24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, [and] forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
Wherefore dost thou hide thy face, and countest me for thine enemy?
And it came to pass during those many days, that the king of Egypt died. And the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and cried; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage; and God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob;
Why, Jehovah, standest thou afar off? [Why] hidest thou thyself in times of distress?
He saith in his heart, ùGod hath forgotten, he hideth his face, he will never see [it].
I will say unto ùGod my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; deliver me from the deceitful and unrighteous man. For thou art the God of my strength: why hast thou cast me off? why go I about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Send out thy light and thy truth: *they* shall lead me, *they* shall bring me to thy holy mount, and unto thy habitations. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto the ùGod of the gladness of my joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God, my God.
Forget not the voice of thine adversaries: the tumult of those that rise up against thee ascendeth continually.
Why sayest thou, Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and my right is passed away from my God? Dost thou not know, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not nor tireth? There is no searching of his understanding.
And when it opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held; and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O sovereign Ruler, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 44
Commentary on Psalms 44 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 44
Ps 44:1-26. In a time of great national distress, probably in David's reign, the Psalmist recounts God's gracious dealings in former times, and the confidence they had learned to repose in Him. After a vivid picture of their calamities, he humbly expostulates against God's apparent forgetfulness, reminding Him of their faithfulness and mourning their heavy sorrows.
1-3. This period is that of the settlement of Canaan (Jos 24:12; Jud 6:3).
have told—or, "related" (compare Ex 10:2).
2. plantedst them—that is, "our fathers," who are also, from the parallel construction of the last clause, to be regarded as the object of "cast them out," which means—literally, "send" them out, or, "extend them." Heathen and people denote the nations who were driven out to make room for the Israelites.
4. Thou art my King—literally, "he who is my King," sustaining the same covenant relation as to the "fathers."
5. The figure drawn from the habits of the ox.
6-8. God is not only our sole help, but only worthy of praise.
7. put … to shame—(compare Ps 6:10), disgraced.
8. thy name—as in Ps 5:11.
9. But—contrasting, cast off as abhorrent (Ps 43:2).
goest not forth—literally, "will not go" (2Sa 5:23). In several consecutive verses the leading verb is future, and the following one past (in Hebrew), thus denoting the causes and effects. Thus (Ps 44:10-12), when defeated, spoiling follows; when delivered as sheep, dispersion follows, &c.
11. The Babylonian captivity not necessarily meant. There were others (compare 1Ki 8:46).
13, 14. (Compare De 28:37; Ps 79:4).
15. shame of … face—blushes in disgrace.
16. Its cause, the taunts and presence of malignant enemies (Ps 8:2).
17-19. They had not apostatized totally—were still God's people.
18. declined—turned aside from God's law.
19. sore broken—crushed.
place of dragons—desolate, barren, rocky wilderness (Ps 63:10; Isa 13:22),
shadow of death—(Compare Ps 23:4).
20, 21. A solemn appeal to God to witness their constancy.
stretched out … hands—gesture of worship (Ex 9:29; Ps 88:9).
22. Their protracted sufferings as God's people attests the constancy. Paul (Ro 8:36) uses this to describe Christian steadfastness in persecution.
23-26. This style of addressing God, as indifferent, is frequent (Ps 3:7; 9:19; 13:1, &c.). However low their condition, God is appealed to, on the ground, and for the honor, of His mercy.