Psalms 44:5-15

5 Through You we will push down our enemies; Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.

6 For I will not trust in my bow, Nor shall my sword save me.

7 But You have saved us from our enemies, And have put to shame those who hated us.

8 In God we boast all day long, And praise Your name forever. Selah

9 But You have cast us off and put us to shame, And You do not go out with our armies.

10 You make us turn back from the enemy, And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.

11 You have given us up like sheep intended for food, And have scattered us among the nations.

12 You sell Your people for next to nothing, And are not enriched by selling them.

13 You make us a reproach to our neighbors, A scorn and a derision to those all around us.

14 You make us a byword among the nations, A shaking of the head among the peoples.

15 My dishonor is continually before me, And the shame of my face has covered me,

Psalms 44:5-15 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. It is not certain who was the writer of this psalm, nor when it was written, and to what time it belongs: some have thought it was composed by one of the Babylonish captivity, and that it gives an account of the church and people of God in those times; but what is said in Psalm 44:17 does not seem to agree with Daniel 9:5. It is most likely it was written by David, and to him the Targum ascribes it; though it does not respect his times; since what is said in Psalm 44:9 cannot agree with them; yet he being a prophet might, under a prophetic influence, speak of future times, and represent the church in them. Some are of opinion that he prophetically speaks of the times of the Maccabees and of Antiochus, when the church and people of God suffered much for the true religion, and abode steadfast in it; so Theodoret: but rather the whole may be applied to the times of the New Testament, since Psalm 44:22 is cited by the Apostle Paul, Romans 8:36, and is applied to his times, and as descriptive of the suffering state and condition of the church then; and which seems to be the guide and key for the opening of the whole psalm.