Psalm 44: When You Don’t Understand Why

Core Theme: For when you’ve stayed faithful to God, the hard season came anyway — and heaven offers no explanation

Background

Psalm 44 was written for the sons of Korah, a family of Levites who served as singers and worship leaders in the house of God. It is called a “Maschil” [a psalm of instruction or careful reflection]. Unlike most laments, it isn’t the cry of one person but of a whole nation. God’s people had suffered a crushing defeat. They had been scattered, mocked, and made a byword among the nations. The psalm doesn’t tell us which defeat it was. What makes it so striking is its honesty. The people say plainly that they had not turned away from God, and still the disaster came. And God, it seemed, had said nothing.

Psalm 44 (KJV)

1 To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. 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.

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.

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 hast 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.

17 All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.

18 Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;

19 Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.

20 If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;

21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

22 Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

23 Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.

24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.

26 Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.

The heart of it

One of the hardest kinds of silence is the one that comes when you’ve done nothing to deserve it. When we know we’ve wandered, we can at least understand why God might feel distant. But Psalm 44 speaks for those who have stayed faithful, kept praying, and kept trusting, and still found themselves crushed with no explanation. The psalm doesn’t pretend to solve that mystery. What it does is give you permission to bring the question honestly to God, without letting go of Him.

The New Testament doesn’t erase the pain of this psalm. It answers it. Paul quotes verse 22 in Romans 8, and then he declares that in all these things “…we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). The suffering is real, but it can never separate a believer from the love of God.

Walking through it

Verses 1–3: “To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. 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.”

The psalm begins by looking back. The people remember the stories their fathers told them: how God drove out the nations and planted Israel in the land. They’re careful to give God all the credit. Israel didn’t win the land “by their own sword,” but by God’s right hand, His arm, and “the light of thy countenance” [the shining of His face, His favor]. This remembering is precious, but it also sets up the pain to come. The God who did such great things back then seems to be doing nothing now. That contrast between what God has done before and what He seems to be doing today is one of the sharpest pains of a silent season.

Verses 9–12: “But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.”

Then comes the hard turn. Everything the people praised God for in verses 1–8 now seems to have reversed. God no longer goes out with their armies. They’ve been scattered like sheep and treated as if they were worth nothing. Notice how honest the psalmist is. He doesn’t blame the enemy alone. He brings the question straight to God: “thou hast cast off.” Scripture doesn’t scold that kind of honesty. It shows us that we can bring even our most painful questions to the Lord rather than hiding them or walking away.

Verses 17–19: “All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.”

This is the heart of the psalm’s struggle. The people aren’t claiming to be perfect, but they had not abandoned God or turned to idols. They know God searches the heart and would see it if they had (verse 21). So this suffering isn’t punishment for unfaithfulness. That is an important truth for anyone in a silent season. Hardship doesn’t always mean you’ve done something wrong. When the disciples assumed a man’s blindness must be the result of sin, Jesus said, “…Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John 9:3). Sometimes there’s a purpose we can’t see yet. And notice: “yet have we not forgotten thee.” Even in the silence, they held on.

Verse 22: “Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.”

This verse may be the most important one in the psalm, because of where it shows up again. Paul quotes it in Romans 8:36, right in the middle of one of the greatest passages of assurance in all of Scripture. He acknowledges that God’s people still suffer and are still “counted as sheep for the slaughter.” But he doesn’t stop there. He goes on: “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). The silence and suffering of Psalm 44 are real. But on the other side of the cross, believers have something the psalmist could only hope for: the certainty that nothing can separate them from God’s love.

Verses 23–26: “Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.”

The psalm ends with some of the boldest words in the Bible: “Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord?” It’s the cry of a heart that feels as if God has dozed off while His people suffer. Of course God doesn’t actually sleep: “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). But it can certainly feel that way. The disciples felt the same as Jesus slept in the boat during the storm: “…Master, carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38). He woke, and with a word the sea was calm. Notice how the psalm closes. The people don’t base their final plea on their own faithfulness. They base it on God’s character: “redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.” When nothing else makes sense, God’s mercy is still the ground you can stand on.

Carrying this forward

If the Lord has already brought you through a season of suffering you couldn’t explain, you may still not know why it happened. That’s all right. Some answers wait for eternity. But you do know that He didn’t let you go. It’s easy, once things settle and life gets “better,” to slowly drift and push that hard season out of mind. Don’t forget how He carried you through what you couldn’t understand. Let it deepen your trust for the next time you can’t see the reason.

If you’re in that place right now, faithful, praying, and still crushed with no explanation, Psalm 44 was written for you. You can tell God honestly that it feels as if He’s asleep. You can ask Him why. And you can hold on, as those people did: “yet have we not forgotten thee.” Most of all, hold on to the promise that came to light through Christ. Whatever you’re going through, Paul wrote, “…neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39). The silence is real, but so is that love, and the love will outlast the silence.