Psalms 143:1-19. Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. 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.
This is a very graphic description of David's sorrow; and those who have ever come under the power of Satan so as to be crushed in spirit, and see all their hopes blighted and withered, know what David meant when he penned these words. Only think of a soul dwelling in darkness like a body that has been long dead, and shut up in the grave.
Psalms 143:4. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
What a sad expression that is! It would be difficult to bring out all its meaning: «My heart within me is desolate;» lonely, deserted, desponding, despairing, almost destroyed.
Psalms 143:5. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
This is a gracious exercise, which tends greatly to the comfort of mourners; yet it does not always succeed, for God's works cannot satisfy us, if God hides himself from us.
Psalms 143:6. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
«My soul seems scarcely such a living thing as a thirsty stag panting for the cooling stream; but, as the parched earth, that cannot call to thee