later, most assuredly; “_yet_,” despite troubles, foes, devils;
“_praise_” with gratitude, confidence, exultation; “_him_” above all
other helpers, though now afflicting me.
_Verse 5.—“Health of my countenance,”_ removing that which mars it—sin,
shame, fear, care, sorrow, weakness, etc.
PSALM XLIV
TITLE.—To the Chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil.—_The title
is similar to the forty-second, and although this is no proof that it is
by the same author it makes it highly probable. No other writer should
be sought for to father any of the Psalms when David will suffice, and
therefore we are loth to ascribe this sacred song to any but the great
Psalmist, yet as we hardly know any period of his life which it would
fairly describe, we feel compelled to look elsewhere. Some Israelitish
patriot fallen on evil times, sings in mingled faith and sorrow, his
country’s ancient glory and her present griefs, her traditions of former
favour and her experience of pressing ills. By Christians it can best be
understood if put into the mouth of the church when persecution is
peculiarly severe. The last verses remind us of Milton’s famous lines on
the Massacre of the Protestants among the mountains of Piedmont._
_The song before us is fitted for the voices of the saved by grace_, the
sons of Korah, _and is to them and to all others full of teaching, hence
the title_ Maschil.
DIVISION.—_From 1-3, the Lord’s mighty works for Israel are rehearsed,
and in remembrance of them faith in the Lord is expressed 4-8. Then the
notes of complaint are heard 9-16, the fidelity of the people to their
God is avowed, 17-22, and the Lord is entreated to interpose, 23-26._
EXPOSITION.
We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, _what_
work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
2 _How_ thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and
plantedst them, _how_ thou didst afflict the people, and cast them
out.
3 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword,
neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine
arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour
unto them.
1. “_We have heard with our ears, O God._” Thy mighty acts have been the
subjects of common conversation; not alone in books have we read thy
famous deeds, but in the ordinary talk of the people we have heard of
them. Among the godly Israelites the biography of their nation was
preserved by oral tradition, with great diligence and accuracy. This
mode of preserving and transmitting history has its disadvantages, but
it certainly produces a more vivid impression on the mind than any
other; to hear with the ears affects us more sensitively than to read
with the eyes; we ought to note this, and seize every possible
opportunity of telling abroad the gospel of our Lord Jesus _viva voce_,
since this is the most telling mode of communication. The expression,
“heard with our ears,” may denote the pleasure with which they listened,
the intensity of their interest, the personality of their hearing, and
the lively remembrance they had of the romantic and soul-stirring
narrative. Too many have ears but hear not; happy are they who, having
ears, have learned to hear.
“_Our fathers have told us._” They could not have had better informants.
Schoolmasters are well enough, but godly fathers are, both by the order
of nature and grace, the best instructors of their sons, nor can they
delegate the sacred duty. It is to be feared that many children of
professors could plead very little before God of what their fathers have
told them. When fathers are tongue-tied religiously with their
offspring, need they wonder if their children’s hearts remain sin-tied?
Just as in all free nations men delight to gather around the hearth, and
tell the deeds of valour of their sires “in the brave days of old,” so
the people of God under the old dispensation made their families
cheerful around the table, by rehearsing the wondrous doings of the Lord
their God. Religious conversation need not be dull, and indeed it could
not be if, as in this case, it dealt more with facts and less with
opinions. “_What work thou didst in their days, in the times of old._”
They began with what their own eyes had witnessed, and then passed on to
what were the traditions of their youth. Note that the main point of the
history transmitted from father to son was the work of God; this is the
core of history, and therefore no man can write history aright who is a
stranger to the Lord’s work. It is delightful to see the footprints of
the Lord on the sea of changing events, to behold him riding on the
whirlwind of war, pestilence, and famine, and above all to see his
unchanging care for his chosen people. Those who are taught to see God
in history have learned a good lesson from their fathers, and no son of
believing parents should be left in ignorance of so holy an art. A
nation tutored as Israel was in a history so marvellous as their own,
always had an available argument in pleading with God for aid in
trouble, since he who never changes gives in every deed of grace a
pledge of mercy yet to come. The traditions of our past experience are
powerful pleas for present help.
