hands to a strange god,
21Would not God discover this?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22 # The ancient rabbis applied this verse to Israel under persecution, especially to those who suffered under the reign of Hadrian following the Bar Cochba revolt (a.d. 132-135). One rabbi said that he was ready to die for God provided that he be killed immediately, because he could not endure the tortures of what was called “the great persecution.” The tortures included placing red-hot iron discs under the victim’s armpits or sticking needles under the nails until the victim died from the pain (shock). But for Your sake we are killed all the day long;
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
23Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord?
Awaken, do not reject us forever.
24Why do You hide Your face
And forget our affliction and our oppression?
25For our life has melted away into the dust;
Our body clings to the ground.
26Rise up! Come be our help,
And ransom us for the sake of Your steadfast love.
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