6 I put no trust in my bow,
my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame
I love this verse it reminds me that we shouldn’t do things our way but Gods way.
.
“17All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant. 18Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way; 19yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death. 20If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, 21would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. 22Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. 23Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! 24Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? 25For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. 26Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!” Often in the Old Testament God’s people rejected him, forgot him and ran after other gods. He disciplined them and allowed other nations to conquer and rule over them. But in Psalm 44 the psalmist points out the people have not forgotten God and yet affliction has still come their way. This makes me wonder what was God up to? Why did he allow his people to experience brokenness? Why did he let them feel rejected if they were doing right? This reminds me of times in my life and the lives of others where bad things happen to people who love and follow God. It also reminds me that loving and serving God doesn’t create an invisible forcefield of protection for me against bad things happening. Being a believer doesn’t mean I won’t experience trouble. Jesus himself said trouble would be a reality in this world. But to take heart because he has overcome the world. In hard times we are NOT alone. God is with us so we don’t have to struggle alone. He produces purpose for our pain. This text leads me to learn more about the context of Psalm 44 and what God was doing that his people couldn’t see at the time, but understood later.
“7You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy more than your companions.”
I like this correlation between loving righteousness/hating wickedness and being anointed with joy. Joy comes God, but it is related to loving what is right and hating what is evil. When we have a lack of joy, sometimes it might be because we are doing or condoning things that are wrong, or it might be that we aren’t loving or seeing the good things going on around us and we’re ambivalent in our ungratefulness.
3 It was not by their sword that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face, for you loved them.
I LOVE how this directly corresponds to yesterday’s reading in Deuteronomy when Moses reminds the people that it is not because of their righteousness that they inherited the Promised Land.
I agree, there’s this constant reminder that we are not here by our own power..today I completed my to do list and was quite proud of myself until I read these and remembered that Gods grace and mercy allow me to complete all things. It’s always humbling.
The beginning of Psalm 44 perfectly ties in with our reading in Deuteronomy yesterday. It was not the Israelites but God who would drive out the nations before them. B
Psalm 44 touched my heart as David wrote of God’s mighty works in the beginning, but which later led to, “Where are you?” The truth is that He never leaves even when our feelings might say otherwise. It is good to practice gratitude for what He’s done and what He is continuing to do (even though we may not see it from our perspective yet). He IS FAITHFUL.
1 My heart is stirred by a noble theme
as I recite my verses for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
From psalm 45. I love how David writes! He is so moved by God and so honest. This is how I want to frame my thoughts, my poetry, and my life. My heart is stirred by a noble Theme, as I LIVE for the King!
6 I put no trust in my bow,
my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame
I love this verse it reminds me that we shouldn’t do things our way but Gods way.
.
“17All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant. 18Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way; 19yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death. 20If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, 21would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. 22Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. 23Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! 24Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? 25For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. 26Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!” Often in the Old Testament God’s people rejected him, forgot him and ran after other gods. He disciplined them and allowed other nations to conquer and rule over them. But in Psalm 44 the psalmist points out the people have not forgotten God and yet affliction has still come their way. This makes me wonder what was God up to? Why did he allow his people to experience brokenness? Why did he let them feel rejected if they were doing right? This reminds me of times in my life and the lives of others where bad things happen to people who love and follow God. It also reminds me that loving and serving God doesn’t create an invisible forcefield of protection for me against bad things happening. Being a believer doesn’t mean I won’t experience trouble. Jesus himself said trouble would be a reality in this world. But to take heart because he has overcome the world. In hard times we are NOT alone. God is with us so we don’t have to struggle alone. He produces purpose for our pain. This text leads me to learn more about the context of Psalm 44 and what God was doing that his people couldn’t see at the time, but understood later.
Found this resource to understand Psalm 44 more. Very good truths perspective here: http://loveintruth.com/psalms/psalm44.
“7You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy more than your companions.”
I like this correlation between loving righteousness/hating wickedness and being anointed with joy. Joy comes God, but it is related to loving what is right and hating what is evil. When we have a lack of joy, sometimes it might be because we are doing or condoning things that are wrong, or it might be that we aren’t loving or seeing the good things going on around us and we’re ambivalent in our ungratefulness.
3 It was not by their sword that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face, for you loved them.
I LOVE how this directly corresponds to yesterday’s reading in Deuteronomy when Moses reminds the people that it is not because of their righteousness that they inherited the Promised Land.
I agree, there’s this constant reminder that we are not here by our own power..today I completed my to do list and was quite proud of myself until I read these and remembered that Gods grace and mercy allow me to complete all things. It’s always humbling.
The beginning of Psalm 44 perfectly ties in with our reading in Deuteronomy yesterday. It was not the Israelites but God who would drive out the nations before them. B
Psalm 44 touched my heart as David wrote of God’s mighty works in the beginning, but which later led to, “Where are you?” The truth is that He never leaves even when our feelings might say otherwise. It is good to practice gratitude for what He’s done and what He is continuing to do (even though we may not see it from our perspective yet). He IS FAITHFUL.
1 My heart is stirred by a noble theme
as I recite my verses for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
From psalm 45. I love how David writes! He is so moved by God and so honest. This is how I want to frame my thoughts, my poetry, and my life. My heart is stirred by a noble Theme, as I LIVE for the King!