Psalm 44:18-19

Psalm 44:18-19

It wasn't us!

I’m not sure that I could ever enter the presence of Almighty God and claim to be innocent and faultless. Frankly, who amongst us can ever say, “Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path.” It’s also difficult to recall any passage of time in Israel’s ancient history when they could make this claim, in fact the converse was too often true, they often turned back, and their feet led them to serve and worship foreign gods. So, what do we conclude from all of this? Either the complainant here in Psalm 44 was deluded, telling lies or they were trying to pull the wool over God’s eyes! As if!

We have to be so careful to have a correct view of ourselves before God. There are many religious people who live righteously and who aim to do what is right at all times. They discipline themselves severely and take great pride in their pious observances and their “holier than thou” lifestyles. This was true of many in Israel, they believed that keeping the Law, and even expanding it, made them righteous and earned them God’s approval. Such people existed in the time of Jesus as Pharisees and Sadducees. These men took great umbrage at anyone who criticised their devotion to the Law, that is why they hated Jesus, who pointed out that love of God and fellow men was the greatest Commandment. I’m wondering if our Psalmist was such a person, he believed himself to be a pious, holy man who, along with many others, kept the statutes and ordinances as a serving Levite. Why then would the Lord God crush His people and cause them to be covered by deep darkness?

We cannot go far wrong if we know that we are sinners, saved by God’s grace, that we owe Him a deep debt of gratitude and that it is not our good works or lack of sin that pleases Him. It is our faith. That was always the problem in Israel, they too often failed to commit to a deep, all embracing trust in their God and in His ability to care for them. They were too busy being law-keepers!

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