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1, 2. |
Hear my prayer |
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3, 4. |
Present trouble |
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5-12, |
A sustained prayer for help |
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Psalm 142 |
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Psalm 143 |
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1 |
My prayer, my supplications |
1 |
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3 |
My spirit is overwhelmed |
4 |
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3 |
The way wherein I should walk |
8 |
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7 |
Bring my soul out of prison / trouble |
11 |
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6 |
Persecutors |
3 |
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1. |
In thy faithfulness answer me. This expression always
refers to God’s covenants of promise; in this instance, the allusion is to
1 Sam. 16:12, which at this period must have been the backbone of David’s
faith. |
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2. |
Enter not into judgment with thy servant. ‘Do not
enter into legal proceedings with your servant’ (cp. same phrase in Job
9:32, 14:3; Eccl. 11:9; 12:14). God does enter into strict judgment with
those who are not His true servants (Matt. 5:26; 18:27,34) — but
not with those who are His believing and obedient servants. This is
David’s humble acknowledgment of being at fault (and his request for
mercy) in his lapses of faith in fleeing to Gath (1 Sam. 21). |
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3. |
For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my
life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that
have been long dead (Psa. 88:3-6,10-12). Note especially the singular
pronouns. The language is appropriate to his refugee life in the Adullam cave
(especially when it is remembered that caves were often sepulchres also) —
and more so to the early days of his wanderings, before others rallied to his
cause. |
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5. |
I remember the days of old. Reminiscences of those
times when God’s hand was plainly visible in support and help for David:
the incidents of the lion and the bear, and of the even more bestial
Goliath. |
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6. |
I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after
thee, as a thirsty land. Compare Psa. 63:1, and the title there. |
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8. |
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in
the morning” (Psa. 30:5). |
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9. |
I flee unto thee to hide me. Hebron was a city of
refuge and not far away, but evidently, in this period, David’s faith
could not commit himself to this resource. Was this perhaps because he was not a
man-slayer? Or simply because he did not trust the integrity of Saul in regard
to the Law? So instead, he fled to the cave; and, as faith revived, so did his
reliance on the Providence of his God. |
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12. |
And of thy mercy (Strange reason! but is it really? see
Psa. 136, Par. 6) cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my
soul. Philistines in Gath (1 Sam. 21); the retainers of Saul (1 Sam. 22);
the men of Ziph (1 Sam. 23); Saul and his wilderness hunters (1 Sam. 24). Yet
David would not take action against any of these, even when there was good
opportunity. |
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Is “cut off” an indirect allusion to David’s
cutting off the skirt of Saul’s robe while he slept in the cave (1 Sam.
24:4-6)? |
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a. |
He is persecuted because he is the Lord’s
Anointed. |
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b. |
With the cave compare Christ’s sepulchre. |
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c. |
He emerges thence with tokens of victory over his
enemy. |
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d. |
He is joined by his brethren and others. |
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e. |
He is not accepted by his own people, and so he absents
himself from them for a time. |
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f. |
Later he returns in triumph to be their king. |
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g. |
His loyal friends become the king’s “mighty
men”. |
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1. |
In thy faithfulness. The Promises; cp. 1 John
1:9: |
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“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” |
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2. |
Enter not into judgment with thy servant. Since Jesus
had committed no sin, it was not possible that he could be held bound by the
bands of death (Acts 2:24). In his case, then, judgment gave way to
reward. |
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For in thy sight shall no man living be justified: Psa.
51:5; 130:3; Rom. 3:9,20,23; Gal. 2:16. (Also see Job 4:17; 9:2; 14:4; 25:4;
Eccl. 7:20.) In this phrase, the key word is “living”: “No man
living can be justified!” Even Jesus was justified only through his
own death. |
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3. |
For the enemy hath persecuted my soul. Here
“for” looks back to v. 1: “in thy faithfulness answer
me!” ‘God’s promises center in me, yet I
am persecuted!’ |
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He hath smitten my life down to the ground, both
literally (Matt. 26:39: “He fell on his face”) and
figuratively. |
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He hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have
been long dead (Lam. 3:6). Christ’s somber anticipation of the
nothingness of death. |
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4. |
My heart within me is desolate: Mark 14:33; Heb.
4:15-5:8. |
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5. |
The days of old... the work of thy hands. God’s
Purpose in Christ had been written long beforehand in the Old Testament (Luke
24:25-27). |
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6. |
I stretch forth my hands unto thee. (1) His uplifted
hands of prayer in Gethsemane; or (2) his outstretched and impaled hands at the
Crucifixion. |
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7. |
My spirit fainteth: hide not thy face from me: Psa.
22:1,24. |
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Lest implies here the real possibility of failure on
Christ’s part (cp. “lest” in Psa. 28:1). |
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10. |
Teach me to do thy will. ‘Not my will, but
thine!’ In both of these places, the words are eloquent concerning
the true human nature of Christ. The fulfilling of his Father’s will did
not come “naturally”. So also: Lead me into the land of
uprightness: This last word, in Hebrew, is often used for acceptable
sacrifice (see Rom. 4:25). Note the sequence of phrases in this psalm implying
resurrection: |
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v. 3: 7: 8: 10: 11: |
down to the ground those long dead go down into the pit in the morning lift up land of uprightness quicken me bring me out of trouble |
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11. |
For thy name’s sake... for thy righteousness’
sake. Here consider Acts 2:24 again, and Rom. 1:17. |
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12. |
Cut off mine enemies, particularly because they are
Thy enemies (cp. Psa. 54:5). |
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