Psalm 44

“Our fathers have told us … not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them” (v3).  When the psalmist felt tempted to rely on his own strength and sword, he remembered his ancestor’s stories of God’s faithfulness.  Israel never could save themselves; it was always “your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them” (v3). Present circumstances made Israel feel like “sheep to the slaughter” (v11), “but God was still their Savior.”

“For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me” (v6). True strength is found in admitting that we need the Lord, our rock and our defender.