Psalms 44:1 (ESV)
To the
choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.
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:
Psalm 44 is a
difficult psalm. The first eight verses are great. They are a reminder of all
that God had done in the past. It is good for us to go back and reflect on how
God worked powerfully in the past. God drove out the nations before Israel and settled
them in the land. It was not by their power or cunning, but by God’s hand that
they were victorious. We need to remember these things. We need to reflect on
them if only to remind us of how powerful God is.
But then the
Psalm shifts from recollections of power to their own current experience of
oppression and failure. To their knowledge, they have not sinned. They have not
broken the covenant God had made with them. They could see no reason why God
was allowing their current devastation. In their pain they are asking, Where is
God?
Reflecting on God’s
powerful acts of the past can encourage us, but it can also discourage us. When
our experience seems to be the opposite, when we cry out to God and he seems to
ignore us, we can begin to doubt the stories. Is God really powerful? Did he
really do those things? Does he really care about us? If so, we can see no evidence.
We begin walking by sight instead of by faith.
As the Psalmist
wrestles with these feelings of abandonment by God two truths are acknowledged.
The first is in verse twenty-two.
Yet for your sake
we are killed all the day long;
we are regarded
as sheep to be slaughtered.
Whatever they are
experiencing is for God’s sake. They cannot see how this could bring glory to
God. They cannot see how it can have any benefit. Yet they recognize that
because they are the people of God, whatever happens to them is for God’s sake.
The Apostle Paul quotes this verse in Romans 8. He emphasizes that nothing can separate
us from the love of Christ. Even when pain is our experience, he argues that we
are more than conquerors because nothing can “separate us from the love of God
in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39). Somehow, rejection, opposition, trials,
and tribulations in our lives are for God’s glory and we can be assured that he
has not abandoned us. Our victory goes beyond this life.
The second truth
is found in the final verse of Psalm 44.
[26] Rise up;
come to our help!
Redeem us for the
sake of your steadfast love!
The song moves
from focusing on self to focusing again on the person of God. The request for
God to rise up and help is not based on their own actions. The Psalm does not
say, “Help us because we have been good.” Rather it calls on God’s steadfast
love. Even as we cry out for relief, our eyes need to turn off of us and onto
the very nature and character of God. He has helped in the past. He has worked
powerfully before. For some reason he is choosing to allow this pain and
suffering this time around, but I can still trust him. What he is doing may be
a mystery to me, but he is faithful. I can trust him in the darkness for
nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus my lord.
Comments
Post a Comment