Psalm 44:17

Psalm 44:17

I have overcome the world

The nature of the Psalm changes here somewhat. Having harangued the Lord God for allowing all this suffering and disaster to come upon His people, the writer now appeals to the Lord on the grounds that Israel is innocent and thus should never be afflicted in this way. Have you noticed that the Psalms of David never quite sink to the same depths of despair? He does not blame God using such vitriolic language nor does He claim His innocence quite so emphatically. David leaves room for God’s justifiable actions and also shows signs of repentance when things have gone disastrously wrong for him. My suggestion is that David was a man of greater faith and trust than the sons of Korah who wrote Psalm 44. He has a deeper understanding that even when things turn out very badly, God is still on the throne. 

So, we come to the plea in this verse, “All this came upon us, though we had not forgotten you; we had not been false to your covenant.” It’s easy to take the attitude, isn’t it, that if we live right and obey the Lord’s commands, everything should turn out right and all our problems should go away. That is not what Jesus taught, as we have seen before. Let’s remind ourselves of His words, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.

The Lord Jesus is warning us that the problems of the world do not go away when we become His disciples, if anything they may increase! However, our peace is not found in circumstances or in the world, but in Him. And in Him we are safe, and we always have hope. He is greater than the world, He holds the world in His hands, He has overcome the world. If we keep our eyes on Him and simply and humbly trust in Him, we can be overcomers too. Hallelujah!

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