No, not by their own swords
did they take possession of the land—
their own arms didn’t save them.
No, it was your strong hand, your arm,
and the light of your face
because you were pleased with them.
Psalm 44:4
A wonderful thing about the Bible: when we’re reading quietly, God gives us a feeling of how what we’re reading reminds us of something about our own lives. With this psalm, for example, you and I are joining millions of people who have prayed this psalm for thousands of years. They found hope for themselves when their suffering was so great.
The psalm reminds me of a movie I saw that tells the story of some of the thousands of children who leave their homes in Central America. It’s called, “Which Way Home?” The children ride on tops of freight trains, anxious to make it to a border crossing to the United States. Many die along the way, falling off the trains to be crushed by the great wheels of the train.
Pray this psalm for all the suffering children in the world. You’ll grow in love and compassion.
Examples of Bible Breaths Learn More…
You set the afflicted free. v. 2
Victory by Your right hand v. 3
Thanks to Your name forever v. 8
Redeemed by Your steadfast love v. 26
Check out Study Tools in BibleGateway.
I especially recommend the free resource
in Matthew Henry’s Commentary.
We read the Psalms in numerical order on Wednesdays
These Firestarters are from a new edition of The Bible Through the Seasons being developed for families with children. For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook. You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or table! Check the menu options at the site for more information.
The Bible Through the Seasons 