Psalms 44:1-7

1 We have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, What work thou didst in their days, In the days of old.

2 Thou didst drive out the nations with thy hand; But them thou didst plant: Thou didst afflict the peoples; But them thou didst spread abroad.

3 For they gat not the land in possession by their own sword, Neither did their own arm save them; But thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, Because thou wast favorable unto them.

4 Thou art my King, O God: Command deliverance for Jacob.

5 Through thee will we push down our adversaries: Through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.

6 For I will not trust in my bow, Neither shall my sword save me.

7 But thou hast saved us from our adversaries, And hast put them to shame that hate us.

Psalms 44:1-7 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.