Psalm-44
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*The Ketuvim - Includes, Poetical books - Psalms, Proverbs, Job,
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history of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles I & II.
Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of Thy Law!
Tehillim - Psalm 119:18..
(JPS-1917
version of the Tanakh).
Please
Note: Some
alterations or (additions) have been made relating to ‘Names’ and ‘Attributes’
of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, having been corrected like it once was pre the “Masoretic Text”.
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Remember the following truth
from our beloved Torah!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which
I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM
IT, that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloleichem,
which I command you”. Davarim - Deuteronomy
4:2.
However, sadly both the later priests as well as our rabbis of long ago have shamefully disobeyed this command of אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim, בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם קָדוֹשׁוֹ - ‘Baruch Shem Kadosho’ – ‘Blessed be His Holy Name!’
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With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben
Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Introduction:
Psalm 44 is a communal lament and remembrance: it recalls past victories granted by אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, contrasts them with present humiliation and defeat, and petitions for vindication and Divine action. The Psalm moves between ‘historical memory’, ‘honest complaint’, and ‘urgent plea’.
Let
us read Tehillim - Psalms Chapter 44: (JPS-1917 version of the Tanakh).
1. For the Leader; (a Psalm) of the
sons of Korah. Maschil.
2. O אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us;
a work Thou didst in their days, in the days of old.
3. Thou with Thy hand didst drive out the nations,
and didst plant them in;
Thou didst break the peoples, and didst spread them abroad.
4. For not by their own sword did they get the land
in possession, neither did their own arm save them;
but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of
Thy countenance, because Thou wast favourable unto them.
5. Thou art my King, O אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim; command the salvation of Jacob.
6. Through Thee do we push down our adversaries;
through Thy Name do we tread them under that rise up against us.
7. For I trust not in my bow, neither can my sword
save me.
8. But Thou hast saved us from our adversaries, and
hast put them to shame that hate us.
9. In אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim have we gloried all the day, and we will give thanks unto Thy
Name for ever. Selah
10. Yet Thou hast cast off, and brought us to
confusion; and goest not forth with our hosts.
11. Thou makest us to turn
back from the adversary; and they that hate us spoil at their will.
12. Thou hast given us like sheep to be eaten; and
hast scattered us among the nations.
13. Thou sellest Thy
people for small gain, and hast not set their prices high.
14. Thou makest us a taunt
to our neighbours, a scorn and a
derision to them that are round about us.
15. Thou makest us a
byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples.
16. All the day is my confusion before me, and the
shame of my face hath covered me,
17. For the voice of him that taunteth and blasphemeth; by
reason of the enemy and the revengeful.
18. All this is come upon us; yet have we not
forgotten Thee, neither have we been false to Thy covenant.
19. Our heart is not turned back, neither have our
steps declined from Thy path;
20. Though Thou hast crushed us into a place of
jackals, and covered us with the shadow of death.
21. If we had forgotten the Name of our אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim, or spread forth our hands to a strange god;
22. Would not אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim search this out? For He knoweth
the secrets of the heart.
23. Nay, but for Thy sake are we killed all the day;
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
24. Awake, why sleepest
Thou, O יְהוָה
- LORD? Arouse Thyself, cast not off for ever.
25. Wherefore hidest Thou
Thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our
oppression?
26. For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our
belly cleaveth unto the earth.
27. Arise for our help, and redeem us for Thy
mercy's sake.
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Let
us now look at ‘verse by verse’ with explanations:
Verses 1-8. Memory of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s past deeds. The community recalls how אֱלֹהִים - Elohim drove out nations and gave the land; the point is that Israel’s success was אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s gift, not human strength.
Verses 9-16. Present contradiction. Though אֱלֹהִים - Elohim was their king and shield, now they are disgraced and driven back; the Psalmist emphasizes shame, loss of honour, and military defeat.
Verses 17-22. Honest protest. The people insist they have not forgotten or broken covenantal ways; they ask why אֱלֹהִים - Elohim allows them to be trampled, this is a theologically frank complaint that refuses easy answers.
Verses 23-26. Direct appeal for אֱלֹהִים - Elohim to awake. The Psalmist implores אֱלֹהִים - Elohim to rise, to vindicate His people, and to not deliver them to the reproach of the nations; the language is urgent and imprecatory.
Verse 27. Closing vow and hope. If אֱלֹהִים - Elohim restores them, they will praise Him publicly; the Psalm ends with a vow of testimony that links deliverance to communal worship.
My
Closing message:
Psalm 44 invites congregations to bring collective grief before אֱלֹהִים - Elohim without masking doubt, to remember אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s past faithfulness as the basis for present petition, and to commit to public testimony when deliverance comes. It is a powerful model for communal lament that remains rooted in covenantal trust.
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This site was originally created, for those who desired to return to our blessed and wonderful faith. Thus be wise and work on your faith and pray at least two or three times a day (if possible) and always seek our beloved אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s guidance, for His love is always with us, especially when we seek Him, blessed be He! However this site has become very much a teaching site with hundreds of studies!
Remember what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be
He, said the following via several of our prophets...
“Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה- the LORD
of hosts”. Mal’a’chi - Malachi 3:7. (JPS).
And Remember ...
Enjoy your Sabbath Rest, Shabbat Shalom!
אֲנִי
יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, בְּחֻקּוֹתַי
לֵכוּ; וְאֶת-מִשְׁפָּטַי
שִׁמְרוּ, וַעֲשׂוּ
אוֹתָם
וְאֶת-שַׁבְּתוֹתַי, קַדֵּשׁוּ; וְהָיוּ
לְאוֹת, בֵּינִי
וּבֵינֵיכֶם-לָדַעַת, כִּי
אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם
“I am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloheichem;
walk in My statutes, and keep Mine
ordinances, and do them; and hallow My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign
between Me and you, that ye may know that I am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה
- the LORD your Eloheichem”. Yechezkel - Ezekiel 20:19-20. (JPS).
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follows;
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For אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim, Blessed be His Sanctified Name,
He
is the one who gave us our Life!”
May the שָׁלוֹם - Shalom = Peace of צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה= the LORD of hosts.
be with you, and please always uphold our blessed שַׁבָּת - Shabbat, as
well as the מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim - Feasts, and continue saying your
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etc!
שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom Aleichem - Peace be with you!
Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
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