Let us look at Psalm 44; I will read the whole Psalm. We will probably only get into the first few verses here. Psalm 44 says:
To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. For they got 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 hadst a favour unto them. Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob. Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us. In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah. But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies. Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves. Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen. Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price. Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us. Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people. My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me, For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger. All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant. Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way; Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death. If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth. Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.
In this morning’s 9:00 A.M. message on Family Radio, they read from Colossians 3:16. Let me just read that; Colossians 3:16 says:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
All of these Psalms that are given to us in the Bible are songs that praise the Lord. We are also admonished by these Psalms. However, this verse does not necessarily have to apply to just the Psalms in the Bible. If we sing faithful hymns, they are doing the same thing. We are “teaching and admonishing one another” with a faithful hymn that speaks of the whole counsel of God and of sin and of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. These songs are all paraphrases of the Word of God or from the Word of God. With them, we admonish; we warn.
Let us look at Psalm 19. Psalm 19 opens up speaking of how the creation itself declares that there is a God and it shows His glory. From verse 7 on in Psalm 19, it reads similarly to Psalm 119 where it speaks of the Word of God. In Psalm 19:7-10, we read:
The law of JEHOVAH is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of JEHOVAH is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of JEHOVAH are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of JEHOVAH is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of JEHOVAH is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of JEHOVAH are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
But look at verse 11, Psalm 19:11:
Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
By the Word of God itself and even in this Psalm, we are warned. We are admonished and we are “admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” We warn of the impending judgment and we proclaim God’s glory and grace when we speak of the only way to escape from this judgment.
This is what we will see as we work through Psalm 44. Again, it starts out in 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 times of old.
Even before there was any written Word of God, starting about 3,500 years ago, the Gospel was handed down by the patriarchs, which are referred to here as “our fathers.” They handed it down from generation to generation. This way, the Word of God was communicated from one generation to another as they spoke of His works. Even when God began to give the Word in written form to the Israelites at the time of Moses, many of the Israelites probably did not have access to the written Word, and yet they still spoke of His mighty acts, as it were, to their children, which they were commanded to do.
In Deuteronomy 6, God is speaking of His Word. He commands the Israelites in Deuteronomy 6:6-12:
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. And it shall be, when JEHOVAH thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget JEHOVAH, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
In other words, “Keep these commandments; teach them to your children. Write them and ‘bind them for a sign upon thine hand.’”
This is the idea here in the opening verse of Psalm 44. Again, 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 times of old.
When the Bible speaks of the works of God, in the first instance it is always speaking of salvation. This is the first thing that we are to look for, which is the mightiest work of God in all His creation.
Let us turn to Psalm 31 where we will see this same word that was translated “work” in Psalm 44. Psalm 31:19 says:
Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee…
This is referring to God’s goodness in salvation.
…which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
“Which thou hast wrought.” This is the same word that is translated “work” in Psalm 44:1, which says:
…our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
Turn to Psalm 77 and we will look at this word one more time. Psalm 77:11-15 says:
I will remember the works of JEHOVAH: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
God has redeemed His people and that is the work of God that is spoken of all throughout the Bible.
In another Psalm, Psalm 105, it starts out mentioning that we are to “talk ye of all his wondrous works.” This is what we do when we gather on a Sunday morning among likeminded people. We talk of the wondrous works of the Lord. We praise Him and thank Him for His salvation.
But back here again in Psalm 44, we read in Psalm 44:2-3:
How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. For they got 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 hadst a favour unto them.
“The land” is speaking of how God gave the land of Canaan to the Israelites. They were in bondage in Egypt. There was no way that they could get out of Egypt by their own power, and yet God brought them out of Egypt. He led them through the wilderness and sustained them miraculously for forty years. Then He brought them into the land of Canaan, which is a figure of the Kingdom of God. This is speaking of salvation. It is all parabolic and it is speaking of salvation.
Genesis 17 is a very important chapter as it speaks of the covenant and the land and what that land represents. In Genesis 17, God came to Abraham and told him that He was going to establish His covenant with Abraham and his seed. The seed in the first instance is the Lord Jesus Christ, and then it is referring to all of His people. In Genesis 17:8, He says to Abraham:
And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
The physical land of Canaan over in the Middle East cannot be “an everlasting possession” for anyone, because we know that this earth is going to be burned with fire. This is speaking of salvation. The land of Israel simply was a representation of the Kingdom of God, of salvation.
Turn to Psalm 37 and we will see this many times. In Psalm 37, there is no question that the physical land of Canaan represented the Kingdom of God, of salvation. In Psalm 37:3, we read:
Trust in JEHOVAH, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Then look at Psalm 37:8-9:
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon JEHOVAH, they shall inherit the earth.
This says, “the earth”—not the land, but the earth. God is going to destroy this world and create a “new heavens and a new earth.” This is where the Kingdom of God will be forever and ever.
Let us go on here in Psalm 37. Look at Psalm 37:10-11; it says:
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
In the Epistles, we read of Christ, “For he is our peace.”
Look at Psalm 37:18:
JEHOVAH knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
This is the inheritance of the Israelites, those who would be saved, the “Israel of God.”
