Chronicles of a Journeyman

Psalm 44

At the heart of this psalm is a plea for the Lord to awaken from His inexplicable slumber for the deliverance of His people.

1-3: Recounting God’s past great works

4-8: Declaring future victories through God

9-16: Describing present rejection by God

17-22: Insisting on unbroken loyalty to God

23-26: Praying for deliverance by God

The psalmist recounts God’s past works in bringing Israel to possess the land, and expresses confident faith for future victories through the same God. Yet he cannot understand why they are presently being oppressed, scattered, and humiliated in battle by their enemy nations.

He insists they have neither forgotten God nor turned back from His ways, thus challenging God to “awake” and deliver them. This psalm expresses faith amidst struggles and pleads for deliverance amidst questions, voicing of the psalmist’s sincere thoughts and feelings to God amidst trouble.