Wisdom and proverbial literature was a leading genre of the ANE. Because of these characteristics of proverbial and wisdom literature, the genre has a high rhetorical function and cannot be read as though it were absolute. Initially since this is in the genre of proverbial literature it is enough on the surface to say that it is poetic. This is clear enough two verses later: "For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth." Does this mean David was actually slithering on the ground? Hardly. Psalm 44 is a psalm of lament that characterizes the writer's feelings and perceptions.

Psalm 44:23
—Does God sleep?
Problem:
According to
Psalm 121:4
, God shall “neither slumber nor sleep.” Yet, in this verse the psalmist calls on God, “Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord?”
Solution:
The psalmist uses “sleep” as a figure of speech referring to the fact that God had deferred judgment, showing at that moment no signs of activity (cf.
Ps. 44:9–10
).