James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary
Psalms 44:14
WHY DO GOD’S SAINTS SUFFER?
‘A byword among the heathen.’
I. The contrast between the Old Testament position and the New—‘ For Thy sake we are slain’ (Psalms 44:22). Here was the sting. It was in His service, and as His servants, that they suffered; and still He left them to their foes! So they argued according to their light. But we cannot. Two things forbid—(a) a deeper revelation of sin, and (b) a clearer knowledge of the Father.
(a) A Deeper Revelation of Sin.—Who of us, when afflicted, dares to say there is no sin in him sufficient to account for his trouble? We know something of the bottomless bog of deceit within—how corruption can pollute our holiest things. Instead of arraigning God, we are taught to suspect ourselves, and cry, ‘Search me, O God!’
(b) An Unveiling of the Father.—We have seen Him in Jesus, and the last excuse for misjudgment has gone, slain by the Cross. When His ways are dark with seeming cruelty, we can always interpret them by what He is. Indeed, in view of Calvary, this is the very least we should do. We know He is love, that He never relaxes in His care over us, and that He makes no mistakes. Deep shame to us, then, if we ever give room to a single doubt of His perfect love.
II. In spite of unexplained gloom, and of distressing doubts, these Old Testament saints persevered in seeking God (Psalms 44:23; Psalms 44:26). How much more, then, should we! How unworthy our conduct, if we grow weary of prayer! If they persevered, it is certain we may—and should.
Illustration
‘In the first paragraph of this Psalm (Psalms 44:1) we have an exact delineation of the method of the best kind of life. We do not get the land in possession by our own sword. Fighting will not help us, nor wrestling, nor anxiety. There is a sense in which praying will not bring us thither. Nothing but simple faith in the living Saviour—in His right hand, His arm, and the light of His countenance. Through Him we push down our adversaries; through His Name we tread under the serried ranks of our foes. Again and again I am asked for the secret of victory. Why do you fail? Surely you have not yet come to an end of yourself, you have not sunk down at the feet of the Son of God in absolute helplessness and dependence, you have not died to your own righteousness that you might receive God’s. This will cause failure, until, like Job, you are stripped of all creature help, and hand over the entire responsibility of making you a victor, and a saint, to Him who loves you. But what a contrast in the closing paragraph (Psalms 44:9)! Disaster and defeat had followed on each other’s heels, and all the outlook and prospect of the land had become overcast. How true this is in the history of the soul!’