Psalms 44:2

2. With thy hand By the direct interposition of thy power.

Plantedst them That is, the Hebrew people. The figure is borrowed from Exodus 15:17, and is often used: Psalms 80:8; Isaiah 5:1-7. It denotes a fixed abode, as opposed to a wandering or nomadic life.

Afflict the people The nations of Canaan. The word signifies to do evil to. By their corrupt and cruel practices they had forfeited their right to the land. God gave them warning to depart, and many did, as Procopius informs us, spreading themselves over Northern Africa.

Cast them out This may apply to the Canaanitish nations. But the verb often means, in a good sense, to enlarge, to send forth, to make free, and thus may better apply to Israel, who enlarged, or sent forth, his root and branch. This accords withthe figure of planting just used, and with Psalms 80:11, “She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.” It also better preserves the antithetic parallelism. Thus Conant:

“Thou, with thy hand, didst dispossess the heathen,

And them thou plantedst;

Didst crush peoples,

And them thou didst extend.”

Or Bishop Mant:

“Thy hand the people forth didst cast,

And Jacob plant instead,

Thy hand the stranger tribes didst waste,

And make thine Israel spread.”