Psalm , Sarah Barry
THE LORD GIVES VICTORY
Passage: Psalm 44:1~26  
Key verse: 3
Psalm 44[a]For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.[b]
1 We have heard it with our ears,(A) O God;
our ancestors have told us(B)
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.(C)
2 With your hand you drove out(D) the nations
and planted(E) our ancestors;
you crushed(F) the peoples
and made our ancestors flourish.(G)
3 It was not by their sword(H) that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand,(I) your arm,(J)
and the light(K) of your face, for you loved(L) them.
4 You are my King(M) and my God,(N)
who decrees[c] victories(O) for Jacob.
5 Through you we push back(P) our enemies;
through your name we trample(Q) our foes.
6 I put no trust in my bow,(R)
my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but you give us victory(S) over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.(T)
8 In God we make our boast(U) all day long,(V)
and we will praise your name forever.[d](W)
9 But now you have rejected(X) and humbled us;(Y)
you no longer go out with our armies.(Z)
10 You made us retreat(AA) before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered(AB) us.
11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep(AC)
and have scattered us among the nations.(AD)
12 You sold your people for a pittance,(AE)
gaining nothing from their sale.
13 You have made us a reproach(AF) to our neighbors,(AG)
the scorn(AH) and derision(AI) of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword(AJ) among the nations;
the peoples shake their heads(AK) at us.
15 I live in disgrace(AL) all day long,
and my face is covered with shame(AM)
16 at the taunts(AN) of those who reproach and revile(AO) me,
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.(AP)
17 All this came upon us,
though we had not forgotten(AQ) you;
we had not been false to your covenant.
18 Our hearts had not turned(AR) back;
our feet had not strayed from your path.
19 But you crushed(AS) us and made us a haunt for jackals;(AT)
you covered us over with deep darkness.(AU)
20 If we had forgotten(AV) the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,(AW)
21 would not God have discovered it,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?(AX)
22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep(AY) to be slaughtered.(AZ)
1 We have heard it with our ears,(A) O God;
our ancestors have told us(B)
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.(C)
2 With your hand you drove out(D) the nations
and planted(E) our ancestors;
you crushed(F) the peoples
and made our ancestors flourish.(G)
3 It was not by their sword(H) that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand,(I) your arm,(J)
and the light(K) of your face, for you loved(L) them.
4 You are my King(M) and my God,(N)
who decrees[c] victories(O) for Jacob.
5 Through you we push back(P) our enemies;
through your name we trample(Q) our foes.
6 I put no trust in my bow,(R)
my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but you give us victory(S) over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.(T)
8 In God we make our boast(U) all day long,(V)
and we will praise your name forever.[d](W)
9 But now you have rejected(X) and humbled us;(Y)
you no longer go out with our armies.(Z)
10 You made us retreat(AA) before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered(AB) us.
11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep(AC)
and have scattered us among the nations.(AD)
12 You sold your people for a pittance,(AE)
gaining nothing from their sale.
13 You have made us a reproach(AF) to our neighbors,(AG)
the scorn(AH) and derision(AI) of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword(AJ) among the nations;
the peoples shake their heads(AK) at us.
15 I live in disgrace(AL) all day long,
and my face is covered with shame(AM)
16 at the taunts(AN) of those who reproach and revile(AO) me,
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.(AP)
17 All this came upon us,
though we had not forgotten(AQ) you;
we had not been false to your covenant.
18 Our hearts had not turned(AR) back;
our feet had not strayed from your path.
19 But you crushed(AS) us and made us a haunt for jackals;(AT)
you covered us over with deep darkness.(AU)
20 If we had forgotten(AV) the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,(AW)
21 would not God have discovered it,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?(AX)
22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep(AY) to be slaughtered.(AZ)
Footnotes
- Psalm 44:1 In Hebrew texts 44:1-26 is numbered 44:2-27.
