Psalms 143

Jehovah’s servant recognises that his sufferings are the merited punishment of sin, and pleads for a merciful hearing. The recollection of the manifestations of Jehovah’s lovingkindness in ancient times makes him long for some fresh exhibition of His goodness (Psalms 143:1-6). He prays for a speedy answer, for direction, for deliverance, for instruction, and for the destruction of the enemies who are seeking to destroy him (Psalms 143:7-12). The Psalm consists of two equal divisions, separated by Selah, and in each of them the verses are arranged in pairs. Much in the Psalm favours the view that the Servant of Jehovah who speaks is Israel, languishing in the prison of exile, or all but crushed out of existence by relentless enemies in one of the gloomy periods of its history after the Exile. On the other hand much in the Psalm appears to be the prayer of an individual, and the title implies that at an early date it was assumed to be the utterance of an individual. If we are right in regarding the other Psalms of this group as personal rather than national, it will be natural to take the same view of this Psalm. The LXX adds to the title ‘when his son [v.l. Absalom his son] was pursuing him.’ But it is not specially appropriate to that occasion, and in this Psalm, even more than in the others of the group, the dependence on earlier Psalms is unmistakable. The second half in particular is almost entirely a mosaic of phrases taken from other Psalms. As one of the seven “Penitential Psalms” (see note on Psalms 102) it is appointed for use on Ash Wednesday.

Psalms 143:1-2

1, 2. An appeal for mercy.

Psalms 143:2

2. enter not into judgment with thy servant] Do not put me on my trial and pass sentence on me according to my deserts. For the phrase cp. Job 9:32; Job 14:3; Isaiah 3:14. Thy servant is not a mere formal expression of humility: it denotes ‘one who is devoted to Thy service,’ and this relation is the ground of his plea. Cp. Psalms 143:12. be justified] Rather, be righteous. Cp. Psalms 130:3, and many passages in Job, where the truth of man’s unholiness in the sight of God is emphasised, e.g. Job 4:17; Job 9:2; Job 15:14; Job 25:4. St Paul quotes this passage freely in Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16, substituting πᾶσασὰρξ, ‘all flesh,’ for πᾶςζῶν.

Psalms 143:3-4

3, 4. The reason for his prayer. The extremity of his present sufferings seems to be a proof that God is calling him to account and punishing him for his sins with strict severity.

Psalms 143:4

4. And my spirit has fainted upon me; My heart within me is appalled. my spirit &c.] Cp. Psalms 142:3, note. is desolate] Rather, is appalled, stupefied and paralysed at the apparent hopelessness of my position. Cp. Daniel 8:27. “The root-idea of the word seems to have been to be motionless,—sometimes in the stillness of desolation, sometimes through amazement” (Driver on Daniel 4:19).

Psalms 143:5-6

5, 6. The thought of all that God wrought in ancient times makes him long for a fresh manifestation of His power.

Psalms 143:6

6. I stretch forth]. R.V. I spread forth. Cp. Psalms 44:20; Psalms 88:9; Lamentations 1:17. my soul thirsteth for thee, as a weary land] ‘Thirsteth’ or some similar verb must be supplied. Cp. Psalms 60:1, from which the words are taken. As the parched land, wearied with long continued drought, longs for refreshing rain, so he longs for a renewal of the old manifestation of God’s goodness. Cp. Psalms 68:9, note, for rain as an emblem of Divine blessing.

Psalms 143:7-12

7–12. Prayer for speedy hearing, for guidance and deliverance, for the destruction of his enemies. The language is borrowed almost entirely from older Psalms.

Psalms 143:8

8. Cause me to hear &c.] Possibly we should change a letter, and read as in Psalms 90:14 satisfy me (δַ ?ωְׂ ?λּ ?ιφֵ ?πִ ?ι for δַ ?ωְׂ ?ξִ ?ιςֵ ?πִ ?ι). in the morning] Let the dawn speedily end this dark night of calamity, and bring the sunshine of Thy lovingkindness to gladden my weary heart. Cp. Psalms 30:5; Psalms 49:14. for in thee do I trust … for I lift up my soul unto thee] Cp. Psalms 25:2; Psalms 25:1. cause me to know &c.] Teach me how to avoid the dangers which beset me (Psalms 142:3), and to order my conduct according to Thy Will (1 Thessalonians 4:1). Cp. Psalms 25:4; Psalms 32:8; Exodus 33:13.

Psalms 143:9

9. Deliver me … from mine enemies] As Psalms 59:1; cp. Psalms 31:15; Psalms 142:6. I flee unto thee to hide me] The general sense is probably right, though it can hardly be got out of the present text. The Heb. verb denotes to cover or conceal, but not to hide (intransitively). Some commentators suppose that unto thee have I covered may mean ‘unto thee have I secretly confided my cause’: others think that it may bear the sense given by the A.V. Neither explanation is satisfactory, and probably we should read, with the change of a single letter (ηρηι for λρηι), unto thee have I fled for refuge. So the LXX πρόςσεκατέφυγον.

Psalms 143:10

10. Teach me to do thy will] Cp. Psalms 25:4-5; Psalms 40:8. for thou art my God] Cp. Psalms 31:14, and often; Psalms 140:6. thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness] Better, though the construction is grammatically anomalous, let thy good spirit lead me in a level land. Cp. Nehemiah 9:20, “Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them.” The geographical term ‘level land’ or ‘plain country’ (Deuteronomy 4:43) is here metaphorically applied to denote conditions of life free from the dangers and obstacles which now beset the Psalmist. Cp. Psalms 26:12. Perhaps however we should read with the change of a single letter (ΰψη for ΰψυ) in a level path, as in Psalms 27:11. Cp. Isaiah 26:7, “The path for the righteous is plain: straight and level thou makest the way of the righteous.”

Psalms 143:11-12

11, 12. The Psalmist’s confidence that God will deliver His servant. The verbs in these last two verses should be rendered as futures not imperatives.

Psalms 143:12

12. Cp. Psalms 54:5, “Cut them [my enemies] off in thy truth”; Psalms 94:23. Such a prayer breathes the spirit of the Old Testament and not of the Gospel. It is a harsh and discordant conclusion to a Psalm full of humble penitence, patient resignation, and persevering faith. But the enemies who are relentlessly persecuting Jehovah’s servant to the death are the enemies of Jehovah; they are traitors to His kingdom who have forfeited their right to live; they give no quarter and deserve none themselves; if they triumph, Jehovah’s faithfulness to His promises would seem to have failed and his lovingkindness to have been exhausted or defeated (Psalms 77:8-9). For such hardened and impenitent offenders nothing remains but extermination. for I am thy servant] And therefore entitled to claim Thy protection. Cp. Psalms 143:2; Psalms 86:2; Psalms 86:4; Psalms 86:16; Psalms 119:17, and often.