Psalm 44:17-20

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 44:17-26

The people of God, being greatly afflicted and oppressed, here apply to him; whither else should they go? I. By way of appeal, concerning their integrity, which he only is an infallible judge of, and which he will certainly be the rewarder of. Two things they call God to witness to:? 1. That, though they suffered these hard things, yet they kept close to God and to their duty (Ps. 44:17): ?All this has come upon us, and it is as bad perhaps as bad can be, yet have we not forgotten thee,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 44:17

All this is come upon us ,.... Not by chance, but according to the purpose and counsel of God; not for sin, and as a punishment of it, but for Christ's sake and his Gospel; for a profession of faith in him, and for the trial of it; yet have we not forgotten thee ; not the being and perfections of God, on which they often meditated, especially as displayed in the affair of salvation by Jesus Christ; nor the works of God, which were remembered to encourage faith and hope in their present... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 44:18

Our heart is not turned back ,.... To its original hardness, blindness, and bondage, to its former sin and folly, to cherish, gratify, and fulfil its lusts and desires; not from God, from love to him, faith in him, and desires after him; nor from his worship and service; their trials had no such influence upon them as to cause them to apostatize from God, neither in heart, nor in action; neither have our steps declined from thy way ; from the way of his commandments, from the paths of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 44:19

Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons ,.... Where men, comparable to dragons or their poison and cruelty, dwell; particularly in Rome, and the Roman jurisdiction, both Pagan and Papal, the seat of Satan the great red dragon, and of his wretched brood and offspring, the beast, to whom he has given his power; here the saints and followers of Christ have been sorely afflicted and persecuted, and yet have held fast the name of Christ, and not denied his faith; see Revelation... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 44:20

If we have forgotten the name of our God ,.... As antichrist, and the antichristian party did in those times, Daniel 11:36 ; or stretched out our hands to a strange god ; as not to any of the Heathen deities under the Pagan persecutions, so not to any images of gold, silver, brass, and wood, under the Papal tyranny; not to the Virgin Mary, nor to angels and saints departed; nor to the breaden God in the mass, never heard of before; see Daniel 11:38 . read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 44:17

Yet have we not forgotten thee - These are bold words; but they must be understood in a qualified sense. We have not apostatized from thee, we have not fallen into idolatry. And this was strictly true: the charge of idolatry could never be brought against the Jewish nation from the time of the captivity, with sufficient evidence to support it. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 44:19

Thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons - Thou hast delivered us into the hands of a fierce, cruel, and murderous people. We, as a people, are in a similar state to one who has strayed into a wilderness, where there are no human inhabitants; who hears nothing round about him but the hissing of serpents, the howling of beasts of prey, and the terrible roaring of the lion; and who expects every moment to be devoured. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 44:20

If we have forgotten the name of our God - That name, יהוה Jehovah , by which the true God was particularly distinguished, and which implied the exclusion of all other objects of adoration. Or stretched out our hands - Made supplication; offered prayer or adoration to any strange god - a god that we had not known, nor had been acknowledged by our fathers. It has already been remarked, that from the time of the Babylonish captivity the Jews never relapsed into idolatry. It was... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 44:17

Verse 17 17All this has come upon us, etc. As they have already attributed to God all the afflictions which they endured, if they should now say that they were undeservedly afflicted, it would be the same thing as to accuse God of injustice; and thus what is here spoken would no longer be a holy prayer, but rather an impious blasphemy. It is, however, to be observed, that the faithful, although in their adversities they do not perceive any obvious reason for being so dealt with, yet they rest... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 44:19

Verse 19 19Although thou hast broken us in the place of dragons. In the Hebrew it is, For thou hast broken us, etc.; but the causal particle, כי, ki, according to the idiom of the Hebrew language, is often taken in the sense of although or when. (146) And certainly it must be so rendered in this place, for these three verses are connected, and the sentence is incomplete till the end of the words, For he knoweth the secrets of the heart. The faithful repeat more largely what we have already... read more

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