Now look at verse 22, Psalm 37:22:
For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
Do you see how He has been speaking of inheriting the land? Now He is talking about inheriting the earth. He is linking the land of Canaan, that physical land of Canaan, to the Kingdom of God and salvation.
Now look at verse 27, Psalm 37:27:
Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
And verse 29, Psalm 37:29:
The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
And finally, verse 34, Psalm 37:34:
Wait on JEHOVAH, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
So the land spoken of in Psalm 44:2-3 is salvation. It is the Kingdom of God. Do you see how He is putting this? In Psalm 44:2, He says:
How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand…
This is referring to the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, those heathen tribes.
…and plantedst them…
God planted the Israelites in that land.
…how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.
Then Psalm 44:3 says:
For they got 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 hadst a favour unto them.
This is speaking of the absolute sovereign grace of God and how salvation is by His choosing and entirely by His work.
Turn back to Deuteronomy 8. All through the book of Deuteronomy, Moses, under the inspiration of God, is recounting how the Lord has sustained them in the wilderness, how He brought them out of Egypt and then sustained them in the wilderness. They are now going to go into this land and Moses is admonishing them, as he does over and over in the book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy 8:7-8, we read:
For JEHOVAH thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;
These are all synonyms, words that have to do with salvation and the Gospel and the Kingdom of Heaven.
Then verse 9 says, Deuteronomy 8:9:
A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.
In Deuteronomy 8:10-18, he starts to admonish and says:
When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless JEHOVAH thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not JEHOVAH thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget JEHOVAH thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember JEHOVAH thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
Do you see again how the land represents salvation and the Kingdom of God? He is admonishing the Israelites to not say in their hearts that they had gotten that land through any of their own strength or through their own wealth, and wealth in the Bible represents the riches in salvation.
Back in Psalm 44:3 again, He says:
For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them…
God uses the arm in the Bible to speak of our strength and our own will. He is just repeating His point as He says, “Neither did their own arm save them.”
Let us now turn to Job (Job is right before Psalms). Job, in his suffering, is a picture of Christ in the Atonement. We read of how his three friends came to visit him and comfort him when the Lord put affliction on him. The exchange between Job and his three friends goes on for many chapters and they say a lot of things that glorify God. Again, in the things that Job says, we can see Christ in the Atonement suffering under the wrath of God. In chapter 38, the Lord appears. In Job 38:1-5, we read:
Then JEHOVAH answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
He goes on for several chapters speaking of who He is and who these men are who “darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge.” Finally again in chapter 40, He is speaking to Job. We will start at Job 40:6-7 where we read:
Then answered JEHOVAH unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
In other words, He is saying to Job, “I am going to ask you some questions; answer Me.”
In Job 40:8-13, He goes on to say to Job:
Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.
This is speaking of the judgment that God is going to bring on mankind, and He is telling Job, “You do this.”
Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret.
Then in Job 40:14, He says to Job, “If you can do all these things”:
Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.
He is saying that there is absolutely no way that we, by our own will or our own strength, can save ourselves or bring salvation to ourselves.
This is a principle that God is driving home in Psalm 44:3. He says it there several times:
For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand…
This speaks of “the right hand of God,” so let us look at the right hand of God in a couple places. It is in many places in the Psalms. Turn to Psalm 17:7; it says:
Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
Or go to Psalm 20. Psalm 20:6 says:
Now know I that JEHOVAH saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
This is in many places in the Psalms. Look at Psalm 48. Psalm 48:10 says:
According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.
Turn to Psalm 80. Psalm 80:14-16 says:
Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
The Psalmist here is praying that God would look down on His people whom He is going to have mercy on from among this tribe of the Israelites who have rebelled against Him, those whom He has brought judgment against.
Then Psalm 80:17-19 says:
Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. Turn us again, O JEHOVAH God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
In Psalm 80:17, it said:
Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand…
Who is this speaking of? This is speaking of Christ.
…upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
One more Psalm that really says this is Psalm 110. Psalm 110:1-4 says:
JEHOVAH said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is speaking of God and how He has said unto Christ, “Sit thou at my right hand.”
JEHOVAH said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. JEHOVAH shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power…
This is when we are willing, in the day of God’s power.
…in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. JEHOVAH hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
He is still speaking of Christ, but He says in verse 5, Psalm 110:5:
The Lord at thy right hand…
This is speaking of Christ.
…shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
Christ is spoken of as being at the “right hand of God,” and we are reading about how salvation is through the arm, through “the right hand of God.”
Back in Psalm 44, let us look at verse 3 a little bit more. He says again in Psalm 44:3:
For they got not the land in possession by their own sword…
Or by their own strength, or by their own combat or fighting.
…neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.
This is still speaking of the grace of God in salvation.
…the light of thy countenance…
Let us turn to Numbers 6:25. This is a familiar passage that was used often during the church age as a benediction. In Numbers 6:22-27, we read:
And JEHOVAH spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, JEHOVAH bless thee, and keep thee: JEHOVAH make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: JEHOVAH lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.
