21. If we were to forget the name of our God and stretch out our hands to a strange god, 22. would not God have sought this? For He knows the secrets of the heart.

22. The Lord "knoweth the secrets of the heart"—knows that the Jews were true worshippers of Him, and did not deviate from false gods.

23. But for your sake we are slain every day, they count us as sheep destined to be slaughtered. 24. Arise, that you are sleeping, O Lord! Awake, do not reject forever.

24. "Arise that you sleep, O Lord!" God's watchfulness over the Jews signifies His active help, and the deprivation of this help is depicted as a state opposite to wakefulness, likened to sleep.

25. Why do you hide your face, forgetting our sorrow and our oppression? 26. For our soul is humbled to dust, our womb is clung to the earth.

26. "Our soul is humbled to dust, our womb is clung to the ground" – we are bent to the ground, overwhelmed by sorrow and the calamity we have experienced.

27. Arise to our aid and deliver us for the sake of Your mercy.

Psalm 44

The inscription "on the musical instrument Shoshan" (in the form of a lily) indicates the type of musical instrument on which the psalm is to be performed: "teaching" indicates the nature of the content: the psalm represents the author's reflection on the event described in the psalm; "sons of Korah" – to writers from the family of Korah, who served as Levites at the temple of Jerusalem. "Song of Love" – the psalm is an expression of the writer's feeling of love for the subject of the hymn.

To whom the psalm is dedicated, and from here, and when it is written, we find a clear answer to these questions in the features of the person to whom the psalm is dedicated here. This person is the king (v. 2); he surpassed all men in his virtues, and especially in his reason (3); His reign is a reign for the establishment of peace, truth, but not for military exploits, although he also has a strong army (5-7); he dwells in luxurious palaces (9) and the kings and princes of the nations worship him together with the queen (13). All these features of the glorified king are exactly applicable to Solomon at the beginning of his reign, when he lived in luxurious palaces, amazed everyone with his wisdom and pomp, strove to strengthen peace and truth in his state, and received from all peoples signs of extraordinary respect and wonder for him.

The reason for writing the psalm can be considered the marriage of Solomon with the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt. There are indications of this in verses 10-11, where the writer, addressing the queen, advises her to forget her nation and her parents, which would be superfluous if the queen were Jewish.

I sing the praises of the king (2). Thou art the most beautiful of all the sons of men, arm thyself with thy glory and beauty, and reign to establish the truth (3-5). All enemies will fall before Thee, Thou art the king of righteousness, and Thou art glorified from Thy palaces (6-9). You, O queen, give up your family and homeland: then the king will love you especially, and all the nobles of the people will come to worship you (10-13). All the glory of the queen is in her inner merits. She, followed by the other daughters of the kings, goes to the king in his palace (14-16). Thy sons shall be princes over all the earth, and Thy name shall be glorified forever (17-18). 1. To the head of the choir. On the musical instrument Shoshan. Teaching. The sons of Korah. Song of Love. 2. A good word has poured out of my heart; I say, My song is about the King; my tongue is the reed of a scribe.

2. "A good word has poured out of my heart" — from my heart, like an overflowing vessel, this solemn and joyful song, full of good wishes to the king, naturally and irresistibly flowed; the real good word of the writer is a sincere, poured out song in honor of the Tsar from the fullness of feeling. — "My tongue is the reed of a scribe." Speed in writing was his great virtue; The author, wishing that his language should express his thoughts and feelings in exact words corresponding to his desire, as quickly and accurately as the scribe's reed.

This verse is an introduction to the content of the psalm and the singing of the King depicted in the latter.