What Psalm 44 and Romans 8 Have in Common..

This morning I was looking for a Psalm of worship - you know, one of those that says, 'God is our Creator', 'God rescues us with unfailing love', 'Praise God with harp and lyre'. "Praise God for who He is and how He blesses us!" Thinking that there was one of these worship sort-of-Psalms around the 40s, I started perusing. 

What I stumbled on was Psalm 44. After reading and studying it a bit, I've come to the conclusion that it is illustrating worship of a different kind. For me, it's a challenge to worship God even when I feel I can't control or predict Him (big shock, I know!). I've been discovering recently that so much of the way that I often relate to God as my 'safety' has been built on this foundation:  "God loves me, so He'll never let anything awful happen to me." My foundation has a serious flaw in it! Thus, building my life on this view has never done much good or provided much stability. At the slightest shake, fear has come over me like a flood. Who am I to TRY (underscore that word) to control God? If I am simply living for safety, who is it that I am truly living for? umm.. my self. 

Take a look at what the Psalmist says here: 

First, he rehearses all of the good things that God has done for Israel in the past. If you are familiar with the books of Exodus and Joshua, this stuff will sound familiar.. 

"We have heard with our ears, O God, our father have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago. With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our fathers; you crushed the peoples and made our fathers flourish. It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for your loved them." (v 1-3). 

God did amazing things for Israel! He overwhelmingly conquered the Egyptians, parted the Red Sea, provided for them in supernatural ways in the wilderness. When they actually got to the land they were promised, who did all the hard work of defeating their enemies? Who else could do that BUT GOD?!

Next, the psalmist goes on to talk about the things he has seen God do in his own lifetime... 

"You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob. Through you we push back our enemies; through our name we trample our foes ... In God we make our boast all day long and we will praise your name forever." (v 4-8)

The next part is where things start to get sticky: "But NOW you have rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies. You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us. You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations." (v 9 - 11)  

He goes on to reference the fact that his people are being sold into slavery, persecuted, being made fun of, and shamed by those around them. 

And why? Not because they did anything wrong..

"All this happened to us, though we had not  forgotten you or been false to your covenant..." (v 17)

Rather, he tells us the reason in verse 22: 

"Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

After reading this, I decided I had to find out what the historical context was for this Psalm. I said it was sticky... yep! Most scholars believe that this Psalm was written during/just after the revolt of the Maccabees around 210 BC. Antiochus Epiphanes was ruling. He was one brutal dude... While he was at war in Egypt, a rumor spread that he had been killed. Seeing his chance, the high priest who had been deposed, Jason, led an attack on Jerusalem to take out his replacement and take back the priestly office. When Antiochus heard of this, he came back with a vengeance. He restored the man that he had put in place and started executing Jews. Not long after, he outlawed Jewish traditions and rites: 

"Not long after this the king sent an Athenian senator to force the Jews to abandon the customs of their ancestors and live no longer by the laws of God; also to profane the temple in Jerusalem and dedicate it to Olympian Zeus, and that on Mount Gerizim to Zeus the Hospitable, as the inhabitants of the place requested...They also brought into the temple things that were forbidden, so that the altar was covered with abominable offerings prohibited by the laws. A man could not keep the sabbath or celebrate the traditional feasts, nor even admit that he was a Jew. At the suggestion of the citizens of Ptolemais, a decree was issued ordering the neighboring Greek cities to act in the same way against the Jews: oblige them to partake of the sacrifices, and put to death those who would not consent to adopt the customs of the Greeks. It was obvious, therefore, that disaster impended. Thus, two women who were arrested for having circumcised their children were publicly paraded about the city with their babies hanging at their breasts and then thrown down from the top of the city wall. Others, who had assembled in nearby caves to observe the sabbath in secret, were betrayed to Philip and all burned to death." 

So, this is no small persecution that the psalmist (most likely) was talking about! God was not simply allowing verbal insults to take place . . . Those who chose to worship God were literally being executed. 

How does that make you feel? If you're like me, you're probably thinking, along with the rest of the world, "Why on earth would God allow that?!" Hmmm. 

I have no idea. 

And neither did the psalmist. "Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?" (v 24)

My natural reaction is: How can I trust a God who would allow this kind of thing to happen? A God who may allow my loved ones to die? Who may allow me to get cancer? Who may .... 

What would you put in the blank?

The Apostle Paul shed some light on the subject. He must have known this Psalm well, for he referred to it in Romans chapter 8. 

" As it is written: 
'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'"  (v 35)

The key is what comes before and after his reference...

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Paul's answer to this conundrum  is (drum roll please....) the LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST. Trust it, be convinced of it -- the love of God is the true foundation of our lives, not the right set of 'safe' circumstances. No matter what comes in to our lives, He promises to help us conquer it if we hold on to his love.

"I am convinced..." There are not many things we can be absolutely convinced that are safe in life. Here's a fun illustration: amusement park rides. I hate them! (that's just a side note)
On my recent trip to the Middle East, my team of teachers and I would often go to a small amusement park with our students. There was a ride there which everyone dreaded.. 

"Discovery" (oooh... aahh..) 

It looked kind of like a pendulum that swung back and forth and the bottom part, which is where you sit, of course, spun around while it swung. Not my idea of fun.. I would be sick in 30 secs. But for those who aren't afflicted by motion sickness, it's not a joy ride. Apart from being scary, there is a sense that you get (so I've heard) that the ride itself isn't very well maintained. This is not Disney World! Safety standards there are NOT what they are here! Long story short, very few people are convinced that it is safe to go on the 'Discovery'. (Although some brave souls did attempt it and we had a laugh... )

But picture a different kind of ride. One where you don't have to worry that your safety belt will come undone. One that will not lose power and send you plunging downward. Jesus himself certifies that safety belt with HIS LOVE. Paul said, "I am convinced" that nothing can separate me from Christ's love."

Our lives are like a ride -- there's always ups and downs. And Jesus, when he was on earth, did not promise physical safety. He said to expect persecution because He himself received it. But His love will always be a constant reassurance. 

The question is, am I truly a disciple that is willing to follow Jesus - even through tough circumstances? If I choose Him, there's no turning back. The good news is there is a stronger foundation that my old one that was cracked and shaky!


(More about Antiochus Epiphanes here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochus_IV_Epiphanes)