PSALMS 45
We will begin this lesson by giving the 44th Psalm in metre.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
Chapter 44
Verse 1 "O God, we have heard, and our fathers have taught The works
which of old, in their day, thou hadst wrought. The nations
were crushed, and expelled by thy hand, Cast out that thy
people might dwell in their land."
Verse 2 "They gained not the land by the edge of the sword, Their own
arm to them could no safety afford; But by thy right hand,
and the light of thy face, The strength of thy arm, and
because of thy grace.
Verse 3 "To Jacob, O God, thou my Saviour and King, Command, and thy
word shall deliverance bring. We through thy assistance will
push down our foes; In thy name we'll trample on all that
oppose.
Verse 4 "No trust will I place in my bow to defend, Nor yet on my
sword for my safety depend, In God who has saved us and put
them to shame, We boast all the day, ever praising his
name."
Verse 5 "But now we're cast off, and with shame are brought low; No
more to the field with our troops dost thou go. From foes
thou hast made us turn back with dismay, And those who have
hated us seize on the prey."
Verse 6 "Like sheep to the slaughter, for meat we are given, And
widely dispersed' midst the heathen are driven. Thy people
thou sellest for naught, and in vain, Their price has
returned thee no increase of gain."
Verse 7 "Our name have our neighbors reproached in their pride,
They cease not around us to scoff and deride. A Bye-word and
proverb' midst heathen we're made; Against us the people in
scorn shake their head.
Verse 8 "Before me I constantly see my disgrace, And shame and
confusion have covered my face; For foes in revilings and
slanders delight Their hearts full of hate and revengeful
despite."
Verse 9 "Though all these sore evils have been our sad lot, Our God
and his cov'nant we have not forgot. Our heart turned not
back, our feet have not strayed, Though broken midst
dragons, and clothed with death's shade."
Verse 10 "If We have forgotten the name of our God, Or unto some idol
our hands spread abroad, shall not the Almighty, who sees
all within, And knows the heart's secrets, discover this
sin?
Verse 11 "Yea, all the day long for thy sake we're consumed; Like
sheep for the slaughter to death we are doomed. Awake, O
Jehovah, and sleep thou no more; Arise for our help, cast
not off evermore."
Verse 12 "O why hast thou hidden the light of thy face, Forgetting how
enemies grieve and oppress? Our soul's crushed to earth, and
we cleave to its dust, Rise, help, and redeem us, thy mercy
we trust.
We will now begin with the verse by verse study of Psalms chapter
44. Psalms 44:1 "{To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah,
Maschil.} We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told
us, [what] work thou didst in their days, in the times of old."
We see that the mighty works of God had been handed down from
generation to generation. The fathers told the sons to preserve the
works of God. The Hebrew had books earlier than most people, as well.
The first 5 books of the Bible were written by Moses, so it is of very
early origin. The feasts were to remind them of the greatness of God
from generation to generation. We know that by hearing the Word of
God, many people are saved. Hearing about the miracles, then, is very
important to believing. I Corinthians 1:21 "For after that in the
wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."
Psalms 44:2 "[How] thou didst drive out the heathen with thy
hand, and plantedst them; [how] thou didst afflict the people, and
cast them out."
This is relating some of the things that had been passed down
from generation to generation. We know that God, not only brought the
Israelites out of Egypt with the mighty hand of God, but this same
mighty hand drowned the Egyptians at the Red sea. This mighty hand had
defeated their enemies in Canaan, when they moved into the promised
land. God had sent the family of Israel into Egypt, and they came out
a mighty nation. When the Ark of the Covenant was with them, the enemy
was no match for them. The only time they felt defeat, was when God
did not send them to the battle.
Psalms 44:3 "For they got not the land in possession by their own
sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and
thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a
favour unto them."
The right hand, spoken of here, is the mighty power of God. Jesus
is the Right Hand of God. He is the doer part of the Godhead. Jesus
is, also, the Light. This is just saying that these Israelites were
successful, because God was leading them. It was not, because they
were mighty fighters that they won, but because God went before them.
Psalms 44:4 "Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for
Jacob."
The penman, here, is just saying that it is right to proclaim God
as his King. Jacob, of course, is the same as Israel. He was called
Jacob when spoken of as the leader of his family. When he became the
leader of the nation, he was called Israel.
Psalms 44:5 "Through thee will we push down our enemies: through
thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us."
The Israelites became known as a people whose God fought for
them. The enemies they encountered were not afraid of the children of
Israel, but they were afraid of Israel's God. It became so evident
that God was fighting for the Israelites, that their enemies ceased to
even resist them.
Psalms 44:6 "For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my
sword save me."
The enemy of the Israelite has just as powerful a bow, and sword
as Israel has. Their trust must be in the Lord, who brought them out
with a mighty hand.
Psalms 44:7 "But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast
put them to shame that hated us."
The countries that the Israelites came through coming to the
promised land, hated these Israelites. They feared their God more than
they hated them, however.
