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Psalm Forty-four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 44
To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. It is not
certain who was the writer of this psalm, nor when it was written, and to what
time it belongs: some have thought it was composed by one of the Babylonish
captivity, and that it gives an account of the church and people of God in
those times; but what is said in Psalm 44:17 does
not seem to agree with Daniel 9:5. It is
most likely it was written by David, and to him the Targum ascribes it; though
it does not respect his times; since what is said in Psalm 44:9 cannot
agree with them; yet he being a prophet might, under a prophetic influence,
speak of future times, and represent the church in them. Some are of opinion
that he prophetically speaks of the times of the Maccabees and of Antiochus,
when the church and people of God suffered much for the true religion, and
abode steadfast in it; so Theodoret: but rather the whole may be applied to the
times of the New Testament, since Psalm 44:22 is cited
by the Apostle Paul, Romans 8:36, and is
applied to his times, and as descriptive of the suffering state and condition
of the church then; and which seems to be the guide and key for the opening of
the whole psalm.
Psalm 44:1 We
have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, The deeds You did in
their days, In days of old:
YLT
1To the Overseer. -- By sons
of Korah. An Instruction. O God, with our ears we have heard, Our fathers have
recounted to us, The work Thou didst work in their days, In the days of old.
We have heard with our ears, O God,.... The church being in
distress calls to mind the past favours of God to his people, in order to encourage
her faith and hope; and this expression, delivered in such a form, shows the
clearness, evidence, and certainty of what was heard; and which was heard not
only as a tradition from father to son; but being recorded in the writings of
Moses and the prophets, and these things read both in private and in public,
were heard with the ear;
our fathers have told us what works thou didst in their
days, in the times of old: such as the signs and wonders in Egypt, the
slaying of the firstborn there, and the bringing of the people of Israel from
thence with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; which fathers were used to tell
in the ears of their sons, and sons' sons; and of which there were memorials
continued in future ages, which led children to ask their parents the meaning
of them; when they informed them of the wondrous works of Providence done in
former times, and by which means they were handed down from age to age: see Exodus 10:2.
Psalm 44:2 2 You drove out the nations
with Your hand, But them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them
out.
YLT
2Thou, [with] Thy hand,
nations hast dispossessed. And Thou dost plant them. Thou afflictest peoples,
and sendest them away.
How thou didst drive out the
Heathen with thy hand,.... Of power; that is, the Canaanites, as the Targum; the seven
nations which inhabited the land of Canaan before the children of Israel came
into it, Deuteronomy 7:1;
and plantedst them: not the Canaanites elsewhere; but, as the
same Targum explains it the house of Israel in their land; which, like a vine,
was removed from one place, and planted in another; and the settlement of the
children of Israel in the land of Canaan is frequently expressed by this
metaphor, Exodus 15:17, Jeremiah 2:21;
how thou didst afflict the
people; the Egyptians, according to Arama; rather the Canaanitish
nations by wars and desolating judgments;
and cast them out; that is, the same nations out of their
land; though some render this clause, "and didst send them out"; the
captive Israelites, as Arama; or "didst propagate them"F17ותשלחם "has autem germinare fecisti", Tigurine
version; "propagasti ipsos", Piscator; so Ainsworth; but rejected by
Gussetius, Ebr. Comment. p. 859. ; meaning the people of Israel; who being like
a vine planted in the and, sent out its boughs and branches, and became very
flourishing and fruitful; see Psalm 80:9; and so
the Syriac version renders it, "and thou confirmedst them"; but the
former sense seems best, agreeably to which is the Targum, "thou hast
broken the nations, and hast consumed them"; and that all this was the
Lord's work appears by what follows.
Psalm 44:3 3 For they did not gain
possession of the land by their own sword, Nor did their own arm save them; But
it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, Because
You favored them.
YLT
3For, not by their sword
Possessed they the land, And their arm gave not salvation to them, But Thy
right hand, and Thine arm, And the light of Thy countenance, Because Thou hadst
accepted them.
For they got not the land in possession by their own sword,.... There
were many things which show that the possession of the land of Canaan was not
of the Israelites themselves, but of the Lord; as their passing over into it
through Jordan as on dry land; the manner in which Jericho, the first city of
it, was taken, and the smiting of the Israelites by the men of Ai;
neither did their own arm save them; from their enemies, and
deliver them into their hands: they were too apt to ascribe things to their own
righteousness, merit, and power; but such methods were taken by the Lord as to
prevent such attributions to themselves; see Deuteronomy 8:16;
but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy
countenance; the mighty power of God, his outstretched arm in their favour,
and which arose from his pure good will to them;
because thou hadst a favour unto them; was well
pleased, and took delight in them; chose them to be a special people to
himself, above all people on the face of the earth.
