Psalms 43:1

1 Judge me, O God, And plead my cause against a nation not pious, From a man of deceit and perverseness Thou dost deliver me,

Psalms 43:1 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 43:1

Judge me, O God
The Targum adds, with the judgment of truth; see ( Romans 2:2 ) ;

and plead my cause;
which was a righteous one; and therefore he could commit it to God to be tried and judged by him, and could put it into his hands to plead it for him; (See Gill on Psalms 35:1);

against an ungodly nation;
meaning either the Philistines, among whom he was; or his own nation, when they joined his son Absalom in rebellion against him: some understand it of the great numbers that were with Saul, when he was persecuted by him;

O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man;
either Absalom, who, under pretence of a vow he had vowed in Hebron, got leave of David to go thither, and then engaged in a conspiracy against him; or Ahithophel, who had been his friend and acquaintance, but now joined with Absalom. It is true of Saul, who, under pretence of friendship, sought his ruin, and to whom he expressed himself almost in the same words here used; see ( 1 Samuel 18:17 1 Samuel 18:25 ) ( 1 Samuel 24:12 1 Samuel 24:15 ) .

Psalms 43:1 In-Context

1 Judge me, O God, And plead my cause against a nation not pious, From a man of deceit and perverseness Thou dost deliver me,

2 For thou [art] the God of my strength. Why hast Thou cast me off? Why mourning do I go up and down, In the oppression of an enemy?

3 Send forth Thy light and Thy truth, They -- they lead me, they bring me in, Unto Thy holy hill, and unto Thy tabernacles.

4 And I go in unto the altar of God, Unto God, the joy of my rejoicing. And I thank Thee with a harp, O God, my God.

5 What! bowest thou thyself, O my soul? And what! art thou troubled within me? Wait for God, for still I confess Him, The salvation of my countenance, and my God!