Hi all! We are currently looking at some of the Psalms (songs). Most of these were written by David (David and Goliath, King David) but some were written by other people. If you remember from yesterday, we talked about how some of the songs are about praising God.
Today’s Psalm is about being frustrated. Do you ever get frustrated? Do you know God wants us to talk and maybe even sing, EVEN when we are frustrated? This Psalm is Psalm 44.
1 We have heard it with our ears, O God;
our ancestors have told us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.
2 With your hand you drove out the nations
and planted our ancestors;
you crushed the peoples
and made our ancestors flourish.
3 It was not by their sword that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face, for you loved them.
4 You are my King and my God,
who decrees[c] victories for Jacob.
5 Through you we push back our enemies;
through your name we trample our foes.
6 I put no trust in my bow,
my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but you give us victory over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.
8 In God we make our boast all day long,
and we will praise your name forever.
9 But now you have rejected and humbled us;
you no longer go out with our armies.
10 You made us retreat before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered us.
11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep
and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold your people for a pittance,
gaining nothing from their sale.
13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations;
the peoples shake their heads at us.
15 I live in disgrace all day long,
and my face is covered with shame
16 at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.
17 All this came upon us,
though we had not forgotten you;
we had not been false to your covenant.
18 Our hearts had not turned back;
our feet had not strayed from your path.
19 But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals;
you covered us over with deep darkness.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God have discovered it,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?
22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.
24 Why do you hide your face
and forget our misery and oppression?
25 We are brought down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Rise up and help us;
rescue us because of your unfailing love.
Our cliff notes, child-directed version reads:
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We have heard it with our ears, O God; our ancestors have told us
everything You did a long time ago.
With Your hands You drove out the other nations and put our families in the promised land; You crushed the other people and made our ancestors grow and have everything they needed.
It was not by their swords that they won the land, nor did their strength bring them victory; it was Your power and Your strength, for You loved them.
You are my King and my God, who gives victories for Israel. With Your power, you we push back our enemies, through your help, we defeat our enemies.
It’s not my bow and arrow or my sword that gives me victory; but You give us victory over our enemies, You put our adversaries to shame.
We say all day how wonderul God’s power is and we will praise your name forever.
***until now there has not been frustrated complaining…even when we’re frustrated or don’t understand what God is doing or why sad things are happening, it’s important to always remember to thank God for everything He has done for us and how much He loves us**
But now you have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go out to help fight with our armies. You made us run away from our enemies, and the other guys have taken all our things.
You gave us up to be eaten like sheep and have scattered us among the nations…made us leave the promised land. You sold your people for a pennies, gaining nothing from their sale. You have made us a disappointment to our neighbors, a joke to those around us. The people call us names and shake their heads in disappointment at us. I live in disgrace all day long, and my face is covered with shame at the mean things said by those who hate me, because the other guys are bent on getting even.
All this happened, even though we had not forgotten you; we never betrayed your covenant. Our hearts had not turned yucky; our feet had not strayed from your path. But you crushed us like putting us in a lion’s den; you covered us over with deep darkness.
If we had forgotten the to praise Your name, or worshipped a pretend god, You would have found out, because You knows the secrets of the heart? But for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep about to killed and eaten.
Wake up, Lord! Why are You sleeping? Do not forget us forever. Why do you hide your face
and forget our sadness and the bad things that are happening to us? We are brought down to the dust, about to die.
Rise up and help us; rescue us because of Your unfailing love.
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The people who wrote this song first praised God for the wonderful things He had done for His people–leading them to the promised land and helping them defeat their enemies. But then they complained because bad things were happening. They said, “we didn’t disobey You, God, or worship other pretend gods…so WHY aren’t You helping us anymore? Why are you mad at us? We know You really do love us, so PLEASE come help us!”
Did you know that just because you love and obey God doesn’t mean only good things will happen to you? Sometimes even if you love and obey God, sad and scary things might happen. We can always remember how much God loves us and that He fights for us! And it’s ok to tell God when we are sad or scared or frustrated. Just like when you are sad or hurt and you call for your mom or dad to come help, God is the same way. When we are scared or hurt, we can pray or sing to Him and He will help us and remind us how much He loves us.
THIS VIDEO is a musical version of today’s verses posted by The Living Psalms-Randy Gordon.
Thanks for joining us today. Love to you all!
He Bids Them Come 