Why do You hide Your face and forget our affliction and oppression? Why do You hide Your faceThis phrase reflects a common biblical theme where God's presence is equated with His favor and blessing. When God "hides His face," it signifies a withdrawal of His presence, often due to the people's sin or as a test of faith. This imagery is seen in other scriptures such as Deuteronomy 31:17-18, where God warns Israel that He will hide His face if they turn to other gods. The psalmist's question here is a plea for God's attention and intervention, reflecting a deep sense of abandonment and longing for divine presence. and forget our affliction
The term "affliction" often refers to suffering or distress, which in the context of the Psalms, can be both physical and spiritual. The psalmist's use of "forget" suggests a feeling of being overlooked or neglected by God. This echoes the cries of other biblical figures, such as Job, who felt forgotten in their suffering (Job 19:14). Theologically, this raises questions about God's memory and care, challenging believers to trust in God's ultimate justice and timing, even when immediate circumstances seem dire. and oppression?
Oppression in the biblical context often involves unjust treatment or persecution, frequently at the hands of foreign nations or corrupt leaders. Historically, Israel faced numerous oppressors, from the Egyptians to the Babylonians, which shaped their understanding of suffering and deliverance. This plea for relief from oppression is a call for God's justice and intervention, reminiscent of the cries for deliverance found in Exodus 3:9, where God acknowledges the oppression of His people in Egypt. The psalmist's lament here is a reminder of the hope for divine justice and the ultimate liberation that is fulfilled in Christ, who came to set the captives free (Luke 4:18). Persons / Places / Events 1. The Sons of KorahThe authors of Psalm 44, a group of Levitical singers and musicians who served in the temple. They are known for their deep and expressive psalms that often reflect communal lament and worship. 2. IsraelThe nation of God's chosen people, often experiencing cycles of faithfulness and rebellion, blessing and judgment. This psalm reflects a time of distress and perceived abandonment by God. 3. GodThe central figure in the psalm, whose perceived absence and silence are the source of the lament. The psalmist appeals to God's covenant faithfulness and past acts of deliverance. 4. OppressionThe specific situation faced by the psalmist and the people of Israel, characterized by suffering and a sense of being forgotten by God. 5. LamentA common theme in the Psalms, where the psalmist expresses sorrow, confusion, and a plea for God's intervention. Teaching Points Understanding LamentRecognize that lament is a biblical and healthy way to express our deepest pains and questions to God. It is an invitation to bring our honest emotions before Him. God's FaithfulnessEven when God seems distant, His past faithfulness assures us of His continued presence and ultimate deliverance. Reflect on past experiences of God's faithfulness as a source of hope. The Role of CommunityThe communal nature of this psalm reminds us of the importance of sharing our burdens with others and seeking support and prayer from our faith community. Trust in God's TimingGod's timing and ways are not always understandable to us, but we are called to trust in His sovereign plan and His promise to never leave nor forsake us. Prayer as a ResponseUse prayer as a means to express your feelings of abandonment or distress, asking God to reveal His presence and to act according to His will. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the expression of lament in Psalm 44:24 help us understand the nature of our relationship with God during difficult times? 2. In what ways can recalling God's past faithfulness provide comfort and hope when we feel He is hiding His face from us? 3. How can we support others in our community who feel oppressed or forgotten by God, and what role does communal prayer play in this? 4. Reflect on a time when you felt distant from God. How did you navigate that season, and what scriptures or practices helped you? 5. How can the themes of Psalm 44:24 be applied to current global or personal situations of suffering and oppression, and what is our role as believers in these contexts? Connections to Other Scriptures Psalm 13Another psalm of lament where David asks God why He hides His face, expressing similar feelings of abandonment and pleading for God's attention and deliverance. Job 13:24Job questions why God hides His face, reflecting the universal human experience of feeling distant from God during times of suffering. Isaiah 54:7-8God speaks of a momentary hiding of His face but promises everlasting kindness and compassion, offering hope and reassurance of His enduring love. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9Paul speaks of being hard-pressed and persecuted but not abandoned, highlighting the New Testament perspective of God's presence even in trials. People Jacob, Korah, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Affliction, Afflictions, Covered, Cruel, Face, Fate, Forget, Forgettest, Hide, Hidest, Misery, Oppression, Trouble, WhereforeDictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 44:24 1255 face of God
5150 face
5195 veil Psalm 44:9-26 5243 byword
6115 blame Psalm 44:22-26 8615 prayer, doubts Psalm 44:23-24 5534 sleep, spiritual
8763 forgetting Psalm 44:23-26 8610 prayer, asking God Library Second Sunday after Easter
Text: First Peter 2, 20-25. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted for it, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. IISermon at the Opening Services of the General Convention, October 2, 1889
"We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work Thou didst their days, in the times of old."--PSALM xliv. I. Brethren: I shall take it for granted that there is a visible Church; that it was founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, and has His promise that the gates of hell shall never prevail against it. We believe that ours is a pure branch of the apostolic Church; that it has a threefold ministry; that its two sacraments--Baptism and the Supper of the Lord--are of perpetual …
H.B. Whipple—Five Sermons The Story of God's Mighty Acts
Now, my dear friends, this morning I intend to recall to your minds some of the wondrous things which God has done in the olden time. My aim and object will be to excite your minds to seek after the like; that looking back upon what God has done, you may be induced to look forward with the eye of expectation, hoping that he will again stretch forth his potent hand and his holy arm, and repeat those mighty acts he performed in ancient days. First, I shall speak of the marvellous stories which our …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859 Name Date No.
