Psalm 44:1-8

You see how this works here. He is talking about the past and what had happened in the past, what had been recorded in history. They knew that God had come to their aid because their fathers had faithfully taught them their history. This is commanded in Deuteronomy 6 and several other places where it says if your son asks you this, you tell him this sort of thing. In Deuteronomy 6 it is, you shall talk about these things all the day and let them know what I have done for you throughout the exodus and other times.

So the psalmist here acknowledges that Israel did not deserve any credit for any of the things that had happened in history, that it had been all God's doing. Whether it was victory over enemies or gaining the land, God had done it all because He had favored them. That is what it says there at the end of verse 3. "It was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance because You favored them." He had done it through grace. He had done it through a covenantal favoritism because He had chosen them as His people, and they had agreed to be His people. And so He had done all those things for them. Simply, He had done those things because He loved them.

In verse 4 we see here that the psalmist or the people pledged their loyalty and asked for God to do as He had done before, to command victory. So His word would go out and His enemies—their enemies—would fall. That is what they were looking for. Give a decree and give them victory. And they go on to say here, as we get to the close of these first eight verses, that they will do as their fathers did and follow His lead. And He gets all the credit and glory. That is the first thing they are thinking here.