Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 44:24

"Wherefore hidest thou thy face, And forgettest our affliction and our oppression?" — Psalms 44:24 (ASV)

Wherefore hidest thou thy face? — See the notes at Psalms 13:1. Why do you turn away from us, refuse to aid us, and leave us to these unpitied sufferings?

And forgettest our affliction and our oppression — Our trials, and the wrongs that are committed against us. These are earnest appeals. They are the pleadings of the oppressed and the wronged. The language is such as people would use in addressing one another; and, when applied to God, it must be understood as such language.

As used in the Psalms, this language denotes earnestness, but not irreverence; it is solemn petition, not dictation; it is affectionate pleading, not complaint. It indicates depth of suffering and distress and is the strongest language that could be used to denote entire helplessness and dependence. At the same time, it is language that implies that the cause for which they suffered was the cause of God, and that they might properly call on him to interfere on behalf of his own friends.