Trusting In The Right Things - The One Year Book of Psalms

Psalm 44:1-8

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

1O God, we have heard it with our own ears—

our ancestors have told us

of all you did in other days,

in days long ago:

2You drove out the pagan nations

and gave all the land to our ancestors;

you crushed their enemies,

setting our ancestors free.

3They did not conquer the land with their swords;

it was not their own strength that gave them victory.

It was by your mighty power that they succeeded;

it was because you favored them and smiled on them.

4You are my King and my God.

You command victories for your people.

5Only by your power can we push back our enemies;

only in your name can we trample our foes.

6I do not trust my bow;

I do not count on my sword to save me.

7It is you who gives us victory over our enemies;

it is you who humbles those who hate us.

8O God, we give glory to you all day long

and constantly praise your name.

Interlude

You probably know the story of young David slaying the mighty Goliath (1 Samuel 17), but there’s a detail in the story that’s both comical and instructive.

The giant had been challenging the Israelites to send out some warrior to fight him, and King Saul’s best soldiers were quaking in their sandals. David, on a supply run to feed his brothers, shocked everybody by volunteering for the job. He was convinced that God would give him the victory. When Saul finally agreed to let the boy fight, he tried to dress young David in his own royal armor.

This had to be a funny scene. Remember that Saul was a head taller than anyone else in Israel, and so his armor would have been way too big for David, who probably wasn’t fully grown yet. So there’s David, fully outfitted in the oversized pieces of armor, clanking around the camp. Fortunately, David concluded, “I can’t go in these,” and took the armor off.

Instead of trusting in human strength and armor, David chose to place his trust in the Lord. Armed only with a slingshot and five smooth stones plucked from a streambed—and the power of the living God—David felled the giant.

Like David, we must not place our trust solely in our own devices to win victories. “It is [God] who gives us victory over our enemies” (verse 7).

I am trusting thee to guide me—

Thou alone shalt lead,

Every day and hour supplying

All my need.

FRANCES R. HAVERGAL

Bible Networking

For more about the Lord fighting for his people, see Deuteronomy 20:4; Joshua 1:8-9; and Isaiah 41:10; 50:7-9.

Notable Quotable

“The link with the past [in verses 1-3] is all the stronger for the fact that the fathers’ exploits were not their own but God’s.”

DEREK KIDNER