“How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.”
The reference to God's deeds in ancient days establishes the foundation for the national lament—Israel's existence depends entirely upon God's mighty interventions on their behalf. The casting out of nations and planting of Israel's ancestors portrays God as an active agent in historical events, working through conquest and displacement to establish covenant people in the land. The emphasis on God's hand and arm in these acts establishes divine agency beyond ordinary military capability; God exercises transcendent power. The emphasis on glory and strength associates God's character with the visible manifestations of divine power in historical action. This verse sets up the psalm's central complaint—the same God who acted so decisively in the past apparently allows present suffering without corresponding intervention.
Church Fathers on Psalms 44:2
1. This Psalm is addressed “to the sons of Korah,” as its title shows. Now Korah is equivalent to the word baldness; and we find in the Gospel that our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified in “the place of a skull.” It is clear then that this Psalm is sung to the “sons of His 'Passion.'” Now we have on this point a most certain and most evident testimony from the Apostle Paul; because that at the time when the Church was suffering under the persecutions of the Gentiles, he quoted…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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