Psalm 44:18-21 ESV

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:1-26

The occasion of the psalm is some serious reverse which the Israelites had sustained in a war with foreign enemies, but who were the enemies, and when exactly the reverse was sustained, are uncertain. No doubt there were many temporary reverses in the course of David's wars, after one of which the psalm may have been written. The psalm divides itself into four parts. In part 1. ( Psalms 60:1-8 ) the writer recounts God's mercies in the past, and from them confidently concludes that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:1-26

In the days of old. From this psalm we may learn three great lessons— I. WE ARE TAUGHT TO SEE GOD 'S HAND IN HISTORY . There is no such thing as chance. "The chapter of accidents," as some one has well said, "is the Bible of the fool." There are differences in the nations and the ages; but God is in all. We acknowledge how God was with the Jews; but we are not so ready to admit that he had to do just as really and truly with other peoples. The difference, in the case... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:1-26

A prayer for help against foreign enemies. The train of thought is this: "Thou hast helped us, thou must help us; but thou hast not helped us; yet have we not by any guilt on our part cut ourselves off from thy help; do thou therefore help us." The problem of suffering , as argued in this psalm, is similar to the problem in the Book of Job. That God should not help them — I. WAS INCONSISTENT WITS GOD 'S PAST TREATMENT OF THEM . (Verses 1-3.) Their fathers had told... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:17-22

In this third stanza the psalmist strongly emphasizes his complaint by maintaining that the calamities from which they are suffering have not come upon the people through any fault of their own, or been in any way provoked or deserved He is, perhaps, over-confident; but we cannot doubt that he is sincere in the belief, which he expresses, that the people, both before and during their calamities, have been obedient and faithful to God, wholly free from idolatry, and exemplary in their conduct... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:18

Our heart is not turned back; i.e. turned away from God, as it was when they passed through the wilderness ( Psalms 78:41 ). Neither have our steps declined from thy way . Neither in respect of inward feeling nor of outward act have we strayed from the right path. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:19

Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons; rather, in the place of jackals ; i.e. in wild and desolate regions, where jackals abound (comp. Isaiah 13:22 ; Isaiah 34:13 ). The expression is probably used metaphorically. And covered us with the shadow of death. Brought us, i.e; into imminent peril of destruction (see Psalms 44:10 , Psalms 44:11 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:20

If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out (rather, spread out ) our hands to a strange god . If Israel had either forgotten the true God (see above, Psalms 44:17 ) or fallen away to the worship of false or strange gods—then her ill success against her foreign enemies would have been fully accounted for, since it would only have been in accordance with the threatenings of the Law (Le 26:14-17; Deuteronomy 28:15-23 ); but as she had done neither of these things, her... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:21

Shall not God search this out! i.e. visit for it—punish it. Such a result was to be expected. But when there had been no precedent idolatry, no neglect of the worship of Jehovah, what then? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Secret idolatry would, of course, explain the state of things; but the writer evidently knows of no secret idolatry. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:21

God's knowledge of men's hearts. "Shall not God search," etc.? A world of perfect, mutual knowledge, in which the secrets of every heart lay open to every eye, must needs be either heaven or hell. Every one must be perfectly good or else perfectly miserable. In this world of mixed good and evil, God has mercifully built a wall of secrecy, or at least thrown a veil of privacy, around the consciousness of each one of us. Every heart has its own secrets. But the text reminds us that there is... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 44:18

Our heart is not turned back - That is, We have not turned away from thy service; we have not apostatized from thee; we have not fallen into idolatry. This must mean that such was not at that time the characteristic of the nation; it was not a prominent thing among the people; there was no such general and pervading iniquity as to explain the fact that these calamities had come upon them, or to be properly the cause of these troubles.Neither have our steps declined from thy way - Margin,... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:1-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:1-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:1-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:17-22

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:18

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:19

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:21

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 44:21

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 44:18

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