Today, as in every age, we need to call out to God for His reviving and renewing grace. We are so manifestly in need of revival, and God is eager and able to grant it; however, we must seek Him for this great blessing, and psalms like Psalm 44 can tell us why and show us how to plead with God for revival. Here is another of the psalms from the sons of Korah, and its theme is as relevant today as it was in their generation.
Structure and content
This psalm is structured in parallel stanzas and concluded by an earnest prayer of supplication. Stanzas 1 and 3 set the psalm in the context of Israel’s history, while stanzas 2 and 4 declare the faith of God’s people as they look to Him for renewal. The concluding supplication brings all the building energy of the psalm to bear on the task of pleading with God for reviving grace.
Stanzas 1 and 3 are mirror images, reflecting the conditions of Israel’s history when God’s aid was earnestly sought and needed. In stanza 1 (vv. 1-3) the period of the conquest of the land is recalled. God’s people, fresh out of the desert, accomplished a mighty work of subduing the nations and capturing their lands. But this was God’s work. He had prepared and led them, and He took them into battle against greater foes and gave them the victory. In stanza 3 (vv. 9-16) we again visit Israel’s history, but now the time appears to be the present (or perhaps a prophetic future). God’s people are rejected from His presence; their armies are not advancing, and they have become a byword among the nations. Israel is disgraced, taunted, reviled, and ashamed. Even God Himself appears to be set against them (note the second person singular pronouns throughout this section).
In both stanza 2 and stanza 4 the psalmists show that they have not lost faith in God. They recognize (vv. 4-8) that the God Who delivered Israel is still the God of their salvation in the present. He has saved them; thus, they make their proud boast in the Lord, even though present circumstances have changed (vv. 9-16). But at the end of detailing Israel’s present shame and distress, the psalmists repeat their faith in the Lord and their confidence in His delivering might (vv. 17-22). Yes, they are in distress, and, yes, God has done it; however, they cling to their faith in Him, eagerly seeking His reviving and renewing grace again.
The concluding prayer (vv. 23-26) gathers up all the earnest longing of the psalmists in an outburst of pleading filled with urgency and repentance. The imperatives of vv. 23 and 26 carry the sense of urgency, while the descriptions of affliction and groveling in vv. 24 and 25 intimate the psalmist’s contrition and humility. Psalm 44 is a most appropriate psalm to use in seeking the Lord for revival, whether personal or in the church.
Here is an outline of the structure of Psalm 44:
1st stanza:
Israel’s victories in the past (vv. 1-3):
Israel’s forebears faithfully reported God’s mighty deeds (v. 1).
By God’s help, Israel drove out the nations and settled the land (vv. 2, 3).
2nd stanza:
Testimony of faith in God (vv. 4-8):
The God Who delivered Israel is still their King and Savior (vv. 4, 5).
The psalmists declare their trust in God (v. 6).
The psalmists rejoice in God’s past victories, anticipating victories to come (vv. 7, 8).
3rd stanza:
I
srael’s distress in the present (vv. 9-16):
God has turned against His people, rejecting and delivering them to spoil (vv. 9, 10).
God has scattered them like sheep (vv. 11, 12).
God has made them a byword to the nations (vv. 13-16).
4th stanza:
Testimony of faith in God (vv. 17-22):
Yet the psalmists declare their trust in the Lord (vv. 18-20).
They plead to God for the sake of Israel’s deliverance (vv. 21, 22).
Supplication:
The psalmists urgently plead for God’s reviving grace (vv. 23-26)
With very few adjustments this psalm is most appropriate for regular use in seeking God’s reviving grace and delivering love.
Messianic focus
Here is a fascinating aspect of the Messianic message of this psalm: The Messiah is hinted at not only in the delivering power of God, the great King and mighty Warrior Who sets His people from their foes (vv. 2, 4, 7); He also appears as the suffering people, led like lambs to the slaughter because of sin (v. 22). Christ is both our Suffering Servant and Delivering King. Only the Messiah can accomplish the redemption that Israel – and all men – earnestly need (v. 26).
