Psalm 44 – Honed through trails

Psalm 44 was written for the choir director and it ascribes the authorship to the sons of Korah. We do not know the exact occasion that led to the composition of this poem, but we know it is a time of the nation’s lament for Israel. Being a miskil, this is a Psalm meant to instruct believers. The content tells us that the people of God were undergoing great times of distress and were wondering why God allowed them to go through this hardship. They had suffered a devastating military defeat and many were slaughtered like sheep. Their land was plundered and some were taken captives, while others fled from their enemies and scattered among the nations. Yet they insisted that they had been faithful and loyal to God, but were made a mockery to the nations.

What’s puzzling to them was God had been the strong deliverer of their fathers in time past. Their fathers narrated to them how God had driven the natives of the land out and gave the land to Israel and settled them there. The Psalmist did not hesitate to acknowledge that it was to God that they gave their allegiance. It was God that the Psalmist trusted and not the weapons of war. Despite this loyalty, yet they had to suffer, but they still would offer their praise to Him. As they scanned through their past, they saw a stark contrast between what they were going through and the experience of their forefathers. What they were going through made them feel that God had rejected and humbled them. Their armies were defeated by the enemies in battle and they all had to flee. Their possessions even became the enemies’ booty of war. Many were destroyed, others had to be dispersed among the nations, and still others sold as slaves. They became objects of mockeries, and were jeered and sneered at by people surrounding them.

They would have taken the negatives better had they been unfaithful or disloyal to God. But the fact was they had been loyal and faithful. Had God forgotten them? They wondered. Why did God not accord the victories that their fathers had enjoyed? Instead they were crushed in deserted places like jackals. They wondered if this was the reward for their loyalty. They assumed that when one trusts God, they should not be going through all these. But we know that believers still do encounter some unpleasant experiences even when we have put our trust in God. The fact is that we live in a fallen world. The law of the jungles state that only the fittest survive. This idea had led to aggression and believers are oftentimes the victims of such aggression. Like Job, whom God said was the most righteous and just person, yet the proportion of his suffering was unimaginable. Yes, we all have to endure suffering to some degree, but faith in God will help to make them bearable.

Verses 23-26 seem to bother on rudeness. They suggest that God was asleep and unconcerned about what they were going through. How dare one speaks to God this way? Let’s be quick to know that God welcomes our honesty. We can share intimacy with God to a degree that we can be openly honest with Him. We can conclude that the Psalmist had an intimate relationship with God and was expressing his desire for a swifter intervention. These verses also show us how desperate the author was, to have concluded that way. Honestly speaking, there are depths of suffering many of us have not yet plumbed, and could never comprehend. Without exception all of us have been puzzled by experiences we considered unfair and yet had to go through. But in the light of Christ’s coming and His atoning works at Calvary, suffering should take a different meaning for us Christians. In fact we are told in Romans that those whom God loves, He disciplines. More than just bringing distraught, trials and hardship can drive us closer to God. We must know that nothing in this world can ever separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus. Characters are often forged through storms.  

So like the Psalmist in his perplexity and difficulty, we must still trust that God has the capacity to redeem us. So he prayed, ‘redeem us’. We can be assured that He will redeem, but not because we deserve it, but because of His lovingkindness and unfailing love. Beloved, God neither sleeps nor slumbers, as told in Psalm 121. We always emerge as victors in Christ when we walk through our suffering arm in arm with Him. Yes, we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.