Psalm 43

Vindicate me, my God,
    and plead my cause
    against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
    deceitful and wicked.
You are God my stronghold.
    Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
    oppressed by the enemy?
Send me your light and your faithful care,
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
    to the place where you dwell.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

• Psalm 43:1-5

Type of Psalm

Psalms of Affliction: Psalms where the psalmist is crying out in pain or distress, asking God where He is in the psalmist’s time of need.  But no matter how dire the circumstances or how long the lament, there seems to always be a word of praise.  Otherwise, why do we go to God in such times, other than to recognize Him as the only one who can help us?

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“In this psalm. I. David appeals to God concerning the injuries that were done him by his enemies, ver. 1, 2. II. He prays to God to restore to him the free enjoyment of public ordinances again, and promises to make a good improvement of them, ver. 3, 4. III. He endeavours to still the tumult of his own spirit with a lively hope and confidence in God (ver. 5), and if, in singing this psalm, we labour after these, we sing with grace in our hearts.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm43:4 : “Let‘s say a stress stirrer comes your way. The doctor decides you need an operation. She detects a lump and thinks it best that you have it removed. So there you are, walking out of her office. You‘ve just been handed this cup of anxiety. What are you going to do with it? You can place it in one of two pots.
“You can dump your bad news in the vat of worry and pull out the spoon. Turn on the fire.
“Stew on it. Stir it. Mope for a while. Brood for a time. Won’t be long before you’ll have a delightful pot of pessimism.
“How about a different idea? The pot of prayer. Before the door of the doctor’s office closes, give the problem to God. ‘I receive your lordship. Nothing comes to me that hasn‘t passed through you.’ ln addition, stir in a healthy helping of gratitude.
“Your part is prayer and gratitude. God‘s part? Peace and protection.”

• Max Lucado, Come Thirsty

My Thoughts

Note: The Max Lucado suggestion is nice until it happens to you.  But if you have a day of “pity party time,” do not wallow in it.  My wife was like what he says, but she had her moments in private.  She did not share them with me until near the end.  I thought she was finally showing a human side, but her pain was simply THAT bad.

This psalm is not attributed to anyone.  At least I checked a few translations.  But Matthew Henry may be correct in that the verbiage seems to be a national plea in the first verse, followed by enemies nearby.  But in my nation of “me, myself, and I” I feel that my enemies oppress me at times.

We all need God’s light to illumine our path and chase away the demons that lurk in the shadows.  Sometimes, that is all that it takes and temptations are not part of the equation.

There seems to be an “if-then” but the psalmist is saying that in their present state, they cannot go to God’s holy mountain and the psalmist needs help getting there.  Then, the psalmist will praise God.  In most interactions with God, He expects us to know that we can come to Him at any time, and each time we do, there should be an element of praise.

But for a worship service, does your church have a pickup service for the elderly and the shut-ins, who might not be shut-in if someone picked them up and took them back home afterwards.  Some of our church’s elderly that get picked up each week are characters and fun to be around.

But then the psalmist finds the source of the grief, pain, distress, whatever.  Why is the soul of the psalmist downcast?  This is nothing that God has done.  Whether the present trouble is the doing of the psalmist or the enemies at the gate, it is the soul of the psalmist that did not accept the fact that God has the situation well in hand.  God loves us and He can protect us.

For us to be downcast for an extended period means that, down deep inside, we have not accepted this as part of God’s plan.  Will He heal us?  If not, will He give us the strength to persevere? Of course, He will, but do we realize that strength within us?  I have looked at a patch of ceiling now and then and yelled, “Sure, God, You are there, but this is hard!”  But once my moment of a pity party was over, I put one foot in front of the other, praising God for the strength that He gave me.

Psalm 44

We have heard it with our ears, O God;
    our ancestors have told us
what you did in their days,
    in days long ago.
With your hand you drove out the nations
    and planted our ancestors;
you crushed the peoples
    and made our ancestors flourish.
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.
You are my King and my God,
    who decrees victories for Jacob.
Through you we push back our enemies;
    through your name we trample our foes.
I put no trust in my bow,
    my sword does not bring me victory;
but you give us victory over our enemies,
    you put our adversaries to shame.
In God we make our boast all day long,
    and we will praise your name forever.
But now you have rejected and humbled us;
    you no longer go out with our armies.
You made us retreat before the enemy,
    and our adversaries have plundered us.
You gave us up to be devoured like sheep
    and have scattered us among the nations.
You sold your people for a pittance,
    gaining nothing from their sale.
You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,
    the scorn and derision of those around us.
You have made us a byword among the nations;
    the peoples shake their heads at us.
I live in disgrace all day long,
    and my face is covered with shame
at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,
    because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.
All this came upon us,
    though we had not forgotten you;
    we had not been false to your covenant.
Our hearts had not turned back;
    our feet had not strayed from your path.
But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals;
    you covered us over with deep darkness.
If we had forgotten the name of our God
    or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
would not God have discovered it,
    since he knows the secrets of the heart?
Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep?
    Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.
Why do you hide your face
    and forget our misery and oppression?
We are brought down to the dust;
    our bodies cling to the ground.
Rise up and help us;
    rescue us because of your unfailing love.

