Psalms 143:7-12

7 Hear me speedily, O LORD; my spirit fails; hide not thy face from me lest I be like those that go down into the grave.

8 Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning, for in thee do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto thee.

9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; I flee unto thee.

10 Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Let thy good Spirit lead me into the land of uprightness.

11 By thy name, O LORD, thou shalt give me life; by thy righteousness thou shalt bring my soul out of trouble.

12 And by thy mercy thou shalt scatter my enemies and destroy all the adversaries of my soul; for I am thy slave.

Psalms 143:7-12 Meaning and Commentary

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.