Psalm 44:26 kjv
Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.
Psalm 44:26 nkjv
Arise for our help, And redeem us for Your mercies' sake.
Psalm 44:26 niv
Rise up and help us; rescue us because of your unfailing love.
Psalm 44:26 esv
Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
Psalm 44:26 nlt
Rise up! Help us!
Ransom us because of your unfailing love.
Psalm 44 26 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Pss 3:7 | Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! | Urgent call for God to act and deliver. |
| Pss 7:6 | Arise, O LORD, in your anger; lift yourself up... | Plea for divine action against enemies. |
| Pss 10:12 | Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand... | Cry for God to interpose for the afflicted. |
| Pss 17:13 | Arise, O LORD! Confront him, bring him down! | Desire for God's immediate and powerful response. |
| Pss 35:23 | Stir yourself to wake up for my vindication! | Intense longing for God to awaken and bring justice. |
| Pss 51:1 | Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love... | Seeking divine mercy based on His character. |
| Pss 52:8 | I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. | Expression of confidence in God's loyal love. |
| Pss 59:10 | My God in his steadfast love will meet me... | Assurance of God's loving provision. |
| Pss 63:3 | Because your steadfast love is better than life... | Emphasizes the surpassing value of God's unfailing love. |
| Pss 85:7 | Grant us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation. | Direct plea for the manifestation of His lovingkindness. |
| Pss 89:1-2 | I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD forever... | Proclamation of God's enduring covenant faithfulness. |
| Pss 103:8 | The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. | Describes God's rich character of lovingkindness. |
| Pss 107:1 | Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! | Call to praise for His perpetual lovingkindness. |
| Pss 107:2 | Let the redeemed of the LORD say so... Whom He has redeemed from trouble. | Those delivered witness to God's redemptive power. |
| Isa 43:1 | Fear not, for I have redeemed you... | God's reassuring declaration of redemption. |
| Isa 44:22 | Return to me, for I have redeemed you. | God's redemptive action linked to calling His people back. |
| Isa 54:8 | With everlasting love I will have compassion on you... | God's commitment to His people's restoration based on eternal love. |
| Lam 3:22-23 | The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end... | Declaration of God's never-failing mercy and faithfulness. |
| Hos 13:14 | Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? | God's sovereign power to deliver from ultimate doom. |
| Rom 8:36 | As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long..." | New Testament quotation of Ps 44:22, identifying with the suffering. |
| Rom 8:38-39 | For I am sure that neither death nor life... will be able to separate us from the love of God. | Assurance of God's unbreaking love in Christ, echoing ḥesed. |
| Gal 3:13 | Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law... | Christ's sacrificial act as the ultimate redemption. |
| Eph 1:7 | In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses... | Spiritual redemption and forgiveness through Christ. |
| 1 Pet 1:18-19 | knowing that you were ransomed... with the precious blood of Christ... | The high cost and efficacy of Christ's redemptive work. |
Psalm 44 verses
Psalm 44 26 Meaning
Psalm 44:26 is an urgent and desperate plea by the psalmist to God for active and decisive intervention. It implores God, who seems dormant or withdrawn, to "arise" and swiftly provide "help" and "redeem" His people from their distress and oppression. The remarkable basis for this appeal is not the worthiness or performance of the people, but solely God's own unwavering nature – His "steadfast love" (ḥesed), emphasizing that their hope and deliverance are rooted in God's covenant faithfulness and boundless mercy, irrespective of current circumstances.
Psalm 44 26 Context
Psalm 44:26 is the climactic plea of a communal lament. The chapter begins by recalling God's mighty acts of deliverance in Israel's past (Ps 44:1-8), asserting that salvation comes not from human strength but from God. The psalmist and the community affirm their present faithfulness to God's covenant (Ps 44:17-22), emphasizing they have not turned away. Yet, in stark contrast to God's past actions and their current faithfulness, they recount severe national humiliation, defeat, and continuous suffering (Ps 44:9-16). They perceive themselves as being "given up to be eaten like sheep" and "scattered among the nations" (Ps 44:11), even being "slaughtered all the day long" (Ps 44:22, quoted in Rom 8:36). This profound suffering leads to questioning God's apparent inaction, where they cry out that God seems "asleep" and has "hidden His face" (Ps 44:23-24). Therefore, verse 26 serves as the desperate and final petition for God to shatter His perceived silence and intervene based on His unchanging, covenantal love, resolving the distressing paradox of the righteous suffering in spite of their loyalty to Him.
