Psalm 44

Former Deliverances and Present Troubles.

For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.

1 O God, we have heard with our ears,
Our fathers have told us
The work that You did in their days,
In the days of old.

2 You with Your own hand drove out the nations;
Then You planted them;
You afflicted the peoples,
Then You spread them abroad.

3 For by their own sword they did not possess the land,
And their own arm did not save them,
But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence,
For You favored them.

4 You are my King, O God;
Command victories for Jacob.

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

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

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

8 In God we have boasted all day long,
And we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.

9 Yet You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor,
And do not go out with our armies.

10 You cause us to turn back from the adversary;
And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.

11 You give us as sheep to be eaten
And have scattered us among the nations.

12 You sell Your people cheaply,
And have not tprofited by their sale.

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

14 You make us a byword among the nations,
A laughingstock among the peoples.

15 All day long my dishonor is before me
And my humiliation has overwhelmed me,

16 Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles,
Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.

17 All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You,
And we have not dealt falsely with Your covenant.

18 Our heart has not turned back,
And our steps have not deviated from Your way,

19 Yet You have crushed us in a place of jackals
And covered us with the shadow of death.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
Or extended our hands to a strange god,

21 Would not God find this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.

22 But for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O Lord?
Awake, do not reject us forever.

24 Why do You hide Your face
And forget our affliction and our oppression?

25 For our soul has sunk down into the dust;
Our body cleaves to the earth.

26 Rise up, be our help,
And redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.

Psalm 44

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.

8 In God have we made our boast all the day long, And we will give thanks unto thy name for ever. Selah

9 But now thou hast cast us off, and brought us to dishonor, And goest not forth with our hosts.

10 Thou makest us to turn back from the adversary; And they that hate us take spoil for themselves.

11 Thou hast made us like sheep appointed for food, And hast scattered us among the nations.

12 Thou sellest thy people for nought, And hast not increased thy wealth by their price.

13 Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and a derision to them that are round about us.

14 Thou makest us a byword among the nations, A shaking of the head among the peoples.

15 All the day long is my dishonor before me, And the shame of my face hath covered me,

16 For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth, By reason of the enemy and the avenger.

17 All this is come upon us; Yet have we not forgotten thee, Neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.

18 Our heart is not turned back, Neither have our steps declined from thy way,

19 That thou hast sore broken us in the place of jackals, And covered us with the shadow of death.

20 If we have forgotten the name of our God, Or spread forth our hands to a strange god;

21 Will not God search this out? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

22 Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

23 Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? Arise, cast us not off for ever.

24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, And forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust: Our body cleaveth unto the earth.

26 Rise up for our help, And redeem us for thy lovingkindness’ sake.