Psalm 44 is the 44th psalm from the Book of Psalms, composed by sons of Korah

Korahites

The Korahites in the Bible were that portion of the Kohathites that descended from Korah.They were an important branch of the singers of the Kohathite division...

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Judaism

• Verse 9 is found in the repetition of the Amidah
  Amidah
  The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...
  
   during Rosh Hashanah
  Rosh Hashanah
  Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
  
  .
• Parts of verses 14 and 23 form a verse found in the long Tachanun
  Tachanun
  Tachanun or , also called nefillat apayim is part of Judaism's morning and afternoon services, after the recitation of the Amidah, the central part of the daily Jewish prayer services...
  
   recited on Mondays and Thursdays.
• Verse 27 is the sixth verse of Hoshia Et Amecha in Pesukei Dezimra.

Literary Form

Psalm 44 is a Psalm of communal lament

Psalm of communal lament

The psalms of communal lament are a group of Psalm Forms from the Hebrew Bible, classified by their focus on laments expressing deep sorrow for the travails of a nation and as a group asking for God's blessing or intervention...

, indicating that the suffering, in this case from being defeated by enemies, is communal.

This Psalm reflects each of five key elements of a lament, or complaint, Psalm:

• Address: Verse 1

"We have heard with our ears, O God, our ancestors have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old" (44:1)
In this case, the Psalmist is speaking directly to God.

• Complaint: Verses 9-16, 17-19

In these verses, the Psalmist laments that God has been slow to act and has a responsibility to save these people from their enemies.

• Statement of trust in the reliability of God as known by the Psalmist or community: Verse 4-8

The Psalmist recites a history of God's saving acts, which includes reference to God commanding victories for Jacob

Jacob

Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...

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• Petition for God's active intervention: Verses 23-26

These petitions can be quite specific. In verse 26, the Psalmist gives a direct command to God to "Rise up, come to our help."

• Vow of Thanksgiving: Verse 8

This particular Psalm includes a brief vow of thanksgiving in verse 8, when the Psalmist writes "In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever" (44:8)

A Note about Superscripts

Its superscript reads "To the Leader. Of the Korahites. A Maskil". It is addressed to the leader of the Korahites, who were likely a group of people who played a role in the music or worship of the temple. The term "Maskil" means "artistic song" and its inclusion in the superscript of this Psalm indicates that it was originally written with artistic skill.