NAME DATE No. A Abelard, Rev. Peter 1079-1142 544 Adams, Mrs. Sarah (Flower) 1805-1848 222 Addison, Joseph 1672-1719 237, 252, 317 Ainger, Arthur Campbell 1841-1919 483 Alexander, Mrs. Cecil Frances (Humphreys) 1823-1895 87, 138, 156, 159, 179, 268, 283, 349, 358, 525, 553 Alford, Dean Henry 1810-1871 270, 344, 421, 531, 541 Allen, Rev. James 1734-1804 157 Anonymous 37, 173, 197, 209, 257, 284, 347, 355, 356, 377, 398 Armstrong, Bishop John 1813-1856 454 Auber, Miss Harriet 1773-1862 199 cNAME DATE …
Various—The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA Letter xv. To Turribius, Bishop of Asturia , Upon the Errors of the Priscillianists.
To Turribius, Bishop of Asturia [137] , upon the errors of the Priscillianists. Leo, bishop, to Turribius, bishop, greeting. I. Introductory. Your laudable zeal for the truth of the catholic Faith, and the painstaking devotion you expend in the exercise of your pastoral office upon the Lord's flock is proved by your letter, brother, which your deacon has handed to us, in which you have taken care to bring to our knowledge the nature of the disease which has burst forth in your district from the …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great The Mystery
Of the Woman dwelling in the Wilderness. The woman delivered of a child, when the dragon was overcome, from thenceforth dwelt in the wilderness, by which is figured the state of the Church, liberated from Pagan tyranny, to the time of the seventh trumpet, and the second Advent of Christ, by the type, not of a latent, invisible, but, as it were, an intermediate condition, like that of the lsraelitish Church journeying in the wilderness, from its departure from Egypt, to its entrance into the land …
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse Appendix iv. An Abstract of Jewish History from the Reign of Alexander the Great to the Accession of Herod
The political connection of the Grecian world, and, with it, the conflict with Hellenism, may be said to have connected with the victorious progress of Alexander the Great through the then known world (333 b.c.). [6326] It was not only that his destruction of the Persian empire put an end to the easy and peaceful allegiance which Judæa had owned to it for about two centuries, but that the establishment of such a vast Hellenic empire. as was the aim of Alexander, introduced a new element into …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Epistle Lxvii. To Quiricus, Bishop, &C.
To Quiricus, Bishop, &c. Gregory to Quiricus, Bishop, and the other catholic bishops in Hiberia [183] . Since to charity nothing is afar off, let those who are divided in place be joined by letter. The bearer of these presents, coming to the Church of the blessed Peter, Prince of the apostles, asserted that he had received letters for us from your Fraternity, and had lost them, with other things also, in the city of Jerusalem. In them, as he says, you were desirous of enquiring with regard to priests …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great Under the Shepherd's Care.
A NEW YEAR'S ADDRESS. "For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls."--1 Peter ii. 25. "Ye were as sheep going astray." This is evidently addressed to believers. We were like sheep, blindly, willfully following an unwise leader. Not only were we following ourselves, but we in our turn have led others astray. This is true of all of us: "All we like sheep have gone astray;" all equally foolish, "we have turned every one to his own way." Our first …
J. Hudson Taylor—A Ribband of Blue Introduction. Chapter i. --The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers.
St. Hilary of Poitiers is one of the greatest, yet least studied, of the Fathers of the Western Church. He has suffered thus, partly from a certain obscurity in his style of writing, partly from the difficulty of the thoughts which he attempted to convey. But there are other reasons for the comparative neglect into which he has fallen. He learnt his theology, as we shall see, from Eastern authorities, and was not content to carry on and develop the traditional teaching of the West; and the disciple …
St. Hilary of Poitiers—The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers Triumph Over Death and the Grave
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin: and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. T he Christian soldier may with the greatest propriety, be said to war a good warfare (I Timothy 1:18) . He is engaged in a good cause. He fights under the eye of the Captain of his salvation. Though he be weak in himself, and though his enemies are many and mighty, he may do that which in other soldiers …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 The Prophet Joel.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. The position which has been assigned to Joel in the collection of the Minor Prophets, furnishes an external argument for the determination of the time at which Joel wrote. There cannot be any doubt that the Collectors were guided by a consideration of the chronology. The circumstance, that they placed the prophecies of Joel just between the two prophets who, according to the inscriptions and contents of their prophecies, belonged to the time of Jeroboam and Uzziah, is …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Calvin -- Enduring Persecution for Christ
John Calvin was born in 1509, at Noyon, France. He has been called the greatest of Protestant commentators and theologians, and the inspirer of the Puritan exodus. He often preached every day for weeks in succession. He possest two of the greatest elements in successful pulpit oratory, self-reliance and authority. It was said of him, as it was afterward said of Webster, that "every word weighed a pound." His style was simple, direct, and convincing. He made men think. His splendid contributions to …
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume I Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Psalm 44:24 NIVPsalm 44:24 NLTPsalm 44:24 ESVPsalm 44:24 NASBPsalm 44:24 KJV
Psalm 44:24 Commentaries
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