September 28
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PSALM 44 DID GOD FORGET OUR AFFLICTION AND OPPRESSION
18 Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our steps departed from your way;
19 yet you have broken us in the place of jackals
and covered us with the shadow of death
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
24 Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground.
26 Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
– Psalm 44:18-26
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A poem inspired by this psalm by ILMA
O Lord, I beseech you to hear my prayer
It seems like you have not listened to my pleadings
Have your forgotten the oppression I have gone through?
It seems like you have not rescued me from wrongdoers
Though I have stayed faithful to honor and praise you
I continue to experience much suffering and afflictions
Why have you hidden your presence from me?
It seems like triumph has been granted to the enemy
Do not turn your deaf ears on me my beloved Master
I will not thrive in this corrupt world without a Savior.
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REFLECTION
• Do you think God forgets the afflictions and oppressions of his people as this psalm mentions? Why or why not?