Psalm 143
BSB
I Stretch Out My Hands to You
A Psalm of David.
1O LORD, hear my prayer.
In Your faithfulness, give ear to my plea;
in Your righteousness, answer me.
2Do not bring Your servant into judgment,
for no one alive is righteous before You.
3For the enemy has pursued my soul,
crushing my life to the ground,
making me dwell in darkness
like those long since dead.
4My spirit grows faint within me;
my heart is dismayed inside me.
5I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I consider the work of Your hands.
6I stretch out my hands to You;
my soul thirsts for You like a parched land.
Selah
7Answer me quickly, O LORD;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide Your face from me,
or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.
8Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning,
for I have put my trust in You.
Teach me the way I should walk,
for to You I lift up my soul.
9Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD;
I flee to You for refuge.
10Teach me to do Your will,
for You are my God.
May Your good Spirit lead me
on level ground.
11For the sake of Your name, O LORD,
revive me.
In Your righteousness,
bring my soul out of trouble.
12And in Your loving devotion,
cut off my enemies.
Destroy all who afflict me,
for I am Your servant.
Introduction
Psalms 143
This psalm, as those before, is a prayer of David, and full of complaints of the great distress and danger he was in, probably when Saul persecuted him. He did not only pray in that affliction, but he prayed very much and very often, not the same over again, but new thoughts. In this psalm, I. He complains of his troubles, through the oppression of his enemies (Psa 143:3) and the weakness of his spirit under it, which was ready to sink notwithstanding the likely course he took to support himself (Psa 143:4, Psa 143:5). II. He prays, and prays earnestly (Psa 143:6), 1. That God would hear him (Psa 143:1-7). 2. That he would not deal with him according to his sins (Psa 143:2). 3. That he would not hide his face from him (Psa 143:7), but manifest his favour to him (Psa 143:8). 4. That he would guide and direct him in the way of his duty (Psa 143:8, Psa 143:10) and quicken him in it (Psa 143:11). 5. That he would deliver him out of his troubles (Psa 143:9, Psa 143:11). 6. That he would in due time reckon with his persecutors (Psa 143:12). We may more easily accommodate this psalm to ourselves, in the singing of it, because most of the petitions in it are for spiritual blessings (which we all need at all times), mercy and grace.
A psalm of David.
Cross-references: Ps 143:3 · Ps 143:4 · Ps 143:5 · Ps 143:6 · Ps 143:1 · Ps 143:2 · Ps 143:7 · Ps 143:8 · Ps 143:10 · Ps 143:11 · Ps 143:9 · Ps 143:12