Praying Psalm 44
When I pray this psalm on Tuesday afternoons, I pretty much use just the words that are there. They accurately remind me of the record of God’s deliverance in the past – not only in Israel’s day, but throughout the ages, in period of revival – and they give me words to describe the present state of the Church. They are also fitting in calling upon God to revive us, because they allow us to admit our affliction and take a humble and contrite posture before the Lord, even as we plead with Him for revival and renewal.
Psalm 44 for worship
I have used vv. 1-4 as a responsive reading to prepare for a season of confessing sins:
Leader:
O God, we have heard with our ears,
People:
Our fathers have told us,
Leader:
What deeds You performed in their days, in the days of old:
People
:
You with Your own hands drove out the nations; but them You planted;
You afflicted the peoples, but them You set free;
Leader:
For not by their sword did they win the land,
People:
Nor did their own arm save them;
All:
But Your right hand and Your arm,
And the light of Your face,
For You delighted in them.
Leader:
O God, ordain salvation for Your people!
(silent confession)
Verses 7 and 8 can be used at the end of this time as a word of assurance:
Leader:
Lord, You have saved us from our foes;
People:
In God we have boasted continually,
And we will give thanks to Your Name forever!
Singing Psalm 44
This melody brings together such a powerful combination of affections – sorrow for sin, longing for God, building confidence – that it seems quite appropriate for this revival psalm.
Psalm 44 Tune: Faithfulness – “Great is Thy Faithfulness”
Play Tune
vv. 1, 2
O God our ears have heard, ancients have taught us,
All that You did for them long years ago,
How by Your hand You defeated the nations,
And to the promised land let Israel go.
Refrain vv. 23-26
Rise up, awake, O Lord! Hide not Your face from us,
See our affliction, our suffering and pain!
See how our soul is sunk down with oppression;
Rise up and help and redeem us we pray!
vv. 3, 4
Not by their sword did they drive out the nations;
Not by their arm did they settle the land.
Your saving mercy and light triumphed for them:
Victories for us, our King, please now command.
Refrain
vv. 5-8
Through You shall we all our enemies vanquish;
Them will we trample in Your mighty Name.
We will not trust in our strength or our wisdom;
Jesus will save us; we’ll boast of His fame!
Refrain
vv. 9-11
Ah, but for now in dishonor we languish.
Our armies quail while our enemies boast.
We are as spoil to our foes who despise us;
God has forsaken those He loves the most.
Refrain
vv. 12-16
Sold into sin and reproached by our neighbors,
You do not profit from our woeful state.
Shame and dishonor o’erwhelm and consume us;
Mocking and scorn for our sin is our fate.
Refrain
vv. 17, 18
All this has come on us, but we remember:
You are our covenant God and our King!
Turn back our hearts to adore and extol You;
Lord, keep our steps as Your praises we sing.
Refrain
vv. 19-22
Crushed and consumed in the shadows of darkness,
We would remember You, Jesus, our King!
Though we are trampled, like sheep for the slaughter,
Yet of Your faithfulness, Lord, we will sing!
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Stanzas 1 and 3 are mirror images, reflecting the conditions of Israel’s history when God’s aid was earnestly sought and needed. In stanza 1 (vv. 1-3) the period of the conquest of the land is recalled. God’s people, fresh out of the desert, accomplished a mighty work of subduing the nations and capturing their lands. But this was God’s work. He had prepared and led them, and He took them into battle against greater foes and gave them the victory. In stanza 3 (vv. 9-16) we again visit Israel’s history, but now the time appears to be the present (or perhaps a prophetic future). God’s people are rejected from His presence; their armies are not advancing, and they have become a byword among the nations. Israel is disgraced, taunted, reviled, and ashamed. Even God Himself appears to be set against them (note the second person singular pronouns throughout this section).