Psalm 44:4 4 You are my King, O God;[b] Command[c] victories
for Jacob.
YLT
4Thou [art] He, my king, O
God, Command the deliverances of Jacob.
Thou art my King, O God,.... Besides the favours
God had done for his people in time past, the church takes notice of her
interest in God as her King, who was able to protect and defend her, and to
deliver her out of all her distresses, in order the more to strengthen her
faith and hope in him; and, claiming her interest in him, she draws nigh to him
with an holy boldness, and desires him as a King, that by a word of his (for
where the word of a king is, there is power) he would
command deliverances for Jacob; not literally, but
mystically understood; the spiritual Jacob, and people of God; all Israelites
indeed, in whom there is no guile; meaning herself and members: the blessing
desired is "deliverances", or "salvations"; so called, because
the, deliverance or salvation the Lord commands grants, and works out for his
people, is of different kinds, both spiritual and, temporal, and is a
deliverance from various things; from sin, Satan, the present evil world, wrath
to come, and all enemies; and out of various temptations and afflictions, and
which follow successively one upon another; and at last it is complete and
perfect.
Psalm 44:5 5 Through You we will push
down our enemies; Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.
YLT
5By Thee our adversaries we
do push, By Thy name tread down our withstanders,
Through thee will we push down our enemies,.... The
Chaldee paraphrase renders it, "through the Word": the essential Word
of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the church's King and God, and has
wrought out complete deliverance and salvation for his people; and he is the
horn of salvation, by which, though weak in themselves, they push down their
enemies, which are many and mighty, and they are more than conquerors over them:
the metaphor is taken from creatures pushing with their horns those that oppose
them, and in defence of themselves; and there seems to be an allusion to Deuteronomy 33:17;
through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us; in the name
of the Lord the saints set up their banners, and in his name they come forth
and fight with their spiritual enemies, that rise up against them, as sin, Satan,
and wicked men; and in the name, and through the power of the Lord, they tread
them down as mire in the streets; and before long Satan will be wholly bruised
under them; and the antichristian party shall be trodden down by them, and be
as ashes under the soles of their feet; see Romans 16:20.
Psalm 44:6 6 For I will not trust in my
bow, Nor shall my sword save me.
YLT
6For, not in my bow do I
trust, And my sword doth not save me.
For I will not trust in my bow,.... In any carnal
weapon, in any creature help and assistance, or in an arm of flesh, but in the
word of the Lord, and in his name; see Psalm 20:7;
neither shall my sword save me; that is, I will not
ascribe salvation to it; the church's weapons are not carnal, but spiritual;
not the sword of the civil magistrate, but the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God; Christ's kingdom, being not of this world, is not supported
and defended by worldly means, or carnal weapons.
Psalm 44:7 7 But You have saved us from
our enemies, And have put to shame those who hated us.
YLT
7For Thou hast saved us from
our adversaries, And those hating us Thou hast put to shame.
But thou hast saved us from our enemies,.... Spiritual
ones, and not we ourselves; and therefore will not trust in ourselves, nor in
anything of ours, but in the Lord, and give him the glory of salvation;
and hast put them to shame that hated us; the men of
the world, the seed of the serpent, and the serpent himself, when his works
were destroyed, and his principalities and powers spoiled by Christ upon the
cross; hence the following boasting of the Lord, and glorying in him.
Psalm 44:8 8 In God we boast all day
long, And praise Your name forever. Selah
YLT
8In God we have boasted all
the day, And Thy name to the age we thank. Selah.
In God we boast all the day long,.... Or, as the Targum,
"in the word of the Lord", in Christ, who is God over all, and who of
God is made to his church and people wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and
redemption; so that there is always matter of glorying and boasting in him;
and praise thy name for ever and ever; in this
world, as long as life continues; and in the other world to all eternity; both
for the works of providence and of grace; for deliverances commanded, and for
salvation from all enemies wrought out.
Selah; of this word See Gill on Psalm 3:2.
Psalm 44:9 9 But You have cast us
off and put us to shame, And You do not go out with our armies.
YLT
9In anger Thou hast cast off
and causest us to blush, And goest not forth with our hosts.
