By Jeremy Bell
Reading Psalm 44 with notes on March Music. Faith, Hope, and Love, discovered in truth in the writings of a people God has preserved for thousands of years. The Nature of Joy is not defined by failing humans. It is experienced through a perfect God who restores relationship to any who would respond.
This is my personal study on Psalm 44 according to my motif analysis. I have taken the elements of the analysis of the Psalm and grouped them together. So, the entirety of the Psalm is here, but in a different order. My hope is to share insights as to what the author intended to convey. This is a theologically sound practice, though good theology does not rely on one observation point alone. Take time to read the Psalm, pray on it, and test it in scripture to gain a good understanding of what God is saying through the author.
March Music History
March music is often traced back to the Ottoman empire of the 16th century, though music and the military have been storied in the Old Testament as far back as Joshua and Jericho. The Lord defeated Jericho through Joshua with priests and trumpets around 1400 B.C. March music was used to convey orders and uplift the soldiers. An army is led, focus drives a collective forward. Music funnels, inspires, directs, pushes, and reminds.
For one side, their musicians remind them they still have hope, a sound that not all is lost. For the other side, a reminder that they have not given up. Watch out, they are coming, and the louder it gets, doom and defeat are at the door. Death, though certain for every life, is tragic and sad. Death in war is tragic and sad to a level that most can not comprehend. To be involved as an instrument of death is an attack of the heart, an attack of reality. Music reaches places in the soul no army commander can shout into. This Psalm addresses a battle within the heart.
From my analysis, Psalm 44 is in VerseArrow form. A verse is one idea that still has a breakdown of pattern, but those patterns are contained in one idea. In this form, the motif rises and falls from a center point, or center idea all inside a verse. Look for it. I have identified 4 distinct sections, or elements. These sections are much like the sections of a piece of music, each related, but distributed in a pattern throughout the Psalm. This may sound unclear, but it is visually represented in my book, Psalms in Motif Visualization. You can find it here!
[ Psalm 44 Regrouped According to my Motif Analysis ]
We have heard with our ears, God;
our fathers have told us what work you did in their days,
in the days of old.
In God we have made our boast all day long.
We will give thanks to your name forever. Selah.
But now you rejected us, and brought us to dishonor,
and don’t go out with our armies.
Rise up to help us.
Redeem us for your loving kindness’ sake.
You drove out the nations with your hand,
but you planted them.
You afflicted the peoples,
but you spread them abroad.
For they didn’t get the land in possession by their own sword,
neither did their own arm save them;
but your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face,
because you were favorable to them.
But you have saved us from our adversaries,
and have shamed those who hate us.
You make us turn back from the adversary.
Those who hate us take plunder for themselves.
You have made us like sheep for food,
and have scattered us among the nations.
You sell your people for nothing,
and have gained nothing from their sale.
You make us a reproach to our neighbors,
a scoffing and a derision to those who are around us.
You make us a byword among the nations,
a shaking of the head among the peoples.
Wake up!
Why do you sleep, Lord?
Arise!
Don’t reject us forever.
Why do you hide your face,
and forget our affliction and our oppression?
For our soul is bowed down to the dust.
Our body clings to the earth.
God, you are my King.
Command victories for Jacob!
For I will not trust in my bow,
neither will my sword save me.
All day long my dishonor is before me,
and shame covers my face,
at the taunt of one who reproaches and verbally abuses,
because of the enemy and the avenger.
All this has come on us,
yet we haven’t forgotten you.
We haven’t been false to your covenant.
Yes, for your sake we are killed all day long.
We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.
Through you, we will push down our adversaries.
Through your name, we will tread down those who rise up against us.
Our heart has not turned back,
neither have our steps strayed from your path,
though you have crushed us in the haunt of jackals,
and covered us with the shadow of death.
If we have forgotten the name of our God,
or spread out our hands to a strange god,
won’t God search this out?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
March Music is Still Around
Today, march music is performed for visiting foreign dignitaries when arriving before top officials of the land. It is meant as an honor as well as hierarchical recognition. Military music is still used to boost the morale of the soldiers and carry messages of hope and perseverance. I wonder how many military songs would be considered contemplative. This is what the writer, or writers, of this Psalm has introduced to the mood of the song. Everything that a military orchestra might represent still stands. Dignitaries are close by, friend and enemy. Anxiety surrounding the ending of the battle, and appeal to the leader.
The military march music drives the soldier on, follow the leader and hope for victory. This Psalm draws the soldier to remember that God is leader, God has done great things before, and He will again. But it goes a step further with a contemplative note. God knows the secrets of the heart. If I have forgotten the name of my God, or spread out my hands to a strange god, won’t God search this out? This is not a physical position of the soldier under the commander’s charge. This is a secret state of the heart. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things.”
The Battle and the Heart
The battle is not simply about superior strength or cunning. The music in the heart matters and sings out of the mouth and arms of a person. It’s about how we treat an enemy; it’s about how we treat our captors. It’s about endurance and perseverance to the one who has authority over creation and the one who sees the heart.
King Nebuchadnezzar commanded all peoples, nations, and languages, that when all kinds of music was heard, they were to fall down and worship the golden image that he set up. Whoever did not, would be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace.” It was likely some sort of military march music that signaled the worship of the king. Three stood and refused and Nebuchadnezzar demanded of them, “Who is that god who will deliver you out of my hands?” They answered him, “Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
Types of Perseverance
Facing an enemy is not exempt from the Christian. Facing sorrow and hardship and battle is not removed from the life a person who has faith in Jesus. But the heart is changed. Without Christ, a person only has their understanding and faulty human leaders to trust and follow. The song of this heart is melancholy, remorseful, chaotic, and often needs a pounding drum to push to live another day in another battle. A heart changed by having faith in Jesus and hope in his salvation sings contemplative battle songs. Songs that drive for a prize greater than the battle and enemies. Marching tunes that push to persevere through sorrow and pain to the God who has endured and persevered through pain and sorrow. A heart clothed with the life of Jesus, a gift given by God, is a heart singing in The Nature of Joy.
Resources and Notes
All scripture in this article is from the WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE (WEB). The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament.
For more related to this blog, check out my post on Practical Life Strategy Steps Created in Root Cause Abundance.
This is a reliable translation, but it is always good to read other translations as well. Biblegateway.com has a multitude of translations to read from. It is a great resource.
Another great resource is Biblehub.com. There are multiple translations, commentaries, and so much more. Great research can be done on this platform.
One more I use regularly is Gotquestions.org. This is a great site to answer questions and find threads of related questions.
There are many resources. The key is that God wants relationship directly with you, the individual. His primary source for revealing who He is and growing in intimacy is His word, the scriptures. Don’t just read for instruction. Analyze and read for understanding. Explore, ask questions, and be transformed in Jesus every moment you possibly can. There is no dispute this is a key desire of God. People are brough to the Father, in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This… This is the Nature of Joy.
Jeremy is an author, musician, and business intelligence manager. His mission is to equip and encourage those in Christ, to equip and encourage others in Christ. Jesus, Christ, is the Nature of Joy and melody of the heart. Jeremy unites business analytics (business intelligence), songs, and Scripture for Christian living in the power of the Holy Spirit.