- Psalm 44:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 44:4 Septuagint, Aquila and Syriac; Hebrew King, O God; / command
- Psalm 44:8 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
Cross references
- Psalm 44:1 : 2Sa 7:22; 1Ch 17:20; Jer 26:11
- Psalm 44:1 : S Jdg 6:13
- Psalm 44:1 : S Dt 32:7; S Job 37:23
- Psalm 44:2 : S Jos 3:10; Ac 7:45
- Psalm 44:2 : S Ex 15:17; S Isa 60:21
- Psalm 44:2 : S Jdg 4:23; S 2Ch 14:13
- Psalm 44:2 : Ps 80:9; Jer 32:23
- Psalm 44:3 : Jos 24:12
- Psalm 44:3 : Ps 78:54
- Psalm 44:3 : Ex 15:16; Ps 77:15; 79:11; 89:10; 98:1; Isa 40:10; 52:10; 63:5
- Psalm 44:3 : Ps 89:15
- Psalm 44:3 : S Dt 4:37
- Psalm 44:4 : S Ps 24:7
- Psalm 44:4 : Ps 5:2
- Psalm 44:4 : S Ps 21:5
- Psalm 44:5 : S Jos 23:5
- Psalm 44:5 : Ps 60:12; 108:13
- Psalm 44:6 : Ge 48:22; Hos 1:7
- Psalm 44:7 : S Dt 20:4
- Psalm 44:7 : S Job 8:22
- Psalm 44:8 : S Ps 34:2; 1Co 1:31; 2Co 10:17
- Psalm 44:8 : Ps 52:1
- Psalm 44:8 : S Ps 30:12
- Psalm 44:9 : S Ps 43:2
- Psalm 44:9 : S Dt 8:3; S 31:17; Ps 107:39; Isa 5:15
- Psalm 44:9 : S Jos 7:12; Ps 108:11
- Psalm 44:10 : S Lev 26:17
- Psalm 44:10 : S Jdg 2:14
- Psalm 44:11 : ver 22; Jer 12:3
- Psalm 44:11 : S Lev 26:33; S Ps 9:11; Eze 6:8; Zec 2:6
- Psalm 44:12 : S Dt 32:30; Isa 52:3; Jer 15:13; 50:1; 52:3
- Psalm 44:13 : S 2Ch 29:8; Isa 30:3; Jer 25:9; 42:18; 44:8
- Psalm 44:13 : Ps 79:4; 80:6; 89:41
- Psalm 44:13 : S Dt 28:37; S Mic 2:6
- Psalm 44:13 : Eze 23:32
- Psalm 44:14 : S 1Ki 9:7
- Psalm 44:14 : S 2Ki 19:21
- Psalm 44:15 : Ge 30:23; 2Ch 32:21; Ps 35:26
- Psalm 44:15 : S Ps 34:5
- Psalm 44:16 : S Ps 42:10
- Psalm 44:16 : Ps 10:13; 55:3; 74:10
- Psalm 44:16 : S 1Sa 18:25; S Jer 11:19; Ro 12:19
- Psalm 44:17 : S Dt 6:12; S 32:18; Ps 119:16, 61, 153, 176; Pr 3:1
- Psalm 44:18 : Ps 119:51, 157
- Psalm 44:19 : S 2Ch 14:13; Ps 51:8
- Psalm 44:19 : S Job 30:29; S Isa 34:13
- Psalm 44:19 : S Job 3:5
- Psalm 44:20 : S Dt 32:18; S Jdg 3:7
- Psalm 44:20 : S Ex 20:3; Isa 43:12; Jer 5:19
- Psalm 44:21 : S 1Sa 16:7; 1Ki 8:39; Pr 15:11; Jer 12:3; 17:10
- Psalm 44:22 : S ver 11
- Psalm 44:22 : Isa 53:7; Jer 11:19; 12:3; Ro 8:36*
- Psalm 44:23 : S Ps 7:6
- Psalm 44:23 : Ps 78:65
- Psalm 44:23 : Ps 59:5
- Psalm 44:23 : Ps 74:1; 77:7
- Psalm 44:24 : S Dt 32:20; Ps 13:1
- Psalm 44:24 : La 5:20
- Psalm 44:24 : S Dt 26:7
- Psalm 44:25 : Ps 119:25
- Psalm 44:26 : S Nu 10:35; S Ps 12:5; 102:13
- Psalm 44:26 : Ps 26:11
- Psalm 44:26 : Ps 6:4
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. We have heard from our fathers (1-8)
The Psalmist has a sense of history. He knows that the victories of the past came from God. God's people did not prosper because they were skillful warriors but because the Lord himself crushed their enemies, planted his people in the land and made them flourish in the land. It was God's right hand and the light of his face that gave them victory, for he loved them. So, the Psalmist does not trust his own bow or sword. He looks to God for victory. He will praise the name of the Lord forever.
2. But you crushed us (9-26)
So, what's the problem? God is not with our armies. Even though we have tried to be faithful to God, he has allowed our enemies to devour us like sheep and scatter us among the nations. The Psalmist cries out to God in his distress. 'Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love.' Sometimes God humbles us so that we may remember who he is, and call on him for help.
Prayer: Lord, victory does not come by human achievement. Teach me to pray and seek your help in every battle.
One Word: Victory comes from God