But thou hast cast off,.... This, with what
follows to Psalm 44:17,
describe the desolate and afflicted state of the church, under the Gospel
dispensation, in some parts and ages of it; and in the light in which it was
viewed by the church, previous to the encouragement she took from the
consideration of favours and benefits formerly bestowed, and of her covenant
interest in God, related in the preceding verses. She looked upon herself as
cast off, because afflicted and persecuted, and the Lord did not arise to her
immediate help and deliverance; this may regard the ten persecutions under Rome
Pagan; See Gill on Psalm 43:2;
and put us to shame; before men, at the
taking of the ark, as Arama; rather for their faith in God, and boasting of
him, when he did not appear for them, but suffered them to continue in their
afflictions and distresses; which occasioned their enemies to triumph over
them, and say unto them, where is your God? and also before God, who being
forsaken by him, could not come before him with that holy boldness and
confidence they were wont to do; see Song of Solomon 2:14;
and goest not forth with our armies; as the Generalissimo of
them; see 1 Samuel 8:20; not
leading them forth, and going before them; not teaching their hands to war and
their fingers to fight; nor inspiring them with courage and valour; nor giving
success and victory to them as formerly; but seeing that Christians, at least
in the first ages of Christianity, had no armies in a literal sense, this may
rather be understood of the lack of success of the Gospel in some period of it,
and of the power and prevalence of antichrist, the man of sin. The Gospel
ministry is a warfare; the preachers of it are good soldiers of Christ under
him; their weapons are not carnal, but spiritual; great success attended the
word in the first times of the Gospel; Christ went forth with his armies
conquering and to conquer; and multitudes were subdued by him, and became
subjects of him; but in some ages there has been but little success, few have
believed the report of the Gospel, and been converted by it; Christ's ministers
have laboured in vain, Satan's kingdom, though attacked, yet not weakened, nor
Christ's kingdom enlarged, but rather all the reverse; antichrist has been
suffered, as to make war with the saints, so to prevail and overcome, and will
do so, Revelation 13:4;
but it will not be always the case, Christ will go forth with his armies, and
make great conquests again, Revelation 11:15;
this may refer to the wars of the Papists with the Waldenses and Albigenses,
who were vanquished by the former.
Psalm 44:10 10 You make us turn back from
the enemy, And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.
YLT
10Thou causest us to turn
backward from an adversary, And those hating us, Have spoiled for themselves.
Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy,.... In the
times of Eli, according to Arama; but may he understood of some of the visible
members of the church, and professors of religion, not being valiant for the
truth, and deserting the cause of God and Christ, by reason of tribulation and
persecution arising because of the word;
and they which hate us spoil for themselves; by seizing on
the goods and substance of those they persecuted; enriching themselves by
confiscating their estates and possessions to their own use; or by spoiling
others of them, they deceived with their corrupt doctrines and soul destroying
principles, whereby they became slaves to the antichristian party; this may
respect the same wars as before.
Psalm 44:11 11 You have given us up like
sheep intended for food, And have scattered us among the nations.
YLT
11Thou makest us food like
sheep, And among nations Thou hast scattered us.
Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat,.... To be
butchered, and then eaten as sheep are; and therefore are called "the
flock of slaughter", Zechariah 11:4; as
the church was, not only under the ten persecutions of Rome Pagan, but through
the butcheries and massacres of Rome Papal; who have worried many of Christ's
sheep, have eaten their flesh and drank their blood, and have become drunken
with it; it has been their meat and drink to persecute the saints of the most
High;
and hast scattered us among the Heathen: the Pagan
world, as the first Christians were, who were scattered up and down in the
Gentile world everywhere; see 1 Peter 1:1; or the
Papacy, who are sometimes called Gentiles, Revelation 11:2;
because much of the Gentile idolatry is introduced into the Popish religion;
and among these many of the true members of Christ and of his church have been
carried captive and scattered; and such will be found there a little before the
destruction of Babylon, and will be called out from thence; see Revelation 13:10.
Psalm 44:12 12 You sell Your people for next
to nothing, And are not enriched by selling them.
YLT
12Thou sellest Thy people --
without wealth, And hast not become great by their price.