Psalm 44 26 Word analysis
- Arise (עוּר, ‘ûr): An imperative verb meaning "wake up," "stir," or "incite." Here, it's a fervent command to God, implying He is perceived as dormant or unresponsive (echoing Ps 44:23, "Why are you sleeping, O Lord?"). It demands immediate, decisive divine action, often used for God rising to judge or to save. It reflects the deep distress of the petitioners and their yearning for a dramatic reversal of circumstances.
- for our help (לְעֶזְרָתֵנוּ, lə‘ezrāṯēnû): From ‘ezra (עֶזְרָה), meaning "help," "assistance," "succor." It specifies the nature of the desired divine intervention—not judgment, but assistance directed toward their deliverance from dire circumstances. It underscores their complete dependence on God as their sole source of support in their time of weakness.
- and redeem us (וּפְדֵנוּ, ûfəḏênû): From pādâ (פָּדָה), meaning "to ransom," "redeem," "deliver." This term carries strong connotations of liberation from slavery, danger, or death, often through a decisive act of power or payment. It calls upon God to rescue them from a situation where they are held captive by distress, akin to the historical redemption of Israel from Egyptian bondage, a powerful act of salvation.
- for the sake of (לְמַעַן, ləma‘an): A crucial prepositional phrase establishing the motivation or reason for the requested divine action. It indicates that the appeal is not based on the petitioners' merit or righteous suffering, but on something external and higher – God's intrinsic character.
- your steadfast love! (חַסְדֶּךָ, ḥasdekkā): From ḥesed (חֶסֶד), one of the most significant theological terms in the Old Testament, denoting loyal love, covenant faithfulness, unfailing love, mercy, or lovingkindness. It's God's unwavering commitment to His covenant relationship, independent of human worthiness. This is the ultimate ground of their hope and desperate plea, appealing to God's very nature and His historical fidelity to Israel. The phrase "for the sake of your steadfast love" underscores that their hope for redemption lies solely in God's immutable grace and fidelity, not their deservingness, making the plea a profound act of faith even in inexplicable suffering.
Psalm 44 26 Bonus section
The appeal to "ḥesed" in Psalm 44:26 highlights a profound theological paradox inherent in biblical laments: how can a faithful God allow His covenant people to suffer so intensely when they believe they have upheld their end of the covenant? The psalmist finds resolution, not in an answer to why, but in an appeal to who God is. This emphasizes that God's lovingkindness is sovereign and ultimate, transcending human comprehension of justice and immediate circumstances. It implies that true hope rests in God's faithfulness to Himself and His promises, rather than His people's performance. The raw honesty of this lament, challenging God's apparent inactivity, provides a scriptural template for faithful protest and appeals to God's mercy in times of great tribulation, serving as a comfort that doubt and questioning can coexist with deep faith rooted in God's enduring love.
Psalm 44 26 Commentary
Psalm 44:26 is the raw and poignant culmination of a communal lament, articulating the intense tension between a believing community's perceived abandonment and their unwavering theological understanding of God's character. The dual imperatives "Arise" and "redeem us" are born of desperate hope, reflecting a people pushed to the brink who, despite feeling forsaken ("sleeping," "hidden his face," v. 23-24), still know to whom they must turn. The power of this verse lies in its appeal's foundation: "for the sake of your steadfast love." This is not a transactional plea based on human righteousness or suffering as a claim to divine action, but a deep theological statement. It asserts that God's intervention is motivated not by His people's merit, but by His own unchanging covenant faithfulness (ḥesed). Even in moments of extreme bewilderment and suffering, when God's ways are inexplicable, the psalmist clings to His inherent nature – His lovingkindness that does not cease. This verse teaches us to appeal to God's character and promises even when our circumstances seem to contradict them, reminding us that grace is the ultimate driver of salvation. It echoes across the suffering of generations, encouraging fervent, faith-filled prayer in the darkest hours.