Psalms 143

1 Hear my prayer, O LORD; ¹give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your ²faithfulness answer me, in your ³righteousness!

2 ⁴Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous ⁵before you.

3 For the enemy has pursued my soul; ⁶he has crushed my life to the ground; ⁷he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

4 Therefore my spirit ⁸faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.

5 ⁹I remember the days of old; ¹⁰I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.

6 ¹¹I stretch out my hands to you; ¹²my soul thirsts for you like ¹³a parched land. Selah

7 ¹⁴Answer me quickly, O LORD! ¹⁵My spirit fails! ¹⁶Hide not your face from me, ¹⁷lest I be like those who go down to the pit.

8 ¹⁸Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I ¹⁹trust. ²⁰Make me know the way I should go, ²¹for to you I lift up my soul.

9 ²²Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD! I have fled to you for refuge!^[a]

10 ²³Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! ²⁴Let your good Spirit ²⁵lead me on ²⁶level ground!

11 ²⁷For your name's sake, O LORD, ²⁸preserve my life! In your righteousness ²⁹bring my soul out of trouble!

12 And in your steadfast love you will ³⁰cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your ³¹servant.

Psalms 143 Commentary

Chapter 143

David complains of his enemies and distresses. (1-6) He prays for comfort, guidance, and deliverance. (7-12)

Verses 1-6 We have no righteousness of our own to plead, therefore must plead God's righteousness, and the word of promise which he has freely given us, and caused us to hope in. David, before he prays for the removal of his trouble, prays for the pardon of his sin, and depends upon mercy alone for it. He bemoans the weight upon his mind from outward troubles. But he looks back, and remembers God's former appearance for his afflicted people, and for him in particular. He looks round, and notices the works of God. The more we consider the power of God, the less we shall fear the face or force of man. He looks up with earnest desires towards God and his favour. This is the best course we can take, when our spirits are overwhelmed. The believer will not forget, that in his best actions he is a sinner. Meditation and prayer will recover us from distresses; and then the mourning soul strives to return to the Lord as the infant stretches out its hands to the indulgent mother, and thirsts for his consolations as the parched ground for refreshing rain.

Verses 7-12 David prays that God would be well pleased with him, and let him know that he was so. He pleads the wretchedness of his case, if God withdrew from him. But the night of distress and discouragement shall end in a morning of consolation and praise. He prays that he might be enlightened with the knowledge of God's will; and this is the first work of the Spirit. A good man does not ask the way in which is the most pleasant walking, but what is the right way. Not only show me what thy will is, but teach me how to do it. Those who have the Lord for their God, have his Spirit for their Guide; they are led by the Spirit. He prays that he might be enlivened to do God's will. But we should especially seek the destruction of our sins, our worst enemies, that we may be devotedly God's servants.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 140:6
• 2. 1 John 1:9; [Psalms 31:1]
• 3. 1 John 1:9; [Psalms 31:1]
• 4. [Job 14:3]
• 5. Psalms 130:3; 1 Kings 8:46; Job 9:2; Job 15:14; Job 25:4; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23; 1 Corinthians 4:4
• 6. See Psalms 88:3-6
• 7. Lamentations 3:6
• 8. See Psalms 77:3
• 9. Psalms 77:5, 11
• 10. Psalms 77:12; Psalms 111:2
• 11. See Job 11:13
• 12. Psalms 42:2
• 13. [Psalms 63:1]
• 14. Psalms 69:17; Psalms 102:2
• 15. [Psalms 84:2]
• 16. Psalms 27:9
• 17. Psalms 28:1; Psalms 88:4
• 18. [Psalms 90:14]
• 19. Psalms 11:1; Psalms 25:2
• 20. Psalms 25:4
• 21. Psalms 25:1
• 22. Psalms 59:1; Psalms 142:6
• 23. [Psalms 119:12]
• 24. Nehemiah 9:20
• 25. See Psalms 23:3
• 26. Isaiah 26:10; [Psalms 27:11]
• 27. Psalms 23:3; Psalms 25:11
• 28. See Psalms 71:20
• 29. Psalms 142:7
• 30. Psalms 54:5
• 31. See Psalms 116:16

Footnotes

• [a]. One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts To you I have covered

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 143

\\<>\\. This psalm was composed by David when he fled from Absalom his son, according to the title of it in Apollinarius, the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions; so R. Obadiah Gaon: and of the same opinion is Theodoret and others. The sense he had of his sins, and his deprecating God's entering into judgment with him for them, seems to confirm it; affliction from his own family for them being threatened him, 2Sa 12:9-11; though Kimchi thinks it was written on the same account as the former, and at the same time, namely, when he was persecuted by Saul; and what is said in Ps 142:2,4, seems to agree with it. The Syriac inscription is, ``when the Edomites came against him;'' which is very foreign, since these were subdued by him.