2. “_How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand._” The
destruction of the Canaanites from the promised land is the work here
brought to remembrance. A people numerous, warlike, gigantic and
courageous, firmly established and strongly fortified, were driven out
by a far feebler nation because the Lord was against them in the fight.
It is clear from Scripture that God sent a plague (so that the land ate
up the inhabitants thereof) and also a visitation of hornets against the
Canaanites, and by other means dispirited them, so that the easy
victories of Joshua were but the results of God’s having worked
beforehand against the idolatrous nation. “_And plantedst them._” The
tribes of Israel were planted in the places formerly occupied by the
heathen. Hivites and Jebusites were chased from their cities to make
room for Ephraim and Judah. The Great Wonderworker tore up by the roots
the oaks of Bashan, that he might plant instead thereof his own chosen
“vineyard of red wine.” “_How thou didst afflict the people._” With
judgments and plagues the condemned nations were harassed, by fire and
sword they were hunted to the death, till they were all expelled, and
the enemies of Israel were banished far away. “_And cast them out._”
This most probably refers to Israel and should be read, “caused them to
increase.” He who troubled his enemies smiled on his friends; he meted
out vengeance to the ungodly nations, but he reserved of his mercy for
the chosen tribes. How fair is mercy when she stands by the side of
justice! Bright beams the star of grace amid the night of wrath! It is a
solemn thought that the greatness of divine love has its counterpart in
the greatness of his indignation. The weight of mercy bestowed on Israel
is balanced by the tremendous vengeance which swept the thousands of
Amorites and Hittites down to hell with the edge of the sword. Hell is
as deep as heaven is high, and the flame of Tophet is as everlasting as
the blaze of the celestial glory. God’s might, as shown in deeds both of
mercy and justice, should be called to mind in troublous times as a stay
to our fainting faith.
3. “_For they got not the land in possession by their own sword._”
Behold how the Lord alone was exalted in bringing his people to the land
which floweth with milk and honey! He, in his distinguishing grace, had
put a difference between Canaan and Israel, and therefore, by his own
effectual power, he wrought _for_ his chosen and _against_ their
adversaries. The tribes fought for their allotments, but their success
was wholly due to the Lord who wrought with them. The warriors of Israel
were not inactive, but their valour was secondary to that mysterious,
divine working by which Jericho’s walls fell down, and the hearts of the
heathen failed them for fear. The efforts of all the men-at-arms were
employed, but as these would have been futile without divine succour,
all the honour is ascribed unto the Lord. The passage may be viewed as a
beautiful parable of the work of salvation; men are not saved without
prayer, repentance, etc., but none of these save a man, salvation is
altogether of the Lord. Canaan was not conquered without the armies of
Israel, but equally true is it that it was not conquered by them; the
Lord was the conqueror, and the people were but instruments in his
hands. “_Neither did their own arm save them._” They could not ascribe
their memorable victories to themselves; he who made sun and moon stand
still for them was worthy of all their praise. A negative is put both
upon their weapons and themselves as if to show us how ready men are to
ascribe success to second causes. “_But thy right hand, and thine arm,
and the light of thy countenance._” The divine _hand_ actively fought
for them, the divine _arm_ powerfully sustained them with more than
human energy, and the divine _smile_ inspired them with dauntless
courage. Who could not win with such triple help, though earth, death,
and hell should rise in war against him? What mattered the tallness of
the sons of Anak, or the terror of their chariots of iron, they were as
nothing when Jehovah arose for the avenging of Israel.
