Today is what we shall all remember as 911, the day
our country changed forever. I remember in the month afterwards how as a nation
we cried out to God in prayer. That was short lived and the years since we have
moved further and further from God. On this day before looking at Psalm 44 I
call attention to a document signed on 11-11 way back in 1620 by 41 men on the
ship the Mayflower while anchored just off the northern tip of Cape Cod.
It says this:“In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.”
By the grace of God, for the glory of God these men came to establish a new colony in a strange land for the advancements of the Christian faith. Oh how far we have fallen from that mission.
Psalm 44 was possibly written by King Hezekiah in the midst of defeat with his nation in desperate need of God’s help. Hezekiah was a good king, a man of God who had brought Israel back into its covenant relationship with God. Yet the nation was under attack and being swept away by the Assyrians.
He prays out to God boldly for help. He reminds God of the past.
Psalm 44:1-3
“O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.”
“O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.”
He puts his complete faith in God, not in an army and its
weaponry and power.
Psalm 44:4-6
“You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob!
Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us. For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.”
“You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob!
Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us. For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.”
Then he reminds God of the defeat that surrounds them.
Psalm 44:9-16
“But you have rejected us and disgraced us and have not gone out with our armies.
You have made us turn back from the foe, and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations.
You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them.
You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us.
You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face
at the sound of the taunter and reviler, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.”
“But you have rejected us and disgraced us and have not gone out with our armies.
You have made us turn back from the foe, and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations.
You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them.
You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us.
You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face
at the sound of the taunter and reviler, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.”
What troubles Hezekiah most is not knowing why God is not
stepping in to save them. They have been faithful to God.
Psalm 44:17-19
“All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant. Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way;
yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death.”
“All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant. Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way;
yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death.”
Not even in their hearts have they
turned away from God; yet the slaughter continues.
Psalm 44:20-22
“If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
“If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
Then Hezekiah prays what might be the boldest prayer ever.
He is not afraid to challenge God to act. How can he be so bold? By appealing
to the truth of who God is; a God of mercy and a God of love.
Psalm 44:23-26
“Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground.
Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!”
“Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground.
Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!”
Brothers and sisters in Christ our nation is in trouble.
Unlike Hezekiah and Israel in his day we are not a Godly nation. We have turned
our back on God. We have spit on His law. We have rejected His son. We have
turned to idols. We put our faith in our weapons and our soldiers. But God
always has a remnant. We Christians are that remnant. We must unite in prayer
for our country. We must return to the mission of the pilgrims and undertake
for the Glory of God the advancement of the Christian faith. It is our only
hope.
Pray boldly my friends. Appeal to God and His vast mercy. It
is the way we are commanded to pray.
We are in need. Follow the words of Hebrews 4:16:
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
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