The
PS 44 belong to
Book II of the
book of PS composed of a collection of texts 150 arranged by 5 poetry books. The Book of Psalms, for its
wisdom and
basic principles of human
action , is considered the heart of the Old Testament. Book II comprises the PS 42 the 72 . The
PS 44 is divided into 27 verses.
The Psalms are
poems-prayers addressed to God, being the privileged way to address and speak to Him. These prayers represent
human experiences and
religious conscience . They portray the
common man , with his faults, insecurities, fears and hopes and, even today, we can identify with the Psalmist and draw inspiration from these texts to
pray and
plead with God when we feel
lost and
anguished or to express our
gratitude for some blessing received.
"There are enemies or friends, there is life or death, health or illness, pain or joy and, most of the time, there are no changes or gradations. Words are like stones and poetry like boulders carved by chisel"; "The Psalms are a bit like mountain paths, simple, especially when walking on snow, but they lead to the peaks; they are paths toward the peaks of meeting the Lord." - Carlo Maria Martini, Cardinal of Milan
Psalm 44 - People's Supplication
1 To the director. For the children of Korah. Poem .
2 With our ears we hear, O God!
Our ancestors told us
the wonders that you did in their days,
in the days of old.
3 With your hand you drove out peoples and punished nations;
and so you planted our fathers in this land,
and here you made them grow.
4 It was not by his sword that they conquered the land,
nor was it by his arm that gave them victory.
It was your right hand and your arm
and the light on your face, because you loved them.
5 You are my king, O God.
Decree victory for Jacob's people.
6 With you we will attack our adversaries;
by thy name we will trample our enemies underfoot.
7 It is not my bow that I trust,
nor my sword that will save me.
8 For Thou hast saved us from our enemies,
and hast covered those who hated us with shame.
9 We have praised you at all times, O God,
and we shall celebrate your name forever.
10 But You rejected us and left us ashamed,
and you no longer go out with our armies.
11 You turn us back from enemies,
and those who hate us have plundered our goods.
12 You have given us up like sheep to slaughter
and scattered us among the peoples.
13 You have sold your people for a pittance
and have not even discussed their prices.
14 You have made us a mockery of our neighbors, a
contempt and a mockery of those around us.
15 You made us an example to the peoples,
causing the nod of the head among the nations.
16 Every day I am aware of my misfortune,
and shame covers my face,
17 with the cries of the insulting and reproach,
in the sight of enemies and oppressors.
18 All this happened to us, without forgetting you
or breaking your covenant.
19 Our hearts have not turned back,
and our steps have not strayed from your path.
20 But You crushed us in the ground of wild beasts,
and enveloped us in deep darkness.
21 If we had forgotten the name of our God
and stretched out our hands to a strange god,
22 God would certainly have discovered this,
for He knows the depths of the heart.
23 Because of you, we have been slaughtered all day long
and treated like sheep for slaughter.
24 Awake, Lord, why are you sleeping?
Arise and do not reject us forever.
25 Why do you hide your face
and forget our misery and tribulation?
26 Our soul is prostrate in the dust,
and our belly is on the ground.
27 Arise to our help
and redeem us by your mercy.
Meaning and interpretation
The
Psalm 44 is a
collective prayer of supplication . It begins with a hymn of praise to God for the
wonders performed for the ancestors (Verses 2-9). There follows a
lamentation over the misfortunes that left the whole nation humiliated before other peoples (Verses 10-17) and concludes with a
complaint of the people , because of the abandonment that all that seemed to mean on the part of God (Verses 18- 27).
The intensity of the
collective problems that are reflected here makes us think of a time of particular difficulty and
insecurity, which leads specialists to link the origin of this Psalm to the destruction of Jerusalem in 587. The same happens with Psalm 74; 79; 80.
This Psalm expresses the
moral and psychological suffering and
shame of an entire people because of the ill - treatment that are inflicted, as a result of
wars . The delivery of sheep for slaughter, the dispersal and exile in foreign lands, and the sale of the people to waste as slaves are metaphors that the practices of warfare in antiquity made very real and frequent.
The Psalmist asks God to abandon his kind of
falling asleep or the attitude of
rejection and forgetfulness , asking Him to reconsider and
turn back to his people .