“_Because thou hadst a favour unto them._” Here is the fountain from
whence every stream of mercy flows. The Lord’s delight in his people,
his peculiar affection, his distinguishing regard—this is the mainspring
which moves every wheel of a gracious providence. Israel was a chosen
nation, hence their victories and the scattering of their foes;
believers are an elect people, hence their spiritual blessings and
conquests. There was nothing in the people themselves to secure them
success, the Lord’s favour alone did it, and it is ever so in our case,
our hope of final glory must not rest on anything in ourselves, but on
the free and sovereign favour of the Lord of Hosts.
4 Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
5 Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will
we tread them under that rise up against us.
6 For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
7 But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to
shame that hated us.
8 In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever.
Selah.
4. “_Thou art my King, O God._” Knowing right well thy power and grace
my heart is glad to own thee for her sovereign prince. Who among the
mighty are so illustrious as thou art? To whom, then, should I yield my
homage or turn for aid? God of my fathers in the olden time, thou art my
soul’s monarch and liege Lord. “_Command deliverances for Jacob._” To
whom should a people look but to their king? he it is who, by virtue of
his office, fights their battles for them. In the case of our King, how
easy it is for him to scatter all our foes! O Lord, the King of kings,
with what ease canst thou rescue thy people; a word of thine can do it,
give but the command and thy persecuted people shall be free. Jacob’s
long life was crowded with trials and deliverances, and his descendants
are here called by his name, as if to typify the similarity of their
experience to that of their great forefather. He who would win the
blessings of Israel must share the sorrows of Jacob. This verse contains
a personal declaration and an intercessory prayer; those can pray best
who make most sure of their personal interest in God, and those who have
the fullest assurance that the Lord is their God should be the foremost
to plead for the rest of the tried family of the faithful.
5. “_Through thee will we push down our enemies._” The fight was very
close, bows were of no avail, and swords failed to be of service, it
came to daggers drawing, and hand to hand wrestling, pushing and
tugging. Jacob’s God was renewing in the seed of Jacob their father’s
wrestling. And how fared it with faith then? Could she stand foot to
foot with her foe and hold her own? Yea, verily, she came forth
victorious from the encounter, for she is great at a close push, and
overthrows all her adversaries, the Lord being her helper.
“_Through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us._”
The Lord’s name served instead of weapons, and enabled those who used it
to leap on their foes and crush them with jubilant valour. In union and
communion with God, saints work wonders; if God be for us, who can be
against us? Mark well that all the conquests of these believers are said
to be “through thee,” “through thy name:” never let us forget this, lest
going a warfare at our own charges, we fail most ignominiously. Let us
not, however, fall into the equally dangerous sin of distrust, for the
Lord can make the weakest of us equal to any emergency. Though to-day we
are timid and defenceless as sheep, he can by his power make us strong
as the firstling of his bullock, and cause us to push as with the horns
of unicorns, until those who rose up against us shall be so crushed and
battered as never to rise again. Those who of themselves can scarcely
keep their feet, but like little babes totter and fall, are by divine
assistance made to overthrow their foes, and set their feet upon their
necks. Read Christian’s fight with Apollyon, and see how
“The man so bravely played the man
He made the fiend to fly.”
6. “_For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me._”
Thy people Israel, under thy guidance, shouldered out the heathen, and
gained their land, not by skill of weapons or prowess of arms, but by
thy power alone; therefore will we renounce for ever all reliance upon
outward confidences, of which other men make such boast, and we will
cast ourselves upon the omnipotence of our God. Bows having been newly
introduced by king Saul, were regarded as very formidable weapons in the
early history of Israel, but they are here laid aside together with the
all-conquering sword, in order that there may be room for faith in the
living God. This verse, in the first person singular, may serve as the
confession of faith of every believer renouncing his own righteousness
and strength, and looking alone to the Lord Jesus. O for grace to stand
to this self-renunciation, for, alas! our proud nature is all too apt to
fix its trust on the puffed-up and supposititious power of the creature.
Arm of flesh, how dare I trust thee? How dare I bring upon myself the
curse of those who rely upon a man?
