Psalms 44:14

_THOU MAKEST US A REPROACH TO OUR NEIGHBOURS, A SCORN AND A DERISION TO THEM THAT ARE ROUND ABOUT US._ Thou makest us a reproach ... a byword among the heathen - as Moses foretold (Deuteronomy 28:37), "Thou shalt become a proverb and a byword among all nations, where the Lord shall lead thee." The nation once "the blessed of the Lord," and "in whom all nations of the earth were to be blessed," is become a "byword," mashal-literally, a similitude; so that 'a Jew' is another name for one miserable and contemptible. A SHAKING OF THE HEAD - in scorn (Psalms 22:7)....

9-16 The believer must have times of temptation, affliction, and discouragement; the church must have seasons of persecution. At such times the people of God will be ready to fear that he has cast them off, and that his name and truth will be dishonoured. But they should look above the instruments of their trouble, to God, well knowing that their worst enemies have no power against them, but what is permitted from above....

Verse Psalms 44:14. _THOU MAKEST US A BYWORD_] We are evidently abandoned by thee, and are become so very miserable in consequence, that we are a proverb among the people: "See the Hebrews! _see their misery and_ _wretchedness! see how low the wrath of God has brought down an_ _offending people_!" And the worst curse that can be imprecated against a wicked nation is: "_Mayest thou become as wretched as the_ _Jews_;" or as the old _Psalter_: "_Thou has seet us reprove til our_ _neghburs: scornyng and hethyng til tha that er in our umgang_. That es, gref, tourment that es of our neghburs, and that hethyng es noght sone gave or passand, that we suffer of tha, that er al aboute us. When men sais _so byfal ye, als byfel him_....

THOU MAKEST US A BYWORD AMONG HEATHEN - The word rendered “by-word” - משׁל _mâshâl_ - means properly a similitude or parable; then, a sententious saying, and apophthegm; then, a proverb; then, a song or verse, particularly a satirical song, or a song of derision. The idea here is, that they were made a proverb, or were referred to as a striking instance of the divine abandonment, or as something marked to which the nations might and did refer as an example of calamity, judgment, misfortune, failure; a warning to all. See Deuteronomy 28:37. A SHAKING OF THE HEAD AMONG THE PEOPLE - An occasion for the shaking of the head, in derision and scorn. Compare the notes at Psalms 22:7....

EXPOSITION THE date and occasion of this psalm are greatly disputed. Most critics, from Calvin to Hitzig, refer it to the times of the Maccabees. Others suggest the fourth or fifth century B.C. One (Tholuck) dates it in the reign of Jehoiachin. Hengstenberg and Canon Cook argue for the reign of David. The time of Jehoram (2 Chronicles 21:16, 2 Chronicles 21:17) and that of the defeat of Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:20-14) have also been proposed as possible. The Davidic date receives a certain amount of support from Psalms 60:1; which is in the same ton

THOU MAKEST US A BYWORD AMONG THE HEATHEN,.... Among the Papists, as the Jews were among the Gentiles, Deuteronomy 28:37; calling them schismatics, heretics, fanatics, and what not? A SHAKING OF THE HEAD AMONG THE PEOPLE; by way of indignation, scorn, and contempt; see Psalms 22:7....

Psalms 44 The Increased Cry for Deliverance _ 1. My King, O God! Command deliverances (Psalms 44:1)_ 2. Trouble upon trouble and confusion (Psalms 44:9) 3. Awake! Arise for our help! (Psalms 44:22) The third Maschil Psalm. They remember the days of old, what God did for His covenant people in the past, how He gave them the land with an outstretched arm and delivered them from their enemies. They own Him as King and call on Him to command deliverances for Jacob. Then they utter their complaint and describe the great troubles and calamities they are facing; they are spoiled, like sheep appointed for meat, scat

XLIV. A NATIONAL PRAYER IN UNMERITED DISTRESS. The Ps. evidently depicts the situation of Israel under Antiochus Epiphanes [but see OTJC 2, pp. 207f., 437- 440. A. S. P.] So much was plain long ago to the Antiochene Fathers and at a later date to Calvin. Antiochus promulgated a decree enforcing unity of worship in his dominions and especially in Palestine. He also polluted the Temple at Jerusalem by heathen sacrifice. He encountered fierce opposition from the Asidæ ans (= Hasidim), led by the Maccabees, and died in 164 B.C. without effecting his purpose (p. 607). This Ps. was written when the cause of the faithful Jews was under a temporary cloud. The following are the chief points which enable us to place it with confidence in Maccabean times. (_a_) The Jews have an army of their own, and therefore enjoy some measure of independent government, but at the same time many of their brethren...

But the present circumstances of the nation contradict these expressions of faith based upon past experience. Israel is abandoned to be the scorn and prey of its foes. Comp. the transition in Psalms 89:38....

PSALMS 44 DESCRIPTIVE TITLE Israel Suffers for God. ANALYSIS Stanza I., Psalms 44:1-8, The Psalmist, Encouraging himself by Jehovah's Past Favour in Giving Israel their Land, Emboldens himself to Expect Further Victories. Stanza II., Psalms 44:9-16, Sudden Reverses Confound Israel, and cause the Psalmist to feel the Deepest Shame. Stanza III., Psalms 44:17-22, Expostulation based on Israel's Fidelity. Stanza IV., Psalms 44:23-24, and V., vers., 25, 26, Impassioned and Plaintive Appeals for Divine Interposi