Psalm 44

¹ We have heard with our ears, God; our fathers have told us what work you did in their days, in the days of old.

² You drove out the nations with your hand, but you planted them. You afflicted the peoples, but you spread them abroad.

³ For they didn’t get the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, because you were favorable to them.

⁴ God, you are my King. Command victories for Jacob!

⁵ Through you, we will push down our adversaries. Through your name, we will tread down those who rise up against us.

⁶ For I will not trust in my bow, neither will my sword save me.

⁷ But you have saved us from our adversaries, and have shamed those who hate us.

⁸ In God we have made our boast all day long. We will give thanks to your name forever. Selah.

⁹ But now you rejected us, and brought us to dishonor, and don’t go out with our armies.

¹⁰ You make us turn back from the adversary. Those who hate us take plunder for themselves.

¹¹ You have made us like sheep for food, and have scattered us among the nations.

¹² You sell your people for nothing, and have gained nothing from their sale.

¹³ You make us a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those who are around us.

¹⁴ You make us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples.

¹⁵ All day long my dishonor is before me, and shame covers my face,

¹⁶ at the taunt of one who reproaches and verbally abuses, because of the enemy and the avenger.

¹⁷ All this has come on us, yet we haven’t forgotten you. We haven’t been false to your covenant.

¹⁸ Our heart has not turned back, neither have our steps strayed from your path,

¹⁹ though you have crushed us in the haunt of jackals, and covered us with the shadow of death.

²⁰ If we have forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a strange god,

²¹ won’t God search this out? For he knows the secrets of the heart.

²² Yes, for your sake we are killed all day long. We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.

²³ Wake up! Why do you sleep, Lord? Arise! Don’t reject us forever.

²⁴ Why do you hide your face, and forget our affliction and our oppression?

²⁵ For our soul is bowed down to the dust. Our body clings to the earth.

²⁶ Rise up to help us. Redeem us for your loving kindness’ sake.

Around Psalm 44

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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