Psalm 44:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob!

NIV: You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob.

NASB: You are my King, God; Command victories for Jacob.

CSB: You are my King, my God, who ordains victories for Jacob.

NLT: You are my King and my God. You command victories for Israel.

KJV: Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.

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

The psalmist expresses devotion and loyalty to the Lord. Both titles—"King" and "God"—point to the Lord's sovereignty and right to command His subjects, including the psalmist. He also asks his King to "ordain salvation for Jacob." Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel (Genesis 32:27–28), was the father of the heads of the tribes of Israel. So. the psalmist was asking his King to grant victory over Israel's enemies. The writer is confident God was able to grant victory to the Israelites, as surely as He granted victory generations earlier to the Israelites who invaded Canaan (Psalm 44:1–3).

Today, too, the Lord can make His people victorious over their foes, including "the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life" (1 John 2:16). Paul told the Ephesian believers, "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). He commanded the believers to be strong in the Lord and to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10–18).

And yet, God does not always grant earthly victory or success. The reasons for this are not always clear—after expressing faith, the psalmist will go on to voice frustration that Israel has recently been humiliated in battle (Psalm 44:9).

Psalm 44:4–8 is still focused on God's mighty deeds of the past (Psalm 44:1–3). Here, however, the psalmist expresses his present faith in the Lord. He intends to praise God now and in the future. This declaration helps to frame the psalmist's anguished confusion in the next passage—as if the writer is careful to qualify his upcoming complaint. Beginning in verse 9, the tone shifts dramatically as the writer mourns God's current treatment of the Israelites.

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.