Life’s Ups And Downs - The One Year Book of Psalms

Psalm 44:9-19

9But now you have tossed us aside in dishonor.

You no longer lead our armies to battle.

10You make us retreat from our enemies

and allow them to plunder our land.

11You have treated us like sheep waiting to be slaughtered;

you have scattered us among the nations.

12You sold us—your precious people—for a pittance.

You valued us at nothing at all.

13You have caused all our neighbors to mock us.

We are an object of scorn and derision to the nations around us.

14You have made us the butt of their jokes;

we are scorned by the whole world.

15We can’t escape the constant humiliation;

shame is written across our faces.

16All we hear are the taunts of our mockers.

All we see are our vengeful enemies.

17All this has happened despite our loyalty to you.

We have not violated your covenant.

18Our hearts have not deserted you.

We have not strayed from your path.

19Yet you have crushed us in the desert.

You have covered us with darkness and death.

When the Israelites finally crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, they immediately encountered a major obstacle—the walled city of Jericho. Their battle plan was certainly a bit weird, marching around the city thirteen times in all. But Jericho’s walls crumbled, and God’s people had a foothold in their new land. Their victory was a mighty testimony to God’s power.

Battle number two didn’t go as well. The little town of Ai was hardly a bump on a hillside, but the Israelites failed in their first attempt to capture it. Unbeknownst to most of the Israelites, one of them had stolen something from Jericho, disobeying God’s explicit commands, so the whole nation suffered this humiliating defeat. You can imagine Joshua’s complaint to God in the words of Psalm 44: “Now you have tossed us aside in dishonor.”

Life with God has its ups and downs. We have some incredible victories, but sometimes we also suffer puzzling defeats. If you’re scratching your head, wondering why life is so tough lately, you’re not alone. Here and in other psalms, the psalmist seems to say, “God, what on earth are you doing?” But God always knows what he is doing. He gave the Israelites another opportunity to take Ai, and they emerged victorious.

As we’ll see tomorrow, this psalm ends with an appeal to God’s “unfailing love.” When it seems that God has forgotten you, know that he loves you and that you can call out to him.

Redeem us from perpetual shame,

Our Savior and our God!

We plead the honors of thy name,

The mercies of thy blood.

ISAAC WATTS

Bible Networking

For more on the Lord’s selling of his people (verse 12), look up Judges 2:14. Then look up Isaiah 52:3.

Notable Quotable

“Sometimes God takes away all sensible enjoyment and encouragement to see whether we still cling to Him for Himself.”

F. B. MEYER