Daily Devotions
Psalms
Psalm 44:12 "You sell Your people for next to nothing..."
Day 28 – Psalm 44
“You sell Your people for next to nothing…” Psalm 44:12
STRONG LANGUAGE
The language of the psalmist became stronger with each subsequent verse. The strength of language depicts the anguish of the soul. This was a sad contemplation indeed!
“You sell Your people for next to nothing,
And are not enriched by selling them.”
Psalm 44:12
1. The power of despair
a) Despair is a powerful enemy.
b) Negative thoughts can spiral out of control very easily.
2. Positive past memory was all but totally eclipsed
a) God’s blessings in the past were overshadowed by present sorrow.
b) His promises of lovingkindness and faithfulness almost seemed unreal at the moment.
3. Despair and bitter frustration
a) These feelings were given a wrong focus.
b) The soul began to feel even greater bitterness towards God because of this focus.
i) Why had God sold His people for next to nothing?
ii) What did God hope to gain in the process?
iii) He certainly was not enriched by selling His people.
NO SEARCHING OF THE SOUL
The sense of furious frustration felt was so deep that there was no attempt to search one’s soul. The darkness felt in Psalm 44 was far denser than that felt and expressed in the previous two psalms of the sons of Korah (Psalm 42-43).
Would not the interest of the sons of Korah be better served if they had searched for reasons as to why Israel had fallen so badly from grace? If only the sons of Korah had remembered what they had written in earlier psalms, they would have found hope instead of deeper despair. To speak in such a negative tone of spirit to God would only make matters worse!