Thou sellest thy people for nought,.... So God, when he is
said to deliver up his people into the hands of their enemies, is said to sell
them to them; see Judges 2:14; and
selling them for nought suggests, that in their apprehensions he had no esteem
of them and value for them; just as men, when they have any person or thing to
dispose of they have no regard unto, but choose to be rid of, will part with it
for nothing: and as it follows,
and dost not increase thy wealth by their price; get nothing
by the bargain. This must be understood after the manner of men, and in the
opinion of the church, and not as in reality; no otherwise than as it has been
true, that God has suffered some of his people to be in the bondage and slavery
of mystical Babylon, called Egypt, one part of whose wares and merchandises are
slaves and souls of men, Revelation 11:8.
Psalm 44:13 13 You make us a reproach to
our neighbors, A scorn and a derision to those all around us.
YLT
13Thou makest us a reproach
to our neighbours, A scorn and a reproach to our surrounders.
Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours,.... Which is
the common lot of Christians: Christ and his apostles have given reason for the
saints in all ages to expect it, and have fortified their minds to bear it
patiently, yea, to esteem it an honour, and greater riches than the treasures
of the antichristian Egypt;
a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us; being always
represented as mean and despicable, and reckoned ignorant and accursed, and as
the faith of the world, and the offscouring of all things.
Psalm 44:14 14 You make us a byword among
the nations, A shaking of the head among the peoples.
YLT
14Thou makest us a simile
among nations, A shaking of the head among peoples.
Thou makest us a byword among the Heathen,.... Among the
Papists, as the Jews were among the Gentiles, Deuteronomy 28:37;
calling them schismatics, heretics, fanatics, and what not?
a shaking of the head among the people; by way of
indignation, scorn, and contempt; see Psalm 22:7.
Psalm 44:15 15 My dishonor is
continually before me, And the shame of my face has covered me,
YLT
15All the day my confusion
[is] before me, And the shame of my face hath covered me.
My confusion is continually before me,.... Meaning
that which is the occasion of it;
and the shame of my face hath covered me; not by reason
of sin, which is often the cause of confusion and shame in God's people; see Jeremiah 3:25; but
on account of what follows.
Psalm 44:16 16 Because of the voice of
him who reproaches and reviles, Because of the enemy and the avenger.
YLT
16Because of the voice of a
reproacher and reviler, Because of an enemy and a self-avenger.
For the voice, of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth,.... That is,
antichrist, to whom a mouth speaking blasphemies has been given, and which he
has opened in blasphemy against God, attributing that to himself which belongs
to God; blaspheming his name, his tabernacle, and them that well in heaven; see
Revelation 13:5;
by reason of the enemy and avenger; which are very proper
characters of antichrist, who is the enemy of Christ and of his people, and
breathes out vengeance against them; as the same titles are also given to the
Scribes and Pharisees, the implacable enemies of Christ, Psalm 8:2.
Psalm 44:17 17 All this has come upon us;
But we have not forgotten You, Nor have we dealt falsely with Your covenant.
YLT
17All this met us, and we did
not forget Thee, Nor have we dealt falsely in Thy covenant.
All this is come upon us,.... Not by chance, but
according to the purpose and counsel of God; not for sin, and as a punishment
of it, but for Christ's sake and his Gospel; for a profession of faith in him,
and for the trial of it;
yet have we not forgotten thee; not the being and
perfections of God, on which they often meditated, especially as displayed in
the affair of salvation by Jesus Christ; nor the works of God, which were
remembered to encourage faith and hope in their present circumstances, Psalm 44:1; nor the
benefits and favours bestowed upon them by him; nor his word, worship, and
ordinances; their reproach, afflictions, and persecutions, did not move them
from the hope of the Gospel, and the service of God;
neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant; by
disbelieving their interest in God as their covenant God; by disregarding or
not coming to and making use of Christ the Mediator of it; and by calling in
question their interest in the blessings and promises of the covenant; for
nothing can be more called dealing falsely in or with respect to the covenant
of grace than unbelief about it; which remains firm and sure notwithstanding
all the afflictions that may come on such who are interested in it: moreover,
as this may respect the formal exhibition of the covenant under the Gospel
dispensation, by the ministry of the word, and the administration of
ordinances, the sense may be, that though the church and her members met with
so much reproach and persecution from men, yet did not drop nor deny any of the
truths of the Gospel, nor corrupt the ordinances of Christ, nor neglect an
attendance on them; but were virgins, pure and incorrupt in doctrine and
practice, and followed the Lamb whithersoever he went.
Psalm 44:18 18 Our heart has not turned
back, Nor have our steps departed from Your way;
YLT
18We turn not backward our
heart, Nor turn aside doth our step from Thy path.
