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Psalms 44:4

KJV

Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.

Read it in context “Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for…”
Start reading at Psalms 44:4 (Psalms 44:4 to Psalms 44:12). An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.

The second collection continues varied prayers and songs and closes with royal prayer and a doxology; its individual psalms retain distinct voices and occasions.

  1. 44:4 Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
  2. 44:5 Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
  3. 44:6 For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
  4. 44:7 But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.
  5. 44:8 In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.
  6. 44:9 But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.
  7. 44:10 Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.
  8. 44:11 Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.
  9. 44:12 Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.

Who

What

When

Where

How

Cited: Psalms 44:4, Psalms 44:12, Luke 24:44, Acts 2:25, Acts 2:30, Acts 2:31

Who wrote it, and how we know

David and others, including Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon, and Moses Named in Scripture
What Scripture saysThe superscriptions name their writers: David most often, and also Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon, and Moses. The New Testament quotes psalms as David's words. Psalm 3:1Psalm 90:1Acts 2:25Acts 4:25
Early traditionJewish and Christian tradition preserves the superscriptions as ancient.
What is debatedSome scholars regard certain superscriptions as later additions. The collection was assembled over centuries.

Related passages

Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).

Macro-Structure

See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.

Macro-Structure of Psalms

Psalms is a collection of prayers and songs with multiple attributed writers and many unspecified occasions. Read each psalm as a poetic unit and distinguish a speaker's lament, petition, vow, and praise. The five-book arrangement does not make all psalms one continuous speech.

Psalms 1:1 Psalms 41:13 Psalms 150:6

FocusPrayer, the righteous, and the king

Connection to the wholeThe opening collection brings individual and communal prayer into the setting introduced by Psalms 1 and 2, ending with a doxology.
interpretation
Book II
Psalms 42:1–72:20 You are here · 44:4

FocusDistress, kingship, and praise

Connection to the wholeThe second collection continues varied prayers and songs and closes with royal prayer and a doxology; its individual psalms retain distinct voices and occasions.
interpretation

FocusThe sanctuary, the nation, and covenant questions

Connection to the wholeThis collection gives prominent space to communal distress and worship, ending with the tension between the Davidic promise and the king's humiliation.
interpretation

FocusThe LORD's reign and Israel's history

Connection to the wholeThese psalms include reflection on human frailty, the LORD's kingship, worship, and Israel's history, and close with a doxology.
interpretation

FocusThanksgiving, pilgrimage, and concluding praise

Connection to the wholeThe final collection gathers varied songs, the songs of degrees, and concluding calls to praise. Each psalm should first be read in its own poetic movement.
interpretation

Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.

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