Psalm 44:1

Present Defeat and Past Deliverance

For the [music] director. Of the sons of Korah. A maskil.

1 O God, we have heard with our ears; our ancestors have told us of work you worked in their days, in days of old.

Psalm 44:1 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 44:1

We have heard with our ears, O God
The church being in distress calls to mind the past favours of God to his people, in order to encourage her faith and hope; and this expression, delivered in such a form, shows the clearness, evidence, and certainty of what was heard; and which was heard not only as a tradition from father to son; but being recorded in the writings of Moses and the prophets, and these things read both in private and in public, were heard with the ear;

our fathers have told us [what] works thou didst in their days, in the
times of old:
such as the signs and wonders in Egypt, the slaying of the firstborn there, and the bringing of the people of Israel from thence with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; which fathers were used to tell in the ears of their sons, and sons' sons; and of which there were memorials continued in future ages, which led children to ask their parents the meaning of them; when they informed them of the wondrous works of Providence done in former times, and by which means they were handed down from age to age: see ( Exodus 10:2 ) ( 12:26 ) ( 13:8 ) .

Psalm 44:1 In-Context

1 O God, we have heard with our ears; our ancestors have told us of work you worked in their days, in days of old.

2 You [with] your hand drove out the nations, but them you planted. You harmed [the] peoples, but them you let spread out.

3 For not with their sword did they possess [the] land, and their arm did not give them victory. Rather [it was] your right hand and your arm and the light of your presence, because you delighted in them.

4 You are my king, O God. Command victories for Jacob.

5 By you we push down our enemies; by your name we tread down those who rise up against us.

Footnotes

• [a] The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
• [b] Or "fathers"