What does Psalm 44:12 mean?

The psalmist continues mourning Israel's recent humiliating defeat (Psalm 44:9–11). Here, he accuses God of handing over His people for almost no price, at all. The suggestion is that God placed little value on His people. Of course, this is an expression of the writer's anguish, and not a fair assessment of the Lord's perspective. Other passages record fallible people bringing frustrated accusations against God (Habakkuk 1:2–4; Psalm 73:2–3). Those same passages return to a faithful, trusting approach to the Lord.

Hardship is not a sign of God's hatred—it can sometimes be an outworking of His love. At times, God provides discipline, just as a loving father must discipline his children when they do wrong (Hebrews 12:3–11). Judges 2:13–14 records God's punitive discipline of His people when they committed idolatry. This passage says, "They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel…And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies."

The psalmist's lament grows progressively worse as he describes what happened to Israel (Psalm 44:13–16). The people were disgraced, abandoned, defeated, plundered, slaughtered, scattered, and sold. Part of the writer's angst is his view that Israel has done nothing to deserve their current suffering (Psalm 44:17–22). The reference to people being "sold" might connect to Psalm 60 and Amos 1:6, referring to an attack on Israel when the armies were occupied with other battles.