“All This Has Come Upon Us”

 

 

 


(Psalm 44:9–26)

 

 

There are people around us who, after setting new goals with hope for a fresh start, find themselves struggling with unexpected hardships. What should we do in times like these? Perhaps we can learn something from Native Americans. It is said that Native Americans call January “the month to dwell deep in the heart.” They view January not so much as a time for a new beginning, but as a month for calming the heart.

Likewise, when we are faced with unexpected difficulties and pain, we need to remain still before God.

In Austria, there is a competition where participants swim across the Danube River. The most dangerous part of the race is a whirlpool in the center of the river. Many swimmers give up at that exact spot. No matter how well one can swim, it’s of no use there. The more you struggle, the more you are pulled down. Eventually, exhausted, swimmers drop out of the race.

But experienced swimmers know how to overcome the whirlpool.
Their secret is surprisingly simple: they let their bodies go limp for a moment in the current. Then, after pulling them in, the swirling waters naturally push them back up to the surface. Remaining still for a while is the key to overcoming the whirlpool.

We will face whirlpools in life again this year. Some of you may already be in one. In such times, we must fully entrust ourselves to God. He will bring us back to where we are meant to be in life.

In the Old Testament book of Daniel, we see Daniel’s three friends face a life-threatening whirlpool of their own. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to the golden statue, defying King Nebuchadnezzar’s command. As a result, they were thrown into a blazing furnace. Even so, they had full confidence that God could save them. But even if He did not, they said to the king with boldness:
“But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:18).

What a beautiful faith that is! Entrusting their very lives to the God who holds power over life and death, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were delivered even in the midst of their life’s whirlpool.

In today’s passage, Psalm 44:9–26, we also see the psalmist facing a life whirlpool just like Daniel’s friends. And yet, we can clearly see that the psalmist, too, held on to a precious faith:
“All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You, and we have not been false to Your covenant” (Psalm 44:17).

With this verse as our focus today, I earnestly pray that you and I may receive the grace God desires to give us—and that even in the whirlpools of life that come upon us, we may not forget the Lord, but continue to keep His covenant.

First, let us reflect on the phrase: “All this.”

Please look at Psalm 44:17: “All these things have come upon us, yet we have not forgotten you, nor have we been false to your covenant.” What were all these things that came upon the psalmist and his people, the people of Israel? In one word, it was “affliction.” And the Bible says that the reason for this affliction was that the Lord had abandoned the psalmist and His people Israel: “But now you have rejected us and disgraced us…” (verse 9). Here, the word “rejected” means to hate and cast away (according to Calvin). In other words, the psalmist believed that he and the people of Israel were suffering because the Lord hated them and had cast them away.

But is this really true? Is God a God who hates the people of Israel? In the past, during the Exodus and the conquest of the land of Canaan by the Israelites, God showed saving grace because “you were pleased with them” (verse 3). Why then would that God now hate the psalmist and the people of Israel? And how could God reject and abandon them? This is simply the psalmist’s own feeling written down in the midst of intense suffering.

From verse 9 onward in Psalm 44, the psalmist laments the personal suffering and national affliction he faces. Especially, he thinks the cause of this affliction is that the Lord hates Israel and has abandoned them, and he laments that he does not understand why God has rejected the people of Israel (according to Park Yoon-sun). In the past, God was pleased with Israel and saved them by His power, so now the psalmist laments why God has left Israel to themselves.

Specifically, there are two reasons why the psalmist believed God had abandoned Israel:

(1) Because of defeat in war.

Look at Psalm 44:10: “You have made us turn our backs on the enemy, and those who hate us have plundered us.” The people of Israel fought with their enemies but were defeated and forced to retreat, and thus they were plundered. What was the cause? Look at the second half of verse 9: “…you have not gone out with our armies.” In other words, the victory in battle depends on God going with them, and since God did not go with Israel, defeat was inevitable.

(2) Because of the oppression suffered by the conquered people of Israel.