Our heart is not turned back,.... To its original hardness,
blindness, and bondage, to its former sin and folly, to cherish, gratify, and
fulfil its lusts and desires; not from God, from love to him, faith in him, and
desires after him; nor from his worship and service; their trials had no such
influence upon them as to cause them to apostatize from God, neither in heart,
nor in action;
neither have our steps declined from thy way; from the way
of his commandments, from the paths of holiness, truth, and faith, being
directed and guided therein by the counsel of the Lord, and kept and preserved
by his power.
Psalm 44:19 19 But You have severely
broken us in the place of jackals, And covered us with the shadow of death.
YLT
19But Thou hast smitten us in
a place of dragons, And dost cover us over with death-shade.
Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons,.... Where
men, comparable to dragons or their poison and cruelty, dwell; particularly in
Rome, and the Roman jurisdiction, both Pagan and Papal, the seat of Satan the
great red dragon, and of his wretched brood and offspring, the beast, to whom
he has given his power; here the saints and followers of Christ have been
sorely afflicted and persecuted, and yet have held fast the name of Christ, and
not denied his faith; see Revelation 2:13;
the wilderness is the habitation of dragons; and this is the name of the place
where the church is said to be in the times of the Papacy, and where she is fed
and preserved for a time, and times, and half a time, Revelation 12:6;
and covered us with the shadow of death; as the former
phrase denotes the cruelty of the enemies of Christ's church and people, this
their dismal afflictions and forlorn state and condition; see Psalm 23:4, Isaiah 9:2; and may
have some respect to the darkness of Popery, when it was at the height, and the
church of Christ was covered with it, there being very little appearances and
breakings forth of Gospel light any where. According to Arama, the "place
of dragons" denotes the captivity of Egypt, which is the great dragon; and
the "shadow of death", he says, was a name of Egypt in ancient times,
as say the Rabbins; and observes that Psalm 44:25
explains this; see Genesis 3:14.
Psalm 44:20 20 If we had forgotten the
name of our God, Or stretched out our hands to a foreign god,
YLT
20If we have forgotten the
name of our God, And spread our hands to a strange God,
If we have forgotten the name of our God,.... As
antichrist, and the antichristian party did in those times, Daniel 11:36;
or stretched out our hands to a strange god; as not to any
of the Heathen deities under the Pagan persecutions, so not to any images of
gold, silver, brass, and wood, under the Papal tyranny; not to the Virgin Mary,
nor to angels and saints departed; nor to the breaden God in the mass, never
heard of before; see Daniel 11:38.
Psalm 44:21 21 Would not God search this
out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.
YLT
21Doth not God search out
this? For He knoweth the secrets of the heart.
Shall not God search this out?.... Undoubtedly he
would, was it so, and expose it, and punish for it; as he will the Balaamites
and children of Jezebel, Revelation 2:18;
this seems to be an appeal to God for the truth of all that the church had said
concerning her steadfastness and integrity under the most trying exercises;
for he knoweth the secrets of the heart; whether the
heart is turned back, or there is any inclination to apostatize from God, or
his name is forgotten in it; as well as whether in fact the hand has been
stretched out, or prayer made to a strange god, Jeremiah 17:9.
Psalm 44:22 22 Yet for Your sake we are
killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
YLT
22Surely, for Thy sake we
have been slain all the day, Reckoned as sheep of the slaughter.
Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long,.... These
words are cited by the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:36; and
are applied to his times, showing the then close attachment of the saints to
Christ, and their strong love and affection for him; and they have the same
sense here, being an instance and proof of the church's integrity and
faithfulness in the cause of God, amidst the sorest afflictions and
persecutions; for the truth of which she appeals to the searcher of hearts; and
had their accomplishment in the ten persecutions under the Heathen emperors,
and under the Papal tyranny; and may be understood of their being threatened
with death, being in danger of it, and exposed unto it continually, 1 Corinthians 15:31;
or of their being in such troubles and afflictions, which may be called death, 2 Corinthians 1:8;
or of the actual slaying them: and what was done to many of the members of the
church she attributes to herself, because of the union between them; and for
the sake of the worship of the true God, because they would not worship the
gods of the Heathens, nor the image of the beast, multitudes of them were put
to death; and that all the day long, and every day, and that for a long series
and course of time, or continually; and indeed, ever since the Gospel day or
dispensation began, this killing work has been more or less; and it will
continue during the reign of antichrist, until the measure of his iniquity is
filled up, and the afflictions of the saints are accomplished;
we are counted as sheep for the slaughter; or "as
sheep of slaughter"F17כצאן טבחה "ut pecus mactationis", Montanus, Vatablus;
so Musculus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis, Ainsworth. ; see Zechariah 11:4;
that is, either as sheep to be slaughtered for food, their enemies delighting
to eat their flesh and drink their blood; See Gill on Psalm 44:11, or for
sacrifice, they reckoning it doing God good service to take away their lives,
as though they sacrificed a lamb or a sheep unto him; and which, like sheep,
they have patiently endured: this is the account made of them, not by the Lord,
in whose sight their death is precious; nor by the saints, with whom their
memory is dear; but by their furious persecutors, among whom they are as sheep
among wolves; see 1 Corinthians 4:13.
