In Israel it was understood that if you lived a wise life things would go better for you. It was also understood that if you were faithful to the Old Testament law, things would go well with you. It is in the context of keeping the law and living wisely that the psalmist is trying to make sense of suffering. Is there meaning in suffering, even if you have faithfully followed God? It does not mean that you would be sinless. However, what kind of reward is suffering for the faithful?
The psalm indicates that the suffering is redemptive. It is for God’s sake that the psalmist and the psalmist’s community is suffering. The question is whether our lives are God-focused enough to accept suffering from his hand.
Psalm 44
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.[b]
1 We have heard it with our ears, O God;
our ancestors have told us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.
2 With your hand you drove out the nations
and planted our ancestors;
you crushed the peoples
and made our ancestors flourish.
3 It was not by their sword that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face, for you loved them.
4 You are my King and my God,
who decrees[c] victories for Jacob.
5 Through you we push back our enemies;
through your name we trample our foes.
6 I put no trust in my bow,
my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but you give us victory over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.
8 In God we make our boast all day long,
and we will praise your name forever.[d]
9 But now you have rejected and humbled us;
you no longer go out with our armies.
10 You made us retreat before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered us.
11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep
and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold your people for a pittance,
gaining nothing from their sale.
13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations;
the peoples shake their heads at us.
15 I live in disgrace all day long,
and my face is covered with shame
16 at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.
17 All this came upon us,
though we had not forgotten you;
we had not been false to your covenant.
18 Our hearts had not turned back;
our feet had not strayed from your path.
19 But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals;
you covered us over with deep darkness.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God have discovered it,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?
22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.
24 Why do you hide your face
and forget our misery and oppression?
25 We are brought down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Rise up and help us;
rescue us because of your unfailing love.
Questions
- What events does the psalmist bring to memory?
- What is the psalmist’s present condition?
- Restate verse 22 in your own words.
- In reality do you measure things by how they serve you or how they serve God?
- How have you suffered for the sake of others and for God?
Plymothian 
1. What events does the psalmist bring to memory?
a) the conquest of the Philistine’s land
b) the driving out of all the nations who inhabited the Promised Land and the moving in of the Israelites
2. What is the psalmist’s present condition?
He desires to trust in God’s power rather than weapons but is finding it difficult.
He is upset with God because He is not winning battles for the Israelites as He did for his ancestors.
He feels ashamed, disgraced, and rejected.
3. Restate verse 22 in your own words.
Even though following You causes us to be persecuted by our enemies, we’ll always claim and serve You.
4. In reality do you measure things by how they serve you or how they serve God?
Oftentimes, I measure people on how they serve me (simply because it’s nearly impossible to know how someone is serving God without first seeing how they treat others). If one is serving God, naturally, he will serve others and his fruit will be evident.
5. How have you suffered for the sake of others and for God?
Definitely not to the extent of other Christians, but yes, I can say I have been persecuted for the faith (by my relatives, by the city of Saint Louis and their police department, etc.)
1.*people of God as a whole have suffered some great calamity at the hands of their enemies and are seeking God’s help. * the people who were to inherit the promise land were driven out. *the defeat of Israel and her humiliation.
2. He is aware of the power of God to crush his enemies with out swords and they would win. He trusts God and praises His name, yet at this time he feels as though God has rejected them and wont help win the battle, so he pleads for the Lord to awake.
3. Even though being a child of God I might suffer innocently I know God will not forsake me.
4. I wish i could measure things on how they serve God all the time but alas it is not always the case. I am constantly being reminded by the Holy Spirit to be in tune with my deep desires and who are they striving to serve. I think if someone is truly genuinely serving from their heart evidence of their motives to bring glory to God will be evident.
5. How have you suffered for the sake of others and for God?
Suffered is such a broad term, there are measures of suffering and I do not believe that I have suffered for others like some people, but in my group of friends suffering has only refined us. For the sake of God, in my witnessing to others and being mocked by my faith and trust in the Lord.
1. The conquest of their enemy and the clearing of the Promised Land.
2. The Lord has now ceased to aid him in his war efforts. He remembers the days when God handed his enemies over to him, and those days seem like forever ago. Now, he says God has sold them for nothing, and seemingly has abandoned them. He is very confused, because he and his men have not strayed from His path, they have not been false to the covenant made between them and God. There seemingly is no reason for his suffering.
3. “Lord, because of my loving devotion to You, I face death all day long. My enemies consider me dead already.”
4. I feel like for me, the things that serve me I value more than those that serve God. Sadly, I don’t find nearly as much value for those things that serve God than those that serve me. At times, I value my laptop more than my Bible. This doesn’t make me proud, but it is true. I know I need to think more and ask myself constantly, “Does this glorify God? And if so, how much value am I to put in it?”
5. I have given myself to people at such an intense level at times that I hurt myself. I do it though for the glory of God. People see Christ in me (or at least thats my goal), and so that is why I choose to do it. I also suffer for God so that I may be made more like Christ. To challenge myself to go further helps me get more understanding of who Christ was and who God wants me to be.