How dare you!

How could anyone dare talk to God this way: “Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?” (Psalm 44:23) What? How dare this writer? This is reminiscent of Elijah’s taunt of the prophets of Baal, at the contest on Mount Carmel:

And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” (1 Kings 18:27)

The author of the psalm seems to be putting the Lord God into the same category as the pagan gods, who can’t answer because they have no real existence. It seems rude in the extreme, blasphemous even, to suggest God has fallen asleep and we have to wake Him up.

Let’s look at the context—as always, it’s crucial that we do this.

Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love! (Psalm 44:23-26)

Immediately we see that this is not at all like the pagan practices that Elijah taunts. This prayer is made based on the very character of God Himself, appealing to His steadfast love. (Or mercy, or lovingkindness, or faithful love in other translations.)

In fact, if we look at the entire psalm (please do!) we see that the writer starts off recounting how God has worked for His people, and expressing complete confidence in God’s ability to save them in their distress. He says, “You are my King, O God!” (verse 4) So this is a prayer of faith, not a questioning of whether God is really there.

I think that the prayer of this psalm is something we can powerfully identify with. Haven’t we been in places where it seemed like God was paying no attention? That He’s forgotten us, or doesn’t care? What do we do when we’re in places like that?

We learn from this psalm, I believe, that we can indeed dare to pour out our anguish, our frustration, our questioning. We know what it feels like when “our soul is bowed down to the dust.” It’s okay to take these feelings to our God. In fact it’s important that we take them to God, and not simply turn away from Him in bitterness.

The psalmist captures our mixed feelings. In spite of his anguish he still can say, “In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever.” (verse 8) He may not understand why God seems aloof, but he remains loyal to Him, still believes in Him: “If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.” (verses 20-21)

The very next verse is a statement we might recognize: “Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” (verse 22) Why does this sound familiar? Because it’s quoted in the New Testament. Paul quotes it in Romans 8:36. Look it up, and read the context. Paul says that it’s about believers, and it’s about remaining confident in the Lord even when persecuted.

Which means the psalm is a prophecy. Long in advance, God tells us He knows the followers of His Son will suffer persecution. This psalm is here, Paul says, speaking for us in our mixed emotions. Dare we put those feelings into words and pour them out? Of course we do. While still believing, “You are my King, O God!”

Love, Paul