Psalms 44:16

_MY CONFUSION IS CONTINUALLY BEFORE ME, AND THE SHAME OF MY FACE HATH COVERED ME,_ My confusion is continually before me ... For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth - (Jeremiah 3:25; Psalms 69:7.) The ravages of the Edomite in the Holy Land, continually before the eyes of Israel at the time which the psalm commemorates, covered the face of the people of God with shame and "confusion." Not merely was there violence, but 'blasphemy' in the wanton attack. The feeling of the pagan, and especially of Edom, on account of the old grudge, was that of religious, as well as civil, hatred of Israel. Thus Amalek attacked Israel after the exodus from Egypt, because of Israel's claim to be the people of God; the war was a religious war ...

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....

FOR THE VOICE OF HIM ... - That is, Because I hear the voice of him that reproaches and blasphemes. The word rendered blasphemeth, means properly to use cutting words; then, to reproach or revile. It may be applied either to people or to God. In the former case, it means reproach or reviling; in the latter, blasphemy in the usual sense of that term, denoting reproachful words concerning God. The word may be used here in both these senses, as it is evident that not only were the people the subject of reproach, but that God was also. BY REASON OF THE ENEMY - That is, the foreign enemies, or those who had invaded the land. AND AVENGER - Of him who had come to take vengeance. Here the word refers to the foreign enemies of the nation, and to the spirit by which they were actuated; their purposes to avenge themselves of what they regarded as wrongs, or take vengeanc

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

FOR THE VOICE, OF HIM THAT REPROACHETH AND BLASPHEMETH,.... That is, antichrist, to whom a mouth speaking blasphemies has been given, and which he has opened in blasphemy against God, attributing that to himself which belongs to God; blaspheming his name, his tabernacle, and them that well in heaven; see Revelation 13:5; BY REASON OF THE ENEMY AND AVENGER; which are very proper characters of antichrist, who is the enemy of Christ and of his people, and breathes out vengeance against them; as the same titles are also given to the Scribes and Pharisees, the implacable enemies of Christ, Psalms 8:2....

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...

AVENGER. him that taketh vengeance. Compare Psalms 8:2. Here. Sennacherib....

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