Psalm 44:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!

NIV: Rise up and help us; rescue us because of your unfailing love.

NASB: Rise up, be our help, And redeem us because of Your mercy.

CSB: Rise up! Help us! Redeem us because of your faithful love.

NLT: Rise up! Help us! Ransom us because of your unfailing love.

KJV: Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.

NKJV: Arise for our help, And redeem us for Your mercies’ sake.

The psalmist concludes Psalm 44 with a vigorous appeal. Though anguished and frustrated to the point of despair (Psalm 44:23–25), he rightly sees that hope is found in God. Much as Job clung to the truth of God's love (Job 13:15), the psalmist makes mention of the Lord's "steadfast love." This comes from the Hebrew word checed and is sometimes rendered as "loving-kindness." The term implies loyalty, constancy, and care grounded in a relationship (Psalm 52:1; Exodus 15:13; Psalm 13:5; 25:6).

No matter how desperate a believer's situation, he can be certain that God loves him. Romans 8:38–39 affirms that nothing in all creation severs believers from the love of God. Addressing Israel, the Lord promised to regather her tribes in the Promised Land, where they would enjoy productivity and be joyful. In Jeremiah 31:17, He declared, "There is hope for your future." Why would the Lord restore Israel? An earlier statement provides the answer: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you" (Jeremiah 31:3).

When a believer feels low, it's important to remember the Lord's everlasting love. That truth means we are not abandoned or forsaken (Psalm 37:25; 2 Corinthians 4:9; Hebrews 13:5).

Psalm 44:23–26 contains one of Scripture's boldest, rawest complaints levied against the Lord. This closing section of Psalm 44 comprises the psalmist's desperate plea for help. After insisting Israel's recent humiliation was not due to national sin (Psalm 44:17–22), the psalm turns to a prayer for rescue. This starts with a suggestion—possibly a rhetorical statement—that God is sleeping and ignoring the situation. However, the prayer is also grounded in the assumption of God's "steadfast love."

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.