Psalms 143:5

5 I remembered the days of old; I meditated on all thy works; I mused on the work of thy 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 has persecuted my soul; he has smitten my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.

4 Therefore my spirit has become overwhelmed within me; my heart within me has become desolate.

5 I remembered the days of old; I meditated on all thy works; I mused on the work of thy hands.

6 I stretched forth my hands unto thee; my soul thirsted after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.

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.