Psalm 44:23 23 Awake! Why do You sleep, O
Lord? Arise! Do not cast us off forever.
YLT
23Stir up -- why dost Thou
sleep, O Lord? Awake, cast us not off for ever.
Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord?.... Not that sleep
properly falls upon God: the Keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps; his
eyes are always upon his people; he never withdraws them from them, and he
watches over them night and day: but sometimes he seems and is thought to be
asleep; as when wicked men flourish and triumph over the righteous, and go on
in sin with impunity; when their judgment seems to linger, and their damnation
to slumber, though it does not; and when the saints are under sore afflictions,
and the Lord seems to disregard them, and does not appear for their
deliverance; and when things are as when the disciples were in a storm, and
Christ was asleep, to whom they said, "carest thou not that we
perish?" and the Lord may be said to awake, and it is what is here prayed
for, when he stirs up himself and takes vengeance on his enemies, as he will before
long on antichrist and his followers; and when he takes in hand the cause and
judgment of his people, and pleads it thoroughly, and delivers them out of the
hands of all their oppressors, and gives them the dominion and kingdom under
the whole heaven; see Isaiah 2:9;
arise; to revenge the blood of his people, and to have mercy on his
Zion;
cast us not off for ever; as he might seem to do,
by suffering their enemies to triumph over them; but in reality he does not;
much less with loathing and abhorrence, as the wordF18אל תזנח "ne abjicias cum
fastidio", Gejerus. used signifies, since his church is his Hephzibah, in
whom he delights, Isaiah 62:4; and
still less for ever, since his love to them is from everlasting to everlasting,
and they shall be for ever with him; See Gill on Psalm 43:2.
Psalm 44:24 24 Why do You hide Your face,
And forget our affliction and our oppression?
YLT
24Why Thy face hidest Thou?
Thou forgettest our afflictions and our oppression,
Wherefore hidest thou thy face?.... See Psalm 10:1;
and forgettest our affliction
and our oppression. Not that the Lord does really forget either the persons of his
people, which he cannot, since they are engraven on the palms of his hands, and
a book of remembrance is written for them: nor the afflictions of his people;
he knows their souls in adversity; he chooses them in the furnace of
affliction; he makes all afflictions work together for good, and delivers out
of them. But because deliverance is not immediately wrought, and they sometimes
continue long under their afflictions and oppressions, they seem to be
forgotten by him, as during the ten persecutions and the long reign of
antichrist.
Psalm 44:25 25 For our soul is bowed down
to the dust; Our body clings to the ground.
YLT
25For bowed to the dust hath
our soul, Cleaved to the earth hath our belly.
For our soul is bowed down to the dust,.... Which may
signify great declension in spiritual things, much dejection of mind, and
little exercise of grace, Psalm 119:25; or a
very low estate in temporals; subjection to their enemies; they setting their
feet upon their necks, and obliging them to lick the dust of them: and even it
may signify nearness to death itself; see Joshua 10:24;
our belly cleaveth to the earth; as persons that lie
prostrate, being conquered and suppliants.
Psalm 44:26 26 Arise for our help, And
redeem us for Your mercies’ sake.
YLT
26Arise, a help to us, And
ransom us for thy kindness' sake.
Arise for our help,.... Or, "arise our help"F19עזרתה לנו "auxilium
nostrum", Cocceius, Gejerus. . God is the help of his people, and he is a
present help in time of trouble; and he is the only one; and he can help and
does, when none else can;
and redeem us for thy mercies' sake; not for the sake of her
integrity and faithfulness; nor for her sufferings for Christ's sake; but for
his grace and mercy's sake, which is the source and spring of redemption or
deliverance, both temporal and spiritual; and to that the saints ascribe it,
and not to any merit of theirs, or works of righteousness done by them.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)