Psalms 44:9 - Forerunner Commentary

Psalms 44:9

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7 But You have saved us from our enemies,
And have put to shame those who hated us.

8 ^aIn God we boast all day long,
And praise Your name forever. Selah

9 But ^aYou have cast us off and put us to shame,
And You do not go out with our armies.

10 You make us ^aturn back from the enemy,
And those who hate us have taken¹ spoil for themselves.

11 ^aYou have given us up like sheep intended for food,
And have ^bscattered us among the nations.

12 ^aYou sell Your people for next to nothing,
And are not enriched by selling them.

13 ^aYou make us a reproach to our neighbors,
A scorn and a derision to those all around us.

14 ^aYou make us a byword among the nations,
^bA shaking of the head among the peoples.

Commentaries:

No entry exists in Forerunner Commentary for Psalms 44:9.

Psalm 44:9-16

Let us go on to the second section. The second section from verses 9 through 16 is perplexity that God had not delivered them. If you want a phrase to stick on this, remember the first one for the first eight verses was, You have helped us. Well, this one on the second section is, You are not helping us now. And they are confused. Why? Why are You not helping us? Let us read this one, starting in verse 9.

So here in the second section, they change tack. The psalmist changes his approach. Why, God, are You not helping us? Why are You treating us differently than our fathers who trusted You? We trust You. Why are we going through this? Our situation is dire. Look at all these things that have come against us. But You are not helping us. The whole paragraph is a description of how miserable their situation is.

They feel as if they fight alone. They actually say "You do not go out with our armies." That He is nowhere near. They flee from their enemies. Their enemies take spoils from them rather than they take spoils from their enemies. And it gets worse. They complain to God that He is selling them out for nothing. He is getting no return. Neighboring nations scorn them and think them weak and dishonorable. They feel reviled and shamed. The whole underlying tone here is that they are perplexed and confused. Why have You forsaken us? We do not get it. What have we done?

Excerpted from Psalm Genres (Part Four): Laments

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