Psalm 44:17
All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten You or betrayed Your covenant.
All this has come upon us
This phrase acknowledges the reality of suffering and adversity that the people of Israel are experiencing. The Hebrew root for "come upon" is "בּוֹא" (bo), which often implies an arrival or an occurrence that is beyond one's control. Historically, Israel faced numerous challenges, including invasions and exiles, which were often seen as consequences of their disobedience to God. Yet, this phrase sets the stage for a deeper exploration of faith amidst trials, reminding believers that suffering is part of the human experience and often serves a greater purpose in God's divine plan.

though we have not forgotten You
Here, the psalmist asserts their faithfulness to God despite their circumstances. The Hebrew word for "forgotten" is "שָׁכַח" (shakach), which means to lose memory or to neglect. This declaration is significant because it highlights the steadfastness of the Israelites' faith. In a conservative Christian perspective, this serves as a powerful reminder that true faith persists even when God seems silent or distant. It encourages believers to maintain their devotion and trust in God, knowing that He is always present, even when He seems hidden.

or betrayed Your covenant
The term "betrayed" comes from the Hebrew "כָּחַשׁ" (kachash), which means to deceive or deny. The "covenant" refers to the sacred agreement between God and His people, established through figures like Abraham and Moses. In the historical context, the covenant was central to Israel's identity and relationship with God. This phrase underscores the psalmist's claim of innocence and loyalty, emphasizing that their suffering is not due to a breach of faith. For conservative Christians, it serves as a call to uphold the commitments made to God, trusting that He honors His promises even when circumstances are challenging.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Sons of Korah
The authors of Psalm 44, a group of Levitical singers and musicians who served in the temple. They are known for their deep and reflective psalms that often express communal lament and trust in God.

2. Israel
The nation of God's chosen people, who are experiencing suffering and defeat despite their faithfulness to God, as expressed in this psalm.

3. Covenant
The sacred agreement between God and Israel, where God promises to be their God and they promise to be His people, following His laws and commandments.
Teaching Points
Faithfulness in Adversity
The psalmist's declaration of not forgetting God despite suffering challenges us to remain faithful in our own trials.

Understanding Covenant Relationship
Reflect on the nature of our covenant relationship with God, which calls for loyalty and trust even when circumstances are difficult.

The Mystery of Suffering
Acknowledge that suffering can occur even when we are faithful, and it is not always a direct result of personal sin or failure.

Communal Lament and Prayer
Engage in communal prayer and lament as a way to express collective grief and seek God's intervention, following the example of the psalmist.

Trust in God's Sovereignty
Trust that God is sovereign and His purposes are beyond our understanding, encouraging us to rely on His wisdom and timing.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the experience of the Israelites in Psalm 44:17 challenge our understanding of faithfulness and suffering?

2. In what ways can we apply the concept of covenant loyalty in our daily walk with God, especially during difficult times?

3. How does the communal aspect of this psalm inform our approach to prayer and support within the church community?

4. What other biblical examples of righteous suffering can we draw from to encourage us in our own trials?

5. How can we cultivate a deeper trust in God's sovereignty and goodness when we face situations that seem unjust or inexplicable?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 31:6
This verse reassures Israel of God's presence and faithfulness, even in times of trouble, which parallels the trust expressed in Psalm 44 despite suffering.

Job 1:22
Job's faithfulness in suffering mirrors the psalmist's claim of not forgetting God or betraying His covenant, highlighting the theme of righteous suffering.

Romans 8:35-39
Paul speaks of the inseparable love of Christ, which echoes the psalmist's confidence in God's covenant love despite external circumstances.
A Prayer for Help Against Foreign EnemiesC. Short Psalm 44:1-26
Aspects of National PietyHomilistPsalm 44:1-26
Early Israel, the Lord's HostJohn Thomas, M. A.Psalm 44:1-26
God's Doings of OldHomilistPsalm 44:1-26
In the Days of OldW. Forsyth Psalm 44:1-26
Lessons from the PastCanon Liddon.Psalm 44:1-26
The Days of OldJ. A. Jacob, M. A.Psalm 44:1-26
The Eternal Providence of GodJ. Parker, D. D.Psalm 44:1-26
The Story of God's Mighty ActsPsalm 44:1-26
People
Jacob, Korah, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
FALSE, Dealt, Falsely, Forget, Forgotten, Kept, Memory, Met, Though, Yet
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 44:9-19

     5836   disgrace

Psalm 44:9-26

     5243   byword
     6115   blame

Library
Second Sunday after Easter
Text: First Peter 2, 20-25. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted for it, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Sermon at the Opening Services of the General Convention, October 2, 1889
"We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work Thou didst their days, in the times of old."--PSALM xliv. I. Brethren: I shall take it for granted that there is a visible Church; that it was founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, and has His promise that the gates of hell shall never prevail against it. We believe that ours is a pure branch of the apostolic Church; that it has a threefold ministry; that its two sacraments--Baptism and the Supper of the Lord--are of perpetual
H.B. Whipple—Five Sermons

The Story of God's Mighty Acts
Now, my dear friends, this morning I intend to recall to your minds some of the wondrous things which God has done in the olden time. My aim and object will be to excite your minds to seek after the like; that looking back upon what God has done, you may be induced to look forward with the eye of expectation, hoping that he will again stretch forth his potent hand and his holy arm, and repeat those mighty acts he performed in ancient days. First, I shall speak of the marvellous stories which our
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

