Psalm 44
Words: Brady and Tate, A New Version of the Psalms of David
1 O Lord, our fathers oft have told
in our attentive ears,
Thy wonders in their days performed,
and elder times than theirs:
2 How thou, to plant them here, didst drive
the heathen from this land;
Dispeopled by repeated strokes
of thy avenging hand.
3 For, not their courage; nor their sword,
to them possession gave;
No strength, that from unequal force
their fainting troops could save:
But thy right hand and pow'rful arm,
whose succor they implored;
Thy presence with the chosen race,
who thy great Name adored.
4 As thee their God our fathers owned,
thou art our sov'reign King;
O therefore, as thou didst to them,
to us deliv'rance bring.
5 Through thy victorious Name our arms
the proudest foes shall quell,
And crush them with repeated strokes,
as oft as they rebel.
6 I'll neither trust my bow nor sword,
when I in fight engage;
7 But thee, who hast our foes subdued,
and shamed their spiteful rage.
8 To thee the triumph we ascribe,
from whom the conquest came;
In God we will rejoice all day,
and ever bless his Name.
The Second Part.
9 But thou hast cast us off, and now
most shamefully we yield;
For thou no more vouchsaf'st to lead
our armies to the field.
10 Since when, to ev'ry upstart foe
we turn our backs in fight;
And with our spoil their malice feast,
who bear us ancient spite.
11 To slaughter doomed, we fall, like sheep,
into their buteh'ring hands!
Or (what's more wretched yet) survive,
dispersed through heathen lands.
12 Thy people thou hast sold for slaves,
and set their price so low,
That not thy treasure by the sale,
but their disgrace might grow.
13,14 Reproached by all the nations round,
the heathen's byword grown,
Whose scorn of us is both in speech
and mocking gestures shown.
15 Confusion strikes me blind, my face
in conscious shame I hide,
16 While we are scoffed, and God blasphemed,
by their licentious pride.
The Third Part.
17 On us this heap of woe is fall'n,
all this we have endured;
Yet have not, Lord, renounced thy Name,
or faith to thee abjured.
18 But in thy righteous paths have kept
our hearts and steps with care;
19 Though thou hast broken all our strength,
and we almost despair.
20 Could we, forgetting thy great Name,
on other gods rely,
21 And not the Searcher of all hearts
the treach'rous crime descry?
22 Thou seest what suff'rings for thy sake
we every day sustain;
All slaughtered, or reserved like sheep
appointed to be slain.
23 Awake, arise; let seeming sleep
no longer thee detain;
Nor let us, Lord, who sue to thee,
for ever sue in vain.
24 O wherefore hidest thou thy face,
from our afflicted state>
25 Whose souls and bodies sink to earth,
with griefs oppressive weight.
26 Arise, O Lord, and timely haste
to our deliv'rance make;
Redeem us, Lord,-if not for ours,
yet for thy mercy's sake.