The
Psalms of Supplication are very present in the Book of Psalms. They speak of human frailty and the most basic feelings of your mortal condition. Times of peace and plenty
contrast with war and individual or community destruction. The Psalmist pleads for
God's help and asks him to
end his situation of affliction , ending with the
certainty of having been heard .
In spiritual practice, the supplication and request to God reflects a lot the meaning of
prayer, being the privileged way to establish contact and
raise the voice to the Divine. In numerous Psalms, supplication seems to be the most immediate motivation and the greatest concern. When turning to God, the speaker / Psalmist finds tenderness, justice, compassion, reconciliation, purification, in short, peace itself.
The
narratives and
feelings involved in these prayers are varied and basic; affect humanity over the millennia, and are still current today. They reflect
multiple interior , individual and collective experiences, and the relationship between people and peoples. They address topics such as the deadly threat of disease, persecution, aging, violence, war, betrayal, loneliness, enemy aggression and how these feelings alter
consciousness we have of ourselves, of our relationship with others and with God.
Situations that prompt supplication can be
bitter and
desperate , but the Psalms generally express a
state of mind of trust and end in
thanksgiving . The Psalmist cries out to God for his help and forgiveness in a profound expression of limitless
trust in divine compassion and justice. Even the cry of the Psalmist is already a fighting speech, change will, of inner transformation, confidence and hope for a
free future evil, the
suffering and the
wicked .
The
Psalms of Supplication they are classified as individual supplication and collective supplication. Those of
Individual Supplication comprise Psalm 3; 5-7; 13; 17; 22; 26; 27; 28; 31; 35; 39; 42-43; 51; 54-57; 59; 61; 63; 64; 69-71; 88; 102; 109; 120; 130; 140-143. and those of
Collective Supplication Ps 12; 44; 58; 60; 74; 80; 83; 85; 90; 94; 108; 123; 127.
The Book of Psalms
The Joy and Happiness of the Righteous in Communion with God
The Psalms are
prayer-poems addressed to God, being the privileged way to address and speak to Him. Depicting the
common man , with his failures, insecurities, fears and hopes, we can still identify with the Psalmist and be inspired today in Psalms to make
prayers and
supplications to God in times of trouble or express our
gratitude for some blessing received.
The Psalms, despite being written in Antiquity, still
move ,
sensitize ,
awaken feelings ,
inspire and
enchant . In them, we can identify
anguish and
joy , deeply human feelings, praises, supplications, teachings of reflection on spiritual wisdom and prophetic words.
Written for
different situations , some Psalms are intimate, revealing the author's personal relationship with God; others provide guidelines and advice for life, others are compositions for specific liturgical events such as rituals and pilgrimages.
The
Book of Psalms is composed of a collection of 150 poetic texts and is divided into five parts, called Psalm Books or Booklets. Each Book closes with short
hymns of praise to God . The division into five parts was considered to correspond to the five books of Moses and it is assumed that each passage in the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible, called Torah by the Jews) was read in parallel with the corresponding Psalm. Its main forms are
lamentation ,
supplication ,
praise and
gratitude .
The Power of Prayer in Dialogue with the Divine
The Psalms elevate our thoughts to the Divine and
prayer is the
power of the word . Prayer is the language of faith. Any thought, word or image addressed to God is called
prayer . It is through it that we come into contact with our
God within and, therefore, it is so powerful in
transforming life . Prayer can produce
miracles , turn dreams into reality, give us hope for
change ,
harmony and
peace with ourselves and the world.
Each Psalm has an
intention that helps us
meditate and
walk with our God . For many theologians, the Book of Psalms has a prophetic or messianic tone as its verses refer to the coming of Christ into the world of men to guide them through the uncertainty and doubts of Human existence.
The
prayer has the power to call the
Spiritual Universe full mode, honest, sincere, conscious, for the purpose of spiritual self-protection, family protection and those who are dear to us, to have peace of mind, spiritual and physical, for prosperity and success, to protect health and relationships, to ward off negative energies and, above all, to connect us to something bigger than ourselves. From this
peace , well-being, hope and goodness in front of everyone and everything result.
The
faith can change our lives. It gives us
tranquility and
spiritual strength to face challenges. It helps us to
meditate on our mission in life and to create a
balanced and healthy environment for ourselves and those we love. When you pray, fill your heart with
love and
determination . The Psalms will guide you on a path of
peace and
communion with the higher energy.