Psalms 44:8 In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name
for ever. Selah.
Notice, that their boasting is not in their own ability, but in
the power of God. Selah, here, probably means, think on this. There
is a pause here, and a new train of thought begins in the next verse.
Psalms 44:9 "But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and
goest not forth with our armies. Psalms 44:10 Thou makest us to turn
back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves."
It seems that, in their recent encounters with the enemy, God had
not been with them. What they are forgetting is that God went with
them into battle, when He sent them, not when they took it upon
themselves to fight someone.
Psalms 44:11 "Thou hast given us like sheep [appointed] for meat;
and hast scattered us among the heathen."
God had warned them what would happen, if they went after false
Gods. God is not with them when they are not in His will. This is in
punishment for their disobedience to God.
Psalms 44:12 "Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not
increase [thy wealth] by their price." Psalms 44:13 "Thou makest us a
reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and a derision to them that are
round about us." Psalms 44:14 "Thou makest us a byword among the
heathen, a shaking of the head among the people."
All of this is happening to them, but it is not God's fault that
it is happening. They were unfaithful to God's will, this is why all
of this is happening. They brought it upon themselves.
Psalms 44:15 "My confusion [is] continually before me, and the
shame of my face hath covered me," Psalms 44:16 "For the voice of him
that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger."
The penman acts as if he does not understand why this is
happening. Help is just a prayer away. Every time Israel repented of
their disobedience, God forgave them and gave them another chance.
They need to repent, and ask for God's help.
Psalms 44:17 "All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten
thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant." Psalms 44:18
"Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from
thy way;" Psalms 44:19 "Though thou hast sore broken us in the place
of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death."
This is great to say, and it may be true in David's heart, but
God had not sent them into this battle. Sometimes, even though we are
His children, we have problems. One thing that could have been wrong
was not checking with God before they got themselves in this
embarrassing situation. Sometimes, God allows something like this to
happen to teach us a lesson. Whatever the reason, they are humiliated
by the results in front of their enemy.
Psalms 44:20 "If we have forgotten the name of our God, or
stretched out our hands to a strange god;" Psalms 44:21 "Shall not God
search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart."
David is inviting God to come and examine them and see that they
have not set up a false God. Then he is saying, God would know it if
we had done such a thing, because He knows everything.
Psalms 44:22 "Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long;
we are counted as sheep for the slaughter."
David is saying, that the troubles that have come upon him are
because he is following God. This sounds so much like Stephen, who
died because he believed in Jesus. There may come such a time, even
now. It is very unpopular to be a Christian. Thank goodness, he still
realizes he is a sheep. He is still on God's side even though he may
be killed for his belief.
Psalms 44:23 "Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast [us]
not off for ever."
It seems to David that God is not aware of what is happening. We
do not always understand why God does not immediately come to our
rescue. God has not cast him off, and he will never cast us off,
either.
Psalms 44:24 "Wherefore hidest thou thy face, [and] forgettest
our affliction and our oppression?"
God's timing, and our timing is not the same. I am sure the
Israelites wondered if and when God would ever deliver them from
Egypt. He did deliver them, but it was after 400 years. God does not
hide from us or forget our affliction. We just get impatient sometime
for it to happen now. Sometimes, I feel, Lord when will you ever come
back for your people. If He wanted me to know, He would have told me.
Some things are none of our business.
Psalms 44:25 "For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly
cleaveth unto the earth."
This means that he is lying face down before the Lord. He is in
total subjection to the Lord. He is crying out with everything in him
to the Lord.
Psalms 44:26 "Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies'
sake."
Notice, that the Psalmist is not asking in his own right. He asks
for the Lord's mercy. This is almost a plea to God for His help. Why
He does not always answer, I do not know. Probably He does answer,
but not in our time schedule.
Questions 45
1. In verse 1, of this lesson, we see that the miracles of God had
been handed down from generation to generation, how?
2. How do we know that there were records of the Hebrews that were
very early?
3. Quote 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 21.
4. How had He driven out the heathen?
5. Name at least 3 things that this mighty hand did.
6. Who is the Right Hand of God?
7. When was the only time they felt defeat in battle?
8. Who is the Light?
9. These Israelites were successful, because of what?
10. Who is the same as Israel?
11. When is he called Israel?
12. When is he called Jacob?
13. Their enemies were not afraid of Israel, but were afraid of whom?
14. What 2 weapons were mentioned that would not save them?
15. What had they forgotten that was necessary to have God with them
in battle?
16. Whose fault is it that they are suffering so much anguish, and
becoming a reproach to their neighbors?
17. Help is just a ________ away.
18. Why would God know if they had worshipped another god?
19. What martyr does verse 22 bring immediately to mind?
20. Verse 22 says, we are counted as what for slaughter?
21. In verse 23, what is the Psalmist asking God to do?
22. How long were the Israelites in Egypt before God rescued them?
23. In verse 25 he says his soul is bowed down to the dust, what does
it mean?
24. What is the psalmist asking for, in verse 26?
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