Again, this is a prayer for salvation for God’s people; but where He says in Numbers 6:25:
JEHOVAH make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
This word “shine” is the verb form of the word “light” that we find in Psalm 44 where He talks about “the light of thy countenance,” which is referring to God’s face. When His face shines upon us, we are blessed by His salvation. This is what this is saying here.
We know that Christ also said, “I am the light of the world.” So when it speaks of “the light of thy countenance,” it is speaking of the favor of God, as the next phrase says in Psalm 44:3:
…the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.
This is speaking of how God takes delight in His people, again, by His own choosing, by His sovereign grace in salvation.
Look at Psalm 147:11; it says:
JEHOVAH taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
This word “pleasure” is the same word that was translated as “favour” in Psalm 44:3.
Again, Psalm 147:11 says:
JEHOVAH taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
This is speaking only of those whom God has caused to come to Him in salvation.
Psalm 65:4 says:
Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
These are those whom God has had favor to or in whom He has delighted in from “before the foundation of the world.”
Psalm 44:4 goes on to say:
Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
We read that God has commanded salvation.
Turn to Psalm 133:1-3, which says:
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
He is likening salvation to that oil that they poured on the head of a priest when they anointed him. This is also a representation of the Holy Spirit coming upon a child of God.
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there JEHOVAH commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
So this blessing of salvation was commanded by God.
Turn back to Psalm 71 and we will see this. Psalm 71:1-2 says:
In thee, O JEHOVAH, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape…
In many of the Psalms, we read of supplication for salvation to God: “Deliver me,” “cause me to escape,” “let me never be put to confusion.” But Psalm 71:3 says:
Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.
In the first instance, we are to see Christ here praying for God to deliver Him in the Atonement. But again, all of the true believers identify with Christ, and these Psalms are given to us to teach us that we are to supplicate to God for His salvation. But here we read that God has given commandment to save His people.
Back in Psalm 44:5, we read:
Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
In the history of the Israelites, we see that God used them as a picture of His people. As He brought them into the land of Canaan and drove out those heathen tribes from before them, in essence they were bringing judgment upon those people. This was a picture of God’s people going into the world throughout time and bringing judgment through His Word as they brought the Word to all the heathen nations or, actually, to everyone in the world. In this, there is judgment.
Again, here in Psalm 44:5, we read:
Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
The Israelites brought judgment but they were also used in the salvation of all the heathen of the world, all the unsaved, as they came in and conquered these nations. They were commanded that if they came to a city and it wanted to have peace, then they were to not wipe them out but they were to make them “hewers of wood and drawers of water,” as we read in Joshua. The Gibeonites came to Joshua asking for mercy, so they made them “hewers of wood and drawers of water,” which is a figure of those who have now come into the Kingdom of God and are doing the work of God. They are “hewers of wood and drawers of water.” Water has to do with salvation. The wood actually has to do with people, people being brought into the Kingdom of God.
Psalm 44:6 repeats what we read in verse 3. Psalm 44:6 says:
For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
Then Psalm 44:7 says:
But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.
He speaks of it as if this was in the past, but it is also saying that throughout time this is done, yet the works were finished “before the foundation of the world,” salvation and judgment.
Then Psalm 44:8 says:
In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.
Then in Psalm 44:9, He starts to speak of how at this point in history God has begun to bring judgment on Israel corporately for turning away from Him, and then the Psalmist says in Psalm 44:9-17:
But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies. Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves. Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen. Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price. Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us. Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people. My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me, For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger. All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
He is speaking here for the true believers among the rebellious nation of Israel and He is now pleading for God’s mercy.
He says in Psalm 44:18-22:
Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way; Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death. If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
We read this in the Epistles. This is the tribulation that will come on God’s people upon salvation. The tribulation or suffering will begin and we will be outcasts; we will be the offscouring of this world.
In verse 23 though, He appeals to God as if He is asleep. He says in Psalm 44:23:
Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.
We read in other places in the Bible how God speaks of Himself as being asleep and awakens to judgment.
Let me just read one passage in Psalm 78. Psalm 78 is similar to Psalm 44. It is a longer Psalm, but it recounts all of the things that God has done for Israel as He brought them out of the wilderness and how they rebelled against Him and then He afflicted them. In Psalm 78:62-63, we read:
He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance. The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.
This is what He did corporately to Israel because of their apostasy, because they turned to idols. This is looking at the church today. This has repeated itself. The corporate nation of Israel prefigured the New Testament church.
Then Psalm 78:64-66 says:
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation. Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine. And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach.
This tribulation period will end with the judgment of God. Again, that is what this is saying here in Psalm 44:23-25:
Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
And then the last verse, Psalm 44:26, says:
Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.
This is what any one of us should be doing if we do not know that we are saved. If we are beginning to fear judgment, if we are beginning to take an interest in the things of the Lord, if we are beginning to see that we are sinners and that we need salvation, we can only go to one place. We can only beg God for His mercy, because there will be a judgment. “Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.” “Our help” is the help that we all need, which is salvation because we are in trouble.
Psalm 60:11 says:
Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
Shall we pray.
(There was no question/answer session pertaining to this study.)