• Psalm 44:1-26

Type of Psalm

Psalms of Affliction: Psalms where the psalmist is crying out in pain or distress, asking God where He is in the psalmist’s time of need.  But no matter how dire the circumstances or how long the lament, there seems to always be a word of praise.  Otherwise, why do we go to God in such times, other than to recognize Him as the only one who can help us?

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“We are not told either who was the penmen of this psalm or when and upon what occasion it was penned, upon a melancholy occasion, we are sure, not so much to the penman himself (then we could have found occasions enough for it in the history of David and his afflictions), but to the church of God in general; and therefore, if we suppose it penned by David, yet we must attribute it purely to the Spirit of prophecy, and must conclude that the Spirit (whatever he himself had) had in view the captivity of Babylon. or the sufferings of the Jewish church under Antioch us, or rather the afflicted state of the Christian church in its early days (to which v. 22 is applied by the apostle, Rom.8:36), and indeed in all its days on earth, for it is its determined lot that it must enter into the kingdom of heaven through many tribulations. And, if we have any gospel­ psalms pointing at the privileges and comforts of Christians, why should we not have one pointing at their trials and exercises? It is a psalm calculated for a day of fasting and humiliation upon occasion of some public calamity, either pressing or threatening. In it the church is taught, I. To own with thankfulness, to the glory of G od, the great things God has done for their fathers (v. 1-8). II. To exhibit a memorial of their present calamitous estate (11. 9-16). Ill. To file a protestation of their integrity and adherence to God notwithstanding (v. 17–22). IV. To lodge a petition at the throne of grace for succour and relief (11. 22–26). ln singing this psalm we ought to give God the praise of what he has formerly done for his people, to represent our own grievances, or sympathize with those parts of the church that are in distress, to engage ourselves, whatever happens, to cleave to God and duty, and then cheerfully to wait the event.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 44:21 : ” God sees us with the eyes of a Father. He sees our defects, errors, and blemishes. But he also sees our value.
What did Jesus know that enabled him to do what he did?
Here’s part of the answer. He knew the value of people. He knew that each human being is a treasure. And because he did, people were not a source of stress but a source of joy.”

• Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm

My Thoughts

Without mentioning Pharoah, parting the Red Sea, the people in the Promised Land, etc.  The psalmist, this time from among the sons of Korah, acknowledges that it was not the sword or the arm of the Israelite warrior.  It was God that did it all.

And then in the next verses, the psalmist acknowledges that God is still doing what He did from the beginning, repelling the attacks of the enemies of Israel.  God is not a one-hit-wonder.  He is not “one and done.”  God is the God of then, now, and forever.

So then, why is it that enemies have overtaken them?

While we might say openly that we are proud only in God, God knows our hearts.  Are we really as faithful as we say?  God knows the truth.

But in confessing that we are not pure in heart, and humbling ourselves before God, God loves us, and He will come to our rescue.

Psalm 45

My heart is stirred by a noble theme
    as I recite my verses for the king;
    my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
You are the most excellent of men
    and your lips have been anointed with grace,
    since God has blessed you forever.
Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one;
    clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.
In your majesty ride forth victoriously
    in the cause of truth, humility and justice;
    let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.
Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;
    let the nations fall beneath your feet.
Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
    a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
    therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
    by anointing you with the oil of joy.
All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
    from palaces adorned with ivory
    the music of the strings makes you glad.
Daughters of kings are among your honored women;
    at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.
Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention:
    Forget your people and your father’s house.
Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;
    honor him, for he is your lord.
The city of Tyre will come with a gift,
    people of wealth will seek your favor.
All glorious is the princess within her chamber;
    her gown is interwoven with gold.
In embroidered garments she is led to the king;
    her virgin companions follow her—
    those brought to be with her.
Led in with joy and gladness,
    they enter the palace of the king.
Your sons will take the place of your fathers;
    you will make them princes throughout the land.
I will perpetuate your memory through all generations;
    therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.

