Psalm 44
The Jewish people sang praises to God after their great victories (Ex. 15; Judg, 5), but this psalm was sung after a humiliating defeat (vv. 9–14, 22). The parallels between Psalms 44 and 60 suggest that Edom and the Arameans were the enemies involved (44:3/60:5; 44:5/60:12; 44:9, 23/60:1, 10). (See 2 Sam. 8, 10; 1 Chron. 18.) Although Israel finally won great victories over their enemies, there must have been some defeats along the way that greatly disturbed the people. After all, Jehovah was their King (v. 4) and had enabled Israel to conquer the land; so why would He desert His people as they sought to protect their inheritance? Perhaps this psalm was used at a national "day of prayer" with a worship leader speaking the "I/my" verses and the people the "we/our" verses. The four stanzas that make up this psalm reveal four different attitudes on the part of the people.
Faithful to God: "You Should Help Us" (vv. 17–22) Whenever there was trouble in Israel, the first explanation was usually "Somebody has sinned." Certainly this was true when Israel was defeated at Ai (Josh. 7), when there was a three-year famine in David's time (2 Sam. 21), and when David numbered the people (2 Sam. 24). But as far as the psalmist knew, there was no sin to be confessed because the people were faithful to the Lord. God could search their minds and hearts and not find any breach of the covenant. They were faithful to God, they had not turned to the idols for help, and now they were giving their lives to protect the land that He had so graciously given them.
Paul quoted verse 11 in Romans 8:36 as part of his magnificent argument that nothing could separate God's people from His love, not even defeat after a record of victories! The principle is the same for both God's old covenant people and His new covenant people: those who give their lives in His cause are conquerors, not victims, and God can be glorified even in seeming defeat. When the five young men gave their lives in Ecuador to help reach the Auca Indians, many people asked, "Why this waste?" But what looked like terrible defeat turned out to be glorious victory as
Boasting in God: "You Have Helped Us" (vv. 1–8) Reviewing Israel's history since the exodus from Egypt, the writer glorified God for all He did to defeat the Canaanite nations and enable Israel to claim their inheritance (v. 8). The Jewish parents were faithful to obey God and tell their children and grandchildren what the Lord had done (see 78:3; Ex. 12:26–27; 13:8, 14; Deut. 6:1ff.; 32:7; Josh. 4:6, 21). God had rooted out the godless nations, planted Israel in the land, and enabled the nation to take root and grow