1 We have heard with our ears, O God;
our fathers 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 fathers;
you crushed the peoples
and made our fathers 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 victories for Jacob.
5 Through you we push back our enemies;
through your name we trample our foes.
6 I do not 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.
Selah
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 My disgrace is before me 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 happened to us,
though we had not forgotten you
or 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
and 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, O 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;
redeem us because of your unfailing love.
The psalmist sounded really disturbed & desperate. From verse 9-25, he poured forth his complaints before God. He felt that the Lord has abandoned His people even though they were righteous.
I believe the fact that God allows negative circumstances to happen to us doesn't mean He wants to punish us. In fact, it may be that He wants to move us to a higher level of spiritual maturity. Like what Pastor Khong shared, the storms of life will come. A good biblical example would be Job. God tested him.

Because of that, the psalmist recognizes the greatness & goodness of God (verse 4-8). And at the end of his desperate plea, he asked God to redeem his people. He knew that His love for them was unfailing.
Personally, I really see the importance of spiritual & physical fathering from the psalm. I want to impart to my spiritual & physical children the fear of the Lord. I want to teach them to give thanks to God in all situations. And in order to do that, I myself need to lead by example.
Things to ponder
1. Rate yourself 1 to 10 how often you give credit to God or thank God every time you enjoy some kind of success?
2. This year, what is one thing you can do to show the friends around you the goodness & greatness of God?
3. Pray & commit to the Lord the things mentioned above.
Click here for Pastor YC's reflection on Psalm 44
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