Link Psalm 44:19 to God's presence in pain.
Connect Psalm 44:19 with another scripture about God's presence in suffering.

Opening the Text

Psalm 44:19: “But You have crushed us in the place of jackals; You have covered us with deepest darkness.”

Psalm 23:4: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”


Shared Imagery: Darkness and Desolation

• “Deepest darkness” and “valley of the shadow of death” translate the same Hebrew idea (tsalmāwet—shadow-like death-darkness).

• Both psalms picture believers surrounded by hostile terrain, whether jackal-haunted wasteland (Psalm 44) or a death-shadowed valley (Psalm 23).

• The Bible treats such imagery literally: real valleys, real wilderness, real enemies—yet also as a spiritual picture of any season when life feels bleak and God seems distant.


Contrasting Voices: Lament and Confidence

Psalm 44: The community cries out, honest about being “crushed.” God’s hand feels heavy; His face feels hidden.

Psalm 23: David speaks in first-person trust—“You are with me.” God’s shepherd-presence changes the experience of the same darkness.

• Scripture permits both tones. Lament is not unbelief; confidence is not denial. They can coexist in the same walk of faith.


The Connector: God’s Unbroken Presence

Psalm 23 supplies the truth Psalm 44 longs for: God remains with His people even when discipline or opposition closes in.

• The rod and staff (symbols of protection and guidance) in Psalm 23 imply that the crushing described in Psalm 44 is never aimless; it is overseen by a faithful Shepherd.


Reinforcing Passages

Isaiah 43:2: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you…”

Hebrews 13:5: “…for God has said: ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.’”

Romans 8:38-39: nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”


Living the Truth Today

• Acknowledge the weight: seasons of “deepest darkness” are real and can involve divine discipline, persecution, or inexplicable hardship.

• Hold fast to the Shepherd: His presence is as literal as the valley itself, guaranteed by His unchanging word.

• Look for His rod and staff: expect tangible guidance and protection—sometimes through Scripture, sometimes through fellow believers, always through the Spirit.

• Anticipate comfort: even in crushing, God’s goal is restoration, maturity, and greater dependence on Him (2 Corinthians 4:17).


Summary

Psalm 44:19 shows suffering saints with honest lament; Psalm 23:4 anchors that lament in the unshakeable reality of God’s accompanying presence. The same Lord who permits the valley also walks every step within it, ensuring that darkness never has the last word.

How can we apply Psalm 44:19 when feeling abandoned by God?
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