Psalm 44:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free;

NIV: With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our ancestors; you crushed the peoples and made our ancestors flourish.

NASB: You with Your own hand drove out the nations; Then You planted them; You afflicted the peoples, Then You let them go free.

CSB: In order to plant them, you displaced the nations by your hand; in order to settle them, you brought disaster on the peoples.

NLT: You drove out the pagan nations by your power and gave all the land to our ancestors. You crushed their enemies and set our ancestors free.

KJV: How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.

NKJV: You drove out the nations with Your hand, But them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.

The psalmist credits God with the successful occupation of Canaan. This is part of a remembrance of the Lord's miraculous assistance (Psalm 44:3), as told by generations of Israelites (Psalm 44:1). Here, the passage notes that God fought against "the nations" and "the peoples," but showed favor to Israel: the term "them" refers to the psalmist's Israelite ancestors.

Among the miracles being celebrated are God's many interventions in Israel's settlement in Canaan. Though the nation of Israel was small and relatively weak after centuries of slavery (Deuteronomy 7:1, 6–8), God was the source of their power. He drove out the depraved tribes that dwelled there (Deuteronomy 9:1–5), and He replaced them with His people, the Israelites. He afflicted the Canaanites but set the Israelites free in the Promised Land.

Psalm 80:8–11 uses similar terminology. It depicts Israel's occupation of Canaan as a vine which God brought from Egypt. God prepared the ground for the vine and planted it. It flourished and covered the land, to the mountains in the south, to the cedars of Lebanon in the north, west to the Mediterranean Sea, and east to the Euphrates River. God had promised Joshua, Israel's leader after Moses, "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory" (Joshua 1:3–4).

God kept His promise to Joshua. The psalmist, here, remembers those prior victories. Soon, the writer will express anguish as he struggles to understand why the Lord had not given Israel victory in a more recent conflict (Psalm 44:9).

Psalm 44:1–3 is a suitable prelude. The psalmist recalls God's wondrous deeds on behalf of Israel from the exodus from Egypt to the settlement of Canaan. These events are covered in the books of Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, and Judges. This is followed by an expression of trust in God (Psalm 44:4–8). The rest of the psalm forms a lament, a striking contrast to these opening lines.

Israel passed down stories of God's miraculous power and the victories the Lord granted. However, this psalm comes after the nation has suffered some humiliating defeat. The psalmist struggles to understand why, as he sees no evidence of national sin in Israel to justify punishment. The writer expresses raw emotion, frustrated and anguished, yet prays for rescue out of faith in God's lovingkindness.

This psalm seems to follow a major defeat in battle. No explicit context is given, though the psalmist claims it was not God's punishment for national idolatry. Some commentators see connection to a conflict with Edom, who surprised Israel when the nation was engaged in other battles (Psalm 60; 85; Amos 1:6; 2 Samuel 8:13) as a possible explanation. This is another example of biblical writers expressing raw human emotions as they struggle to understand God's will. Psalms 69 and 73 include related themes. Habakkuk chapter 1 expresses similar ideas.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.