7. “_But thou hast saved us from our enemies._” In ages past all our
rescues have been due to thee, O God. Never hast thou failed us. Out of
every danger thou hast brought us. “_And hast put them to shame that
hated us._” With the back of thy saving hand thou hast given them a cuff
which has made them hide their faces; thou hast defeated them in such a
manner as to make them ashamed of themselves to be overthrown by such
puny adversaries as they thought the Israelites to be. The double action
of God in blessing his people and confounding his enemies is evermore to
be observed; Pharaoh is drowned, while Israel passes through the sea;
Amalek is smitten, while the tribes rejoice; the heathen are chased from
their abodes while the sons of Jacob rest beneath their vine and
fig-tree.
8. “_In God we boast all the day long._” We have abundant reason for
doing so while we recount his mighty acts. What blessed boasting is
this! it is the only sort of boasting that is bearable. All other manna
bred worms and stank except that which was laid up before the Lord, and
all other boasting is loathsome save this glorying in the Lord, which is
laudable and pleasing. “_And praise thy name for ever._” Praise should
be perpetual. If there were no new acts of love, yet ought the Lord to
be praised for what he has done for his people. High let the song be
lifted up as we bring to remembrance the eternal love which chose us,
predestinated us to be sons, redeemed us with a price, and then enriched
us with all the fulness of God.
“_Selah._”—A pause comes in fitly here, when we are about to descend
from the highest to the lowest key. No longer are we to hear Miriam’s
timbrel, but rather Rachel’s weeping.
9 But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth
with our armies.
10 Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate
us spoil for themselves.
11 Thou hast given us like sheep _appointed_ for meat; and has
scattered us among the heathen.
12 Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase _thy
wealth_ by their price.
13 Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a
derision to them that are round about us.
14 Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head
among the people.
15 My confusion _is_ continually before me, and the shame of my face
hath covered me,
16 For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason
of the enemy and avenger.
9. “_But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame._” Here the patriot
bard begins to contrast the past glories of the nation’s history with
its present sadness and distress; which he does not ascribe to the death
of some human champion, or to the accidents of war, but solely and alone
to the withdrawal of Israel’s God. It seemed to the mourner that Jehovah
had grown weary of his people and put them away in abhorrence, as men
lay aside leprous garments, loathing the sight of them. To show his
displeasures he had made his people to be ridiculed by the heathen,
whose easy victories over their largest armies covered Israel with
disgrace. Alas! for a church and people when the Lord in the active
energy of his Spirit withdraws from them, they want no greater shame or
sorrow. He will not cast away his people finally and totally, but many a
church has been left to defeat and disgrace on account of sin, and
therefore all churches should be exceedingly watchful lest the like
should happen to themselves. Poverty and distress bring no shame on a
people, but the Lord’s absence takes from a church everything which can
exalt and ennoble. “_And goest not forth with our armies._” If the Lord
be not the leader, of what avail are strong battalions? Vain are the
combined efforts of the most zealous workers if God’s arm be not
revealed. May none of us in our churches have to mourn over the
ministry, the Sabbath school, the missionary work, the visiting, the
street preaching, left to be carried out without the divine aid. If our
great ally will not go with us our defeat is inevitable.
10. “_Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy._” The humiliating
consciousness that the Lord has left them soon makes men cowards. Flight
closes the fight of those who have not the Lord in the van. “_And they
which hate us spoil for themselves._” After defeat and retreat, comes
spoliation. The poor, vanquished nation paid a terrible penalty for
being overcome; plunder and murder desolated the conquered land, and the
invaders loaded themselves with every precious thing which they could
carry away. In spiritual experience we know what it is to be despoiled
by our enemies; doubts and fears rob us of our comforts, and terrible
forebodings spoil us of our hopes; and all because the Lord, for wise
purposes, sees fit to leave us to ourselves. Alas! for the deserted
soul; no calamity can equal the sorrow of being left of God, though it
be but for a small moment.
