Psalm 44 (Listen)

44:1   O God, we have heard with our ears,
    our fathers have told us,
  what deeds you performed in their days,
    in the days of old:
  you with your own hand drove out the nations,
    but them you planted;
  you afflicted the peoples,
    but them you set free;
  for not by their own sword did they win the land,
    nor did their own arm save them,
  but your right hand and your arm,
    and the light of your face,
    for you delighted in them.
  You are my King, O God;
    ordain salvation for Jacob!
  Through you we push down our foes;
    through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
  For not in my bow do I trust,
    nor can my sword save me.
  But you have saved us from our foes
    and have put to shame those who hate us.
  In God we have boasted continually,
    and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah
  But you have rejected us and disgraced us
    and have not gone out with our armies.
10   You have made us turn back from the foe,
    and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
11   You have made us like sheep for slaughter
    and have scattered us among the nations.
12   You have sold your people for a trifle,
    demanding no high price for them.
13   You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
    the derision and scorn of those around us.
14   You have made us a byword among the nations,
    a laughingstock among the peoples.
15   All day long my disgrace is before me,
    and shame has covered my face
16   at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
    at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
17   All this has come upon us,
    though we have not forgotten you,
    and we have not been false to your covenant.
18   Our heart has not turned back,
    nor have our steps departed from your way;
19   yet you have broken us in the place of jackals
    and covered us with the shadow of death.
20   If we had forgotten the name of our God
    or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21   would not God discover this?
    For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22   Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
23   Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
    Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
24   Why do you hide your face?
    Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25   For our soul is bowed down to the dust;
    our belly clings to the ground.
26   Rise up; come to our help!
    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!




Devotional:

God, we have heard with our ears- our ancestors have told us- the work you accomplished in their days, in days long ago: Rise up! Help us! Redeem us because of your faithful love (Psalm 44:1 & 26 CSB).

Have you ever felt like God is there for everyone but you? We hear stories of what God has done for others and wonder why He doesn’t seem to be there for us. This Psalm feels that same tension; the first half points to what God has done, and the second seems to question where He is now. Here’s the thing:  God is the God of salvation, and redemption implies that we are being saved from something. It is difficult to wait on the Lord, but He is always working. God saves us for the sake of His steadfast love. His love is greater than anything we will face. Rest in the promise of redemption and the perfect timing of His unfailing love!

Pray it: Father, thank you for the way you have delivered and guided your people through the years. May the stories of your faithfulness that I read in your Word and hear from others remind me of your promises and your faithful love to me. Amen.

Share it: Share a verse or thought from this passage with someone today.