Psalm 44 ~ ordain salvation

Psalm 44

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

O God, we have heard with our ears,
our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old:
2 you with your own hand drove out the nations,
but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples,
but them you set free;
3 for not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and the light of your face,
for you delighted in them.

4 You are my King, O God;
ordain salvation for Jacob!
5 Through you we push down our foes;
through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
6 For not in my bow do I trust,
nor can my sword save me.
7 But you have saved us from our foes
and have put to shame those who hate us.
8 In God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah

9 But you have rejected us and disgraced us
and have not gone out with our armies.
10 You have made us turn back from the foe,
and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter
and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them.
13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and scorn of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
and shame has covered my face
16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.

17 All this has come upon us,
though we have not forgotten you,
and we have not been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our steps departed from your way;
19 yet you have broken us in the place of jackals
and covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
24 Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust;
our belly clings to the ground.
26 Rise up; come to our help!
Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!

~ regarded as sheep to be slaughtered

If we think along the lines of popular books like The Red Tent, we believe the biblical neanderthals like Jacob and Samuel wouldn't have cared about sheep. After all they offered them for sin offerings. Nasty, dirty men who didn't bathe and lived in tents. Men who killed men and animals easily, taking many wives.

Who actually are the writers of Psalm 44, with the Holy Spirit - from the Levitical clan, this Psalm was written by the Sons of Korah. Remember Asaph? What was Asaph's job during the reign of King David? He was chief in offering praise to God in music. He is biblically recorded as being a chief musician and seer, or prophet. Imagine... those men of the Bible encouraged the arts and believed in gratitude towards Father God. Asaph, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote Psalm 50 and 73-83. So very different from popular culture in viewing biblical patriarchs.

However, this Psalm is one the Holy Spirit allows complaining about the absence of God. Why would the honored Temple musicians and the great-grandsons of Samuel - grandsons of Asaph - complain God is absent? They also held the honored public post of Gatekeeper to David's city. We are supposed to wonder. What is your answer? I'd say it is one I'm guilty of myself. We want to tell God about how the sheep want to behave and how God is to behave towards them. Although this Psalm moans of disgrace - biblically this was peacetime during the reign of David. I believe they are clamoring for more of their share of God's glory. They want to be Nathan or Samuel instead of rejoicing in their gifts.

1 Chronicles 16:5
Asaph was the chief, and next to him in rank were Zechariah, then Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals,

1 Chronicles 16:7
That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise to the LORD in this manner

12 Psalms are written by the Sons of Korah with the Holy Spirit. The grandchildren of Asaph, one of the chief musicians.

1 Chronicles 26

¹ The divisions of the gatekeepers:

From the Korahites: Meshelemiah son of Kore, one of the sons of Asaph.

² Meshelemiah had sons:
Zechariah the firstborn,
Jediael the second,
Zebadiah the third,
Jathniel the fourth,
³ Elam the fifth,
Jehohanan the sixth
and Eliehoenai the seventh.

Asaph and his children blazed a path. David saw them doing so. David understood the way his people needed to be treated. Asaph was the grandson of the prophet Samuel, but Asaph is not recorded as living with David as a political outlaw in caves. David forgave a lot of men for not following him during the dark hours.

David did not treat the men who joined him only in victory as sheep for the slaughter.


To be honest about the video, it is better towards the middle so feel free to speed it up with the dot at the bottom. If you like dogs, cats, you'll be impressed with this little lamb.

What kind of King is David remembered as. One who could tell the difference between leading people in ways to be slaughtered. One who repented when not taking care of his people.

2 Samuel 12:1-4
¹ The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, ³ but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

⁴ “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

Father God, thank You that You do not sleep as Baal did when Elijah taunted Baal. With You, we trust in You to ordain salvation. You are the creator. You plant. You delight in the giving victory. David rested in You, in faith, when the days were filled with affliction and oppression. We wait upon You being the hearer of our prayers and the hope for our days. When circumstance defines our lives and we feel frustrated, help us to look to You in faith to either create change or perseverance in love in our characters. In the name of Jesus. Amen.


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Other Scripture for Today Blogspot readings on Psalm 44:
March 15, 2011
September 8, 2008
April 30, 2007

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