Read Psalm 44 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph:
44:1-26 {p} Israel’s past salvation amid present suffering.
Psa 44:1-26 Chiastic structure:
The second half of the psalm makes a Comparison and Contrast with the first half, being nearly its exact opposite. Does God push back our adversaries, or make us turn back from them? Does He put those who hate us to shame, or does He cover our faces with shame? Does He command salvation, or the shadow of death? Does He delight in us, or reject us?
To delight in is in Hebrew, Strong’s H7521, רצה ratsah, a primitive verb meaning, “to be pleased with, to accept.” The ancient pictographs are resh + tsadey + hey.
resh ר = head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
tsadey צ ,ץ = trail, thus a man concealed, journey, chase, hunt
hey ה = man w/ raised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
The parable the Hebrew Root Word is telling, is of the man (resh) arriving (tsadey, in the sense that a trail has a destination) to the heart (hey) of another. The hey pictograph has a wide range of applications. The man has his arms upraised. He can be looking at something and pointing it out, so looking, behold, revelation or wonderment. It is also associated with a sharp or long intake of breath. He can be exclaiming, so excitement or emotion, rapid breathing. He can be worshiping, so introspection, meditation, that which concerns the heart.
We noted to reject yesterday.
We saw in Psalm 43, that God has accepted me, not rejected me. Then why does this Psalm continue the rejection theme? It brings into relief that circumstances do not necessarily reflect reality, but God’s Word. When circumstances contradict God’s Word, which one is lying? Circumstances. The circumstances Israel was facing: adversaries, reproach, shame, seemed solid; but the reality was God’s acceptance of them and delight in them (vs. 3), not rejection of them. The fact is, there will be shadow of death circumstances sometimes in our life; but the reality?
Even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psa 23:4
If there are questions, this is a good resource:
God has accepted me – Christine Miller
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