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
This is a special song that the sons of Korah wrote for the music leader.
God, please help us! #44:1 Verses 1-8 tell us what God did for the Israelites when they came into the country that he had promised to give to them, Canaan. They did not win the land for themselves, but God did it for them. Their enemies were the people that lived in the land before they did. In verses 9-22 we read that something bad has happened. The people are saying that they obeyed their part of the covenant, but God still did not take care of them. In verses 23-26 the person who wrote the psalm prays. He asks God to send help quickly.
1God, we have heard it for ourselves.
Our ancestors told us
what you did for them a long time ago.
2You used your power to chase away the other nations,
so that our ancestors could live in their land.
You punished those nations,
and you helped our ancestors to be free.
3Our ancestors did not get the land
by the power of their own swords.
Their own strength did not win the fight.
It was your own power and strength that did it!
You were kind to them because you were their friend.
4God, you are my king!
You command that Jacob's descendants
must win against their enemies.
5Because of your power,
we can knock down our enemies.
Because of your strength,
we can beat them down.
6I do not trust in my bow and arrows.
It is not my sword
that has helped me to win the fight.
7It is you who rescues us from our enemies.
You bring shame on the people that hate us.
8Every day, we praise you, God.
We will always thank you, all the time,
because you are great!
Selah.
9But now you have turned against us.
You have made us ashamed.
When our armies go out to fight a battle,
you no longer go with us.
10You make us run away from our enemies.
The people who hate us take from us whatever they like!
11You have put us under their power,
so that they kill us like sheep for them to eat.
You have sent us away
to live in foreign countries.
12You have sold your own people,
for almost nothing!
They had no value to you.
13The people who live in countries near us
do not respect us.
They laugh at us
and they insult us.
14The other nations tell jokes about us.
They think that we are nothing.
15I feel ashamed all the time.
I do not know where to look.
16This is because my cruel enemies are always insulting me.
All they want is to hurt me.
17We have not turned away from you,
but all this has happened to us.
We have not turned against the covenant that you made with us.
18We have continued to serve you
and obey your commands.
19But you have broken us in pieces.
You have left us for wild dogs to eat.
You have covered us with the darkness of death.
20We might have turned against you, our God,
and worshipped a strange god.
21But if we had done that,
you would have discovered it.
You know even our most secret thoughts.
22But, because we are your people, God,
people try to kill us all the time.
They think that we are like sheep
and we are ready to be killed.
23 Lord, do something!
Why are you sleeping? Wake up!
Do not turn away from us for ever!
24Why do you turn away from us?
Why do you forget our troubles
and the way that people hurt us?
25We have fallen down in the dirt.
Our bodies are lying on the ground.
26Wake up and help us!
Save us, because of your faithful love.
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MissionAssist 2018