gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
out
יַֽחֲקָרya.cha.kor-
H2713
properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
knoweth
יֹ֝דֵ֗עַyo.De.a'
H3045
to know (properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
secrets
תַּעֲלֻמ֥וֹתta.'a.lu.Mot
H8587
a secret · noun, common feminine plural construct
heart
לֵֽבLev
H3820
the heart · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Jeremiah 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
Jeremiah 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
Job 34:21-22 For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Job 31:4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?
Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, a…
Psalms 139:1-24 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make mani…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 44:17–end
The people of God, being greatly afflicted and oppressed, here apply to him; whither else should they go?
I. By way of appeal, concerning their integrity, which he only is an infallible judge of, and which he will certainly be the rewarder of. Two things they call God to witness to: -
1. That, though they suffered these hard things, yet they kept close to God and to their duty (Psa 44:17): "All this has come upon us, and it is as bad perhaps as bad can be, yet have we not forgotten thee, neither cast off the thoughts of thee nor deserted the worship of thee; for, though we cannot deny but that we have dealt foolishly, yet we have not dealt falsely in thy covenant, so as to cast thee off and…
A solemn appeal to God to witness their constancy.
stretched out . . . hands--gesture of worship (Exo 9:29; Psa 88:9).
John Gill on Psalms 44:21
Shall not God search this out?.... Undoubtedly he would, was it so, and expose it, and punish for it; as he will the Balaamites and children of Jezebel, Revelation 2:18; this seems to be an appeal to God for the truth of all that the church had said concerning her steadfastness and integrity under the most trying exercises;
for he knoweth the secrets of the heart; whether the heart is turned back, or there is any inclination to apostatize from God, or his name is forgotten in it; as well as whether in fact the hand has been stretched out, or prayer made to a strange god, Jeremiah 17:9.
John Calvin on Psalms 44:15-21
Psalm 44:15-21
15. My reproach is daily [145] before me, and the shame of my face hath quite covered me, 16. Because of the voice of him who reproached me; because of the face of the enemy and the avenger. 17. All this has come upon us, and we have not forgotten thee, nor dealt falsely in thy covenant: 18. Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps declined from thy path. 19. Although thou hast wasted us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death: 20. If we have forgotten the name of our God, and have stretched out our hands to a strange god: 21. Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
15 My reproach is daily before me. The Hebre…
The Church Fathers
It is impossible for anyone transgressing the laws or planning to do so to escape your notice, Lord, because you so carefully occupy our minds.
To judge rashly of the secrets of another's heart is sin; and it is unjust to reprove him on suspicion whose works seem not other than good, since God alone is Judge of those things that are unknown to people. He alone "knows the secrets of the heart," and not another.
"Shall not God search this out? For He knoweth the secrets of the heart" (ver. 21). He "knows," and yet He "searches them out"? If He knows the secrets of the heart, what do the words, "Shall not God search it out," do there? He "knows" it in Himself; He "searches it out" for our sakes. For it is for this reason God sometimes "searches a thing out;" and speaks of that becoming known to Himself, which He is Himself making known to thee. He is speaking of His own work, not of His knowledge. We commonly say, "A gladsome day," when it is fine. Yet is it the day itself that experiences delight? No: we speak of the day as gladsome, because it fills us with delight. And we speak of a "sullen sky." Not that there is any such feeling in the clouds, but because men are affected with sullenness at the sight of such an appearance of the skies, it is called sullen for this reason, that it makes us sullen. So also God is said to "know" when He causes us to know. God says to Abraham, "Now I know that thou fearest God." Did He then not know it before then? But Abraham did not know himself till then: for it was in that very trial he came to know himself. ...And God is said to "know" that which He had caused him to know. Did Peter know himself, when he said to the Physician, "I will be with Thee even unto death?" The Physician had felt his pulse, and knew what was going on within His patient's soul: the patient knew it not. The crisis of trial came; and the Physician approved the correctness of His opinion: the sick man gave up his presumption. Thus God at once "knows" it and "searches it out." "He knows it already. Why does He `search it out'?" For thy sake: that thou mayest come to know thine own self, and mayest return thanks to Him that made thee. "Shall not God search it out?"
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Psalms — The psalms are the production of various authors. “Only a portion of the Book of Psalms claims David as its author. Other inspired poets in successive generations added now one now another…
Backsliders · 8:22; — 8:22;
Heart, The · God: Knows — God: Knows
Murmuring · AGAINST GO — AGAINST GO
Secret · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Sin · .Secret sins — .Secret sins
Wisdom Of God, The · Exhibited in knowing: The heart — Exhibited in knowing: The heart
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
(Heb.: 44:18-22) If Israel compares its conduct towards God with this its lot, it cannot possibly regard it as a punishment that it has justly incurred. Construed with the accusative, בּוא signifies, as in Psa 35:8; Psa 36:12, to come upon one, and more especially of an evil lot and of powers that are hostile. שׁקּר, to lie or deceive, with בּ of the object on whom the deception or treachery is practised, as in Psa 89:34. In Psa 44:19 אשּׁוּר is construed as fem., exactly as in Job 31:8; the fut. consec. is also intended as such (as e.g., in Job 3:10; Num 16:14): that our step should have declined from, etc.; inward apostasy is followed by outward wandering and downfall. This is therefore no…
scattered us among the nations: This probably refers to the Exile (see 51:18-19; 89:38-51; 106:40-47; 137).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 44:21
Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
Shall not God search this out? Could such idolatry be concealed from him? Would he not with holy indignation have detected unfaithfulness to itself, even had it been hidden in the heart and unrevealed in the life? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart. He is acquainted with the inner workings of the mind, and therefore this could not have escaped him. Not the heart only which is secret, but the secrets of the heart, which are secrets of the most secret thing, are as open to God as a book to a reader. The reasoning is that the Lord himself knew the people to be sincerely his followers, and therefore was not visiting th…
