Psalms 143:5

5 I remember the days of old. I meditate on all your doings. I contemplate the work of your hands.

Psalms 143:5 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 143:5

I remember the days of old
Former times he had read and heard of, in which the Lord appeared for his people that trusted in him; or the former part of his own life, his younger days, when the Lord delivered him from the lion and bear, and from the uncircumcised Philistine, whom he slew; and made him victorious in battles, and preserved him from the rage and malice of Saul. If this was written on account of Absalom, those times of deliverance he called to mind, in order to encourage his faith and hope, and cheer his drooping spirits;

I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands;
the works of creation and providence, in order to observe the instances of divine power, wisdom, and goodness in them; and from thence fetch arguments, to engage his trust and confidence in the Lord: he both thought of these things within himself, and he "talked" ^F23 of them to his friends that were with him, as the last of these words used may signify; and all this he did to cheer his own spirit, and the spirits of the men that were with him, in the time of distress and danger.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 (xxwva) "loquor", Piscator; "sermocinatus sum", Cocceius; "aut colloquor", Gejerus, Michaelis.

Psalms 143:5 In-Context

3 For the enemy pursues my soul. He has struck my life down to the ground. He has made me live in dark places, as those who have been long dead.

4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me. My heart within me is desolate.

5 I remember the days of old. I meditate on all your doings. I contemplate the work of your hands.

6 I spread forth my hands to you. My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land. Selah.

7 Hurry to answer me, LORD. My spirit fails. Don't hide your face from me, So that I don't become like those who go down into the pit.