• Psalm 45:1-17

Type of Psalm

Psalms of praise: Exactly as stated.  God is being praised.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This psalm is an illustrious prophecy of Messiah the Prince: it is all over gospel, and points at him only, as a bridegroom espousing the church to himself and as a king ruling in it and ruling for it. It is probable that our Saviour has reference to this psalm when he compares the kingdom of heaven, more than once, to a nuptial solemnity, the solemnity of a royal nuptial, Matt. 22:2; 25:1. We have no reason to think it has any reference to Solomon’s marriage with Pharaoh’s daughter; if I thought that it had reference to any other than the mystical marriage between Christ and his church, I would rather apply it to some of David’s marriages, because he was a man of war, such a one as the bridegroom here is described to be, which Solomon was not. But I take it to be purely and only meant of Jesus Christ; of him speaks the prophet this, of him and of no other man; and to him (ver. 6,7) it is applied in the New Testament (Heb. 1:8), nor can it be understood of any other. The preface speaks the excellency of the song, ver. 1. The psalm speaks, I. Of the royal bridegroom, who is Christ. 1. The transcendent excellency of his person, ver. 2. 2. The glory of his victories, ver. 3-5. 3. The righteousness of his government, ver. 6, 7. 4. The splendour of his court, ver. 8, 9. II. Of the royal bride, which is the church. 1. Her consent gained, ver. 10, 11. 2. The nuptials solemnized, ver. 12-15. 3. The issue of this marriage, ver. 16-17. In singing this psalm our hearts must be filled with high thoughts of Christ, with an entire submission to and satisfaction in his government, and with an earnest desire of the enlarging and perpetuating of his church in the world.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 45:6 : “Scripture says that the number of God’s years is unsearchable. We may search out the moment the first wave slapped on a shore or the first star burst in the sky, but we‘ll never find the first moment when God was God, for there is no moment when God was not God. He has never not been, for he is eternal. God is not bound by time.
But when Jesus came to the earth, all this changed. He heard for the first time a phrase never used in heaven: ‘Your time is up.’ As a child, he had to leave the Temple because his rime was up. As a man, he had to leave Nazareth because his time was up. And as a Savior, he had to die because his time was up. For thirty-three years, the stallion of heaven lived in the corral of time.”

• Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails

My Thoughts

I agree with Matthew Henry in that this seems to be a psalm about Jesus coming, most specifically coming in His return.  He is the most excellent man, ever.  He will come with a sword, riding majestically.

Jesus will return.  He will rule forever, a millennium with Israel and forever for those who believe.  But then again, some argue that the millennial reign is significant of a long time.  Jesus will reign forever.

And then the focus shifts to the bride of Jesus.  While the psalmist says “daughter of Zion”, we know the bride of Christ is the church.

But in looking at what the psalmist says here and comparing with what denominations are doing these days, we are failing in maintaining the latter verses of this psalm.  We are not forgetting our people and our father’s house.  We are changing to fit in with the world, rather than remain pure, ready for Christ’s return.

We focus on the pure gold and other things that come along with being the bride of the king without preparing our hearts to keep them pure.

Beware, when the King returns, His enemy will be evil, wherever He finds it.  If He finds it in the church, then there will be destruction in His wake.  Jesus will not be enthralled by the beauty of a church that has evil at its core.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Psalm 42-43

“1. What causes God to seem far away at times? Who moved, God or you? How might this psalm help you in times when you wonder where God is?
“2. In dealing with his depression, this man freely cried (42:3), talked to himself (42:5,11; 43:5), reminded himself of God’s nature (42:6,8) and prayed honestly (42:9; 43:2). By comparison, how do you deal with depression? What from this man’s example might help you lace times of spiritual dryness in your life?
“3. Of the adjectives and titles which this man ascribed to God, which ones best describe your relationship with God? Is the possessive pronoun ‘my’ one that you readily use in relation to God? Why or why not? How has God been ‘yours’ in recent weeks?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 44

“1. What is one ‘bad thing’ that has happened to you recently that you didn’t deserve?
“2. This king felt like God was sleeping on the job, as did Jesus’ disciples (see Mk 4:35–38). Have you felt like this? What did you do to rouse God? What does God’s apparent neglect of your situation do to your faith in God’s justice and love?
“3. Write a group ‘psalm of distress’ about unanswered questions facing you. Follow the shape of this psalm: (a) You have helped us in the past, (b) but you seem to be asleep now. (c) We’re not aware we have sinned, (d) so please help us again now!”

Psalm 45

“1. How does the New Testament make sense out of verses 6-7 (see Heb 1:8–9)? What is being said about Jesus and the Church (see Ep 5:25-27)?
“2. Taking verses 2-7 as applying to Jesus, which royal qualities about him mean the most to you now? Why?
“3. What place does ‘truth, humility and righteousness’ have in your life? Where do white lies, false humility and self-justification still hold sway?
“4. Do you believe King Jesus is ‘enthralled by your beauty’? Why or why not?
“5. How does someone truly loving you help you ‘forget’ all other relationships? What are some of the things in your past that you must ‘forget’ in order to truly honor Jesus as Lord?”

There is one set of questions for Psalms 42 and 43 combined as the themes overlap.  There is one set of questions each for Psalms 44 and 45.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.