44
Redeem Us, O God
(Romans 8:35–39)
For the choirmaster. A Maskil * of the sons of Korah.
1 We have heard with our ears, O God;
our fathers have told us
the work You did in their days,
in the days of old.
2 With Your hand You drove out the nations
and planted our fathers there;
You crushed the peoples
and cast them out.
3 For it was not by their sword that they took the land;
their arm did not bring them victory.
It was by Your right hand,
Your arm, and the light of Your face,
because You favored them.
4 You are my King, O God,
who ordains victories for Jacob.
5 Through You we repel our foes;
through Your name we trample our enemies.
6 For I do not trust in my bow,
nor does my sword save me.†
7 For You save us from our enemies;
You put those who hate us to shame.
8 In God we have boasted all day long,
and Your name we will praise forever.
Selah
9 But You have rejected and humbled us;
You no longer go forth with our armies.
10 You have made us retreat from the foe,
and those who hate us have plundered us.
11 You have given us up as sheep to be devoured;
You have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sell Your people for nothing;
no profit do You gain from their sale.
13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,
a mockery and derision to those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock ‡ among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
and shame has covered my face,
16 at the voice of the scorner and reviler,
because of the enemy, bent on revenge.
17 All this has come upon us,
though we have not forgotten You
or betrayed Your covenant.
18 Our hearts have not turned back;
our steps have not strayed from Your path.
19 But You have crushed us in the lair of jackals;§
You have covered us with deepest 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,
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 Wake up, O Lord! Why are You sleeping?
Arise! Do not reject us forever.
24 Why do You hide Your face
and forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our soul has sunk to the dust;
our bodies cling to the earth.
26 Rise up; be our help!
Redeem us on account of Your loving devotion.
* 44: Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142. † 44:6 Or give me victory; similarly in verse 7 ‡ 44:14 Literally a shaking of the head § 44:19 Or serpents or dragons * 44:22 Cited in Romans 8:36