From Psalm 44:11–16, we can consider three types of oppression that Israel endured: (a) some of the people were slaughtered like sheep for food (verse 11) (Park Yoon-sun), (b) after being defeated in war, many were taken captive as worthless prisoners and led into foreign lands (second half of verse 11 through verse 12) (Park Yoon-sun), and (c) during their captivity, the Israelites were insulted and humiliated by their enemies. Look at Psalm 44:13–16: “You have made us an object of scorn to our neighbors, and our enemies mock us. You have made us a byword among the nations; the peoples shake their heads at us. My disgrace is before me always, and my face is covered with shame because of the taunts of those who reproach and revile me, because of my enemies and those who seek my life.” This is inevitable. A defeated nation is despised and humiliated by the victorious nation (according to Park Yoon-sun). The people of Israel were defeated in war, taken captive, and dragged away to foreign lands where they endured all kinds of insults and humiliations.

Finally, the second thing I want us to consider is: although all these things came upon the people of Israel, what did the people of Israel actually do?

Looking at Psalm 44:17, the psalmist says that the people of Israel have not forgotten the Lord. He also testifies that both he himself and the people of Israel have not broken the Lord’s covenant. What a precious faith this is! The psalmist and the people of Israel were amid all kinds of reproach, humiliation, and suffering, yet even in the midst of this, they did not forget the Lord. And they did not break the promise (covenant) made with the Lord. Dr. Park Yoon-sun said, “Faith that does not change even when all suffering comes is precious. Weak believers, when persecution comes, may compromise with injustice and sin, trying to avoid suffering. But the faithful stand firm and do not waver even in such times.” (Park Yoon-sun)

How does the psalmist specifically express that, even in all these troubles, he and the people of Israel neither forgot the Lord nor broke His covenant? We can consider three points:

  1. The psalmist and the people of Israel did not stray from the truth of the Lord.

Look at Psalm 44:18: “Our hearts have not turned back; our feet have not slipped from your path.” The psalmist explains that even amidst all the hardships and troubles, they did not leave the Lord’s path because their hearts did not leave Him. Rather, they lived a blessed spiritual life even in suffering. Dr. Park Yoon-sun said, “Those who live in peaceful circumstances may seem happy, but their spiritual lives tend to become lax.” However, the psalmist and the people of Israel experienced a rich spiritual life even in hardship. He speaks of how pure and devout his faith was before God, saying, “If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it? For he knows the secrets of the heart” (verses 20-21). He confessed before God, who knows the heart, that his devotion was pure.

  1. The psalmist and the people of Israel shared in the Lord’s suffering.

Look at Psalm 44:22: “We have been put to death all day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” The psalmist and the people of Israel were suffering ‘for the Lord,’ enduring persecution from their oppressors. If they had forgotten God, they would have broken the covenant and strayed from the Lord’s truth, and they would not have suffered for the Lord but would have fled from it. But they were regarded as sheep to be slaughtered for the Lord. The apostle Paul also said in Philippians 3:10 that he sought to “participate in the sufferings of Christ” by following Jesus’ death. Why? Because Paul knew that sharing in the Lord’s suffering was a grace of God (Philippians 1:29). The psalmist and the people of Israel in Psalm 44, though suffering all kinds of hardships, did not forget the Lord but rather participated in His suffering.

  1. The psalmist and the people of Israel did not forget the Lord but pleaded with Him.

Look at Psalm 44:23-24: “Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever. Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?” This prayer seems to express a feeling that the Lord is sleeping and appears as if the psalmist is complaining to God. However, this prayer is a patient and earnest plea to God in the midst of suffering. Especially, the psalmist says that even amid all these sufferings they did not forget the Lord, and he earnestly pleads that God not forget their affliction and oppression. He describes their suffering state, saying, “Our souls are bowed down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground” (verse 25), yet in the midst of this he pleads to God: “Rise up to help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love” (verse 26).

Around us, there are brothers and sisters who are struggling and suffering in the unexpected whirlpools of life. I hope that, just as the psalmist and the people of Israel in today’s message, even if all these trials and hardships come upon us, they will not forget the Lord. None of us should break the covenant of the Lord. We must not stray from the truth (the Word) of the Lord; rather, we should enjoy the grace of participating in the Lord’s suffering. In doing so, I pray that you and I will rely on the Lord’s mercy and earnestly seek His salvation.

 

 

 

Remembering our Lord Jesus Christ, who was forsaken by God the Father and endured all kinds of suffering and insults,

 

 

Shared by Pastor James Kim
(Thinking of the members who meditate on the suffering of the Lord’s cross in the whirlpools of life)