Yet You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor, and do not go out with our armies. You cause us to turn back from the adversary; and those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves. You give us as sheep to be eaten and have scattered us among the nations. You sell Your people cheaply, and have not profited by their sale. You make us a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those around us. You make us a byword among the nations, A laughingstock among the peoples. All day long my dishonor is before me And my humiliation has overwhelmed me, because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger. Psalm 44: 9-16, NASV.
Merciful God, how quickly we tend to forget Your mercy toward us. How easy it is for us to remember only the dark moments in our experience. Please teach us a better way. This we pray in the holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
When we compare yesterday’s praise to today’s laments it would appear as if we were talking about two different deities – one who is loving and gracious, and the other, punitive and merciless. And from our small corner we begin to think about the author(s) of this psalm as ungrateful, or, at the very least, forgetful, of God’s mercies. But let me remind us friends, that this ambiguity in our devotion to God, is quite representative of the human race. We tend to live between Mount Carmel and Beersheba; between the mountaintop and the cave; between the glory and the gloom!
I believe that most of us have had our days of sulking – when we tell God that we feel as if we were orphans. Just a few verses before, in yesterday’s devotional, it was God who had cast out the heathen and “planted” His people in the land. It was He whose sword and right hand had gotten them the victory! They were sure that through Him they would “push down” the enemy and “trample” those who hated them. In other words, they were convinced that it was God, who had gained the victory for them. So they claimed Him as their King. That is significant.
When people choose a leader, they usually do it based on their impression that he or she is capable; that he or she can accomplish the things that they would like to see accomplished.There is usually no thought of disappointment. And that is in regards to an earthly king. How much less thought is given to failure, when we think of the King of kings as our leader. So when things do not turn out the way we planned, our praise turns into complaints.
The same God who defended them, is now accused of rejecting them. The enemies that they were going to “push down” in the strength of the Lord, they are now fleeing from. They are brought low and humiliated before their avengers – and God is to be blamed! “You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor . . . You cause us to turn back from the adversary . . . You give us as sheep to be eaten and have scattered us among the nations . . . You sell Your people cheaply . . . You make us a reproach to our neighbors . . . You make us a byword among the nations . . . ”
Notice how complaining conditions us for defeat, while a spirit of praise, empowers us, and prepares us, for victory. What would you rather be? A victor or a victim? How do you feel? Empowered or overpowered? What are you doing? Praising or Complaining? Perhaps the difference in what is happening in your life, lies in what you are offering to God.