Wednesday, June 26 – Psalms 43, 44
1. What answer does the psalmist offer to discouragement and turmoil? Psalms 43:5
2. Why does the psalmist feel that the Lord is asleep? Psalms 44:23-26
Commentary and Reflection
David is distressed by wicked people, and in his poetic lament, he entrusts his cause to God. In the darkness that envelops his soul, he asks to be guided by God’s light and truth to His Holy Mountain and His tabernacle.
“Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And on the harp I will praise You,
O God, my God.” Psalms 43:4
Entrusting our cause to The Lord is crucial in the battles posed by evil; it is good to go to His House to praise Him. In your moments of darkness, may His light and truth guide you to His holy hill and His tabernacle.
In the last and beautiful verse, David questions himself, asking why he is cast down and disquieted, and he answers,
“Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The [b]help of my countenance and my God.” Psalms 43:5
May we question our fears while in turmoil and affliction, as David did, and encourage ourselves to hope in God.
Regarding the superscription or heading of Psalm 44, I quote the Adventist Bible Commentary,
“In the superscription of 11 psalms the phrase “for the sons of Korah” appears (Ps. 42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87, 88). The Hebrew word translated “for” is le, the preposition translated “of’ in the phrase “a Psalm of David” (see p. 616). Korah’s children escaped the punishment inflicted because of their father’s rebellion against the authority of Moses (see Num. 16:1-35), and their descendants became leaders in the Temple worship (see 1 Chron. 6:22; 9:19). ” CBA, Introduction to Psalms
In Psalms 44:20, 21the psalmist says that God knows the heart’s secrets. He does not need anyone to tell Him about us or explain reasons or motives to Him. We are naked before Him; nothing hides us from his sight and knowledge.
Paul quotes verse 22 in the beautiful passage of Romans 8, where he speaks of the trials God’s people face,
“35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:35-37
May you live today trusting that The Lord knows you, and may you have the patience to hope in Him.