Name Date No.
NAME DATE No. A Abelard, Rev. Peter 1079-1142 544 Adams, Mrs. Sarah (Flower) 1805-1848 222 Addison, Joseph 1672-1719 237, 252, 317 Ainger, Arthur Campbell 1841-1919 483 Alexander, Mrs. Cecil Frances (Humphreys) 1823-1895 87, 138, 156, 159, 179, 268, 283, 349, 358, 525, 553 Alford, Dean Henry 1810-1871 270, 344, 421, 531, 541 Allen, Rev. James 1734-1804 157 Anonymous 37, 173, 197, 209, 257, 284, 347, 355, 356, 377, 398 Armstrong, Bishop John 1813-1856 454 Auber, Miss Harriet 1773-1862 199 cNAME DATE
Various—The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA

Letter xv. To Turribius, Bishop of Asturia , Upon the Errors of the Priscillianists.
To Turribius, Bishop of Asturia [137] , upon the errors of the Priscillianists. Leo, bishop, to Turribius, bishop, greeting. I. Introductory. Your laudable zeal for the truth of the catholic Faith, and the painstaking devotion you expend in the exercise of your pastoral office upon the Lord's flock is proved by your letter, brother, which your deacon has handed to us, in which you have taken care to bring to our knowledge the nature of the disease which has burst forth in your district from the
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Mystery
Of the Woman dwelling in the Wilderness. The woman delivered of a child, when the dragon was overcome, from thenceforth dwelt in the wilderness, by which is figured the state of the Church, liberated from Pagan tyranny, to the time of the seventh trumpet, and the second Advent of Christ, by the type, not of a latent, invisible, but, as it were, an intermediate condition, like that of the lsraelitish Church journeying in the wilderness, from its departure from Egypt, to its entrance into the land
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse

Appendix iv. An Abstract of Jewish History from the Reign of Alexander the Great to the Accession of Herod
The political connection of the Grecian world, and, with it, the conflict with Hellenism, may be said to have connected with the victorious progress of Alexander the Great through the then known world (333 b.c.). [6326] It was not only that his destruction of the Persian empire put an end to the easy and peaceful allegiance which Judæa had owned to it for about two centuries, but that the establishment of such a vast Hellenic empire. as was the aim of Alexander, introduced a new element into
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Epistle Lxvii. To Quiricus, Bishop, &C.
To Quiricus, Bishop, &c. Gregory to Quiricus, Bishop, and the other catholic bishops in Hiberia [183] . Since to charity nothing is afar off, let those who are divided in place be joined by letter. The bearer of these presents, coming to the Church of the blessed Peter, Prince of the apostles, asserted that he had received letters for us from your Fraternity, and had lost them, with other things also, in the city of Jerusalem. In them, as he says, you were desirous of enquiring with regard to priests
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Under the Shepherd's Care.
A NEW YEAR'S ADDRESS. "For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls."--1 Peter ii. 25. "Ye were as sheep going astray." This is evidently addressed to believers. We were like sheep, blindly, willfully following an unwise leader. Not only were we following ourselves, but we in our turn have led others astray. This is true of all of us: "All we like sheep have gone astray;" all equally foolish, "we have turned every one to his own way." Our first
J. Hudson Taylor—A Ribband of Blue

Introduction. Chapter i. --The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers.
St. Hilary of Poitiers is one of the greatest, yet least studied, of the Fathers of the Western Church. He has suffered thus, partly from a certain obscurity in his style of writing, partly from the difficulty of the thoughts which he attempted to convey. But there are other reasons for the comparative neglect into which he has fallen. He learnt his theology, as we shall see, from Eastern authorities, and was not content to carry on and develop the traditional teaching of the West; and the disciple
St. Hilary of Poitiers—The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers

Triumph Over Death and the Grave
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin: and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. T he Christian soldier may with the greatest propriety, be said to war a good warfare (I Timothy 1:18) . He is engaged in a good cause. He fights under the eye of the Captain of his salvation. Though he be weak in himself, and though his enemies are many and mighty, he may do that which in other soldiers
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

The Prophet Joel.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. The position which has been assigned to Joel in the collection of the Minor Prophets, furnishes an external argument for the determination of the time at which Joel wrote. There cannot be any doubt that the Collectors were guided by a consideration of the chronology. The circumstance, that they placed the prophecies of Joel just between the two prophets who, according to the inscriptions and contents of their prophecies, belonged to the time of Jeroboam and Uzziah, is
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Calvin -- Enduring Persecution for Christ
John Calvin was born in 1509, at Noyon, France. He has been called the greatest of Protestant commentators and theologians, and the inspirer of the Puritan exodus. He often preached every day for weeks in succession. He possest two of the greatest elements in successful pulpit oratory, self-reliance and authority. It was said of him, as it was afterward said of Webster, that "every word weighed a pound." His style was simple, direct, and convincing. He made men think. His splendid contributions to
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume I

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Psalm 44:17 NIV
Psalm 44:17 NLT
Psalm 44:17 ESV
Psalm 44:17 NASB
Psalm 44:17 KJV

Psalm 44:17 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Psalm 44:16
Top of Page
Top of Page