Peter Barnes | Psalm 44
SERMON NOTES
FAITHFUL YET NEEDING REDEMPTION
Psalm 44:1-26; Rom.8:31-39
– the last Psalm that Ambrose of Milan worked on. It is a strange Psalm, like Job applied to Israel as a whole.
1. Past blessings and present trust.
– 44:1-8; God’s blessings and victories in the past.
– Spurgeon: ‘No longer are we to hear Miriam’s timbrel but rather Rachel’s weeping’ – on verses 8-9.
2. Why has God chastened His people?
– 44:9-16; it is not because of their unfaithfulness.
– yet notice how God is actively bringing about the defeat of His people. See Ex.33:14-15 for His presence.
3. Our faithfulness and God’s forgetfulness.
– 44:17-21
(a) suffering is a part of faithfulness – 44:22; Rom.8:35-37.
(b) God can seem to withdraw Himself for a time – 44:23-24
– Elijah in reverse! (see 1 Kings 18:27); note Mark 4:38; finish as the Psalmist did with 44:25-26.