11. “_Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat._” As sheep are
slaughtered for food, so were the people slain in flocks, with ease, and
frequency. Not with the dignity of sacrifice, but with the cruelty of
the shambles, were they put to death. God appeared to give them up like
sheep allotted to the butcher, to abandon them as the hireling abandons
the flock to wolves. The plaint is bitterly eloquent. “_And hast
scattered us among the heathen._” Many were carried into captivity, far
off from the public worship of the temple of God, to pine as exiles
among idolaters. All this is ascribed to the Lord as being allowed by
him, and even appointed by his decree. It is well to trace the hand of
God in our sorrows, for it is surely there.
12. “_Thou sellest thy people for nought._” As men sell merchandise to
any one who cares to have it, so the Lord seemed to hand over his people
to any nation who might choose to make war upon them. Meanwhile no good
result was perceptible from all the miseries of Israel; so far as the
Psalmist could discover, the Lord’s name received no honour from the
sorrows of his people; they were given away to their foes as if they
were so little valued as not to be worth the ordinary price of slaves,
and the Lord did not care to gain by them so long as they did but
suffer. The woe expressed in this line is as vinegar mingled with gall:
the expression is worthy of the weeping prophet. “_And dost not increase
thy wealth by their price._” If Jehovah had been glorified by all this
wretchedness it could have been borne patiently, but it was the reverse;
the Lord’s name had, through the nation’s calamities, been despised by
the insulting heathen, who counted the overthrow of Israel to be the
defeat of Jehovah himself. It always lightens a believer’s trouble when
he can see that God’s great name will be honoured thereby, but it is a
grievous aggravation of misery when we appear to be tortured in vain.
For our comfort let us rest satisfied that in reality the Lord is
glorified, and when no revenue of glory is manifestly rendered to him,
he none the less accomplishes his own secret purposes, of which the
grand result will be revealed in due time. We do not suffer for nought,
nor are our griefs without result.
13. “_Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours._” Scorn is always an
intensely bitter ingredient in the cup of the oppressed. The taunts and
jeers of the victors pain the vanquished almost as much as their swords
and spears. It was a mystery indeed that God should suffer his royal
nation, his peculiar people, to be taunted by all who dwelt near them.
“_A scorn and a derision to them that are round about us._” The
down-trodden people had become a common jest; “as base as Israel,” cried
the cruel tongue of the tyrant: so ordinary had the scorn become that
the neighbouring nations, though perhaps equally oppressed, borrowed the
language of the conquerors, and joined in the common mockery. To be a
derision to both strong and weak, superiors, equals, and inferiors, is
hard to bear. The tooth of scoffing bites to the bone. The Psalmist sets
forth the brutality of the enemy in many words, in order to move the
pity of the Lord, to whose just anger he traced all the sorrows of his
people; he used the very best of arguments, for the sufferings of his
chosen touch the heart of God far more readily than any other
reasonings. Blessed be his name, our great Advocate above knows how to
avail himself of this powerful plea, and if we are at this hour enduring
reproach for truth’s sake, he will urge it before the eternal throne;
and shall not God avenge his own elect? A father will not long endure to
see his children despitefully entreated; he may put up with it for a
little, but his love will speedily arouse his anger, and then it will
fare ill with the persecutor and reviler.
14 “_Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head
among the people._” The lamentation is here repeated. They had sunk so
low that none did them reverence, but universally and publicly they were
treated as infamous and despicable. Those who reviled others dragged in
Israel’s name by the way as a garnish to their insults, and if perchance
they saw one of the seed of Jacob in the street they used lewd gestures
to annoy him. Those whose heads were emptiest wagged them at the
separated people. They were the common butts of every fool’s arrow. Such
has been the lot of the righteous in ages past, such is their portion in
a measure now, such may be yet again their heritage in the worst sense.
The world knows not its nobility, it has no eye for true excellence: it
found a cross for the Master, and cannot be expected to award crowns to
his disciples.