Wake up, Lord!

Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us for ever. Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and   oppression? Psalm 44:23-24

Psalm 44 is almost unique in the whole book – apart from anything else, it springs a big surprise which forces us to re-think a lot of what we usually take for granted. (Why not read it right through now and see if you can spot the surprise… Please have it open beside you anyway.)

It divides into four main sections…

1. 1. Give God the glory for past blessings - verses 1-8.

The writer looks back to the ways God has blessed Israel in the past. He is clearly thinking mainly of the events of the Exodus, when God brought Israel out of captivity and led them through the desert to a new home in the Promised Land.

He highlights three important things. First, it was God who did this, not their own military might (verse 3). Second, he didn’t do it because they were especially good. No, far from it! He did it purely because he had set his love on them and decided to use them. Third, what applies to the nation applies also to the individual – notice how “them” in verses 1-3 gives way to “me” in verses 4-8, especially verse 6.

So… we are to expect blessings in our lives – but we must never take credit for them. To God be the glory! Without him we can achieve simply nothing.

2.   2. Be honest about disappointments - verses 9-16.

“But” can be a very important word in the Bible. It turns things round – as it does here in verse 9 (and no, this isn’t the surprise I mentioned at the start). Yes, says the psalmist, there were wonderful blessings in the past, “but now you have rejected us and humbled us…”. What’s going on, Lord!

He almost seems angry with God, almost blaming him for going back on his promises. The Message Bible translates verse 9: “But now you’ve walked off and left us, you’ve disgraced us and won’t fight for us.”

Many of us would hesitate to talk to God in such a way. But given that he knows the feelings of our hearts, why try to cover it up? God’s shoulders are big enough to take it!

Is it time you came to God for a real unburdening session? – even if that means virtually letting rip?

3.   3. Don’t wallow in false guilt – verses 17-22.

It’s in verse 17 that the psalmist springs his surprise. Usually, reading the psalms, we would expect it to say, “All right, Lord, we confess that we have failed you and sinned against you – the reason you have abandoned us is in order to punish us; it’s only what we deserve…”

But no! The writer is adamant that all these bad things have happened in spite of their continuing faithfulness. And, in verses 18-19 he lays it on pretty strong: “Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path. But…”.

In verses 20-22, he seems to be saying: “God is perfectly able to see neglect on the part of his people and to react accordingly, as he sees fit. No problem there. But that isn’t what’s happening here!” No – “It’s for your sake that we face death all day long…”

In other words, God has a purpose – we might even call it a secret agenda - in allowing these things to happen, and it isn’t simply to punish us for our sins. Sometimes we simply have to summon up our faith and trust that his hidden purposes “will ripen fast”, as the hymn puts it

So… what? The application is that we should not accuse ourselves when we are not in fact at fault. There is such a thing as false guilt. God wants us humble, no doubt about that – but he doesn’t want us grovelling (unless, of course, there is a real reason for grovelling); he doesn’t want us “beating ourselves up”.

This, by the way, seems also to be what John means in 1 John 3:19-20: there are times “when our hearts condemn us” – but when that condemnation is unnecessary, and we should rather “set our heart at rest in his presence”. Relax! Rest in God’s gracious love!

Are any of us carrying a weight of unnecessary guilt? accusing ourselves when we have no need to? It’s time to stop it!

4.   4. Cry out to God! – verses 23-26.

Have you ever cried out to God to wake up?

Again, most of us would probably hesitate to do that. But the psalmist is prepared to! What wonderful boldness! “Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep?...”

There’s a close affinity between the psalmist and Job. The psalmist pleads with God on behalf of the nation to wake up; Job does much the same thing on his own behalf. But the message is basically the same.

There’s a lot we can glean from this powerful psalm. Not least…

Approach God with complete honesty; share with him all your doubts and fears, your hurts and disappointments. If you are conscious of sin, then of course recognise it and confess it. But if not – well, why not take a leaf out of the psalmist’s book? “Come on, Lord, wake up! It’s time you exerted yourself on my behalf!”

He can take it!

Dear Lord God, please tune my heart to the promptings of the Holy Spirit – to feel guilty and bad when that is as it should be, but to know the forgiving comfort of your love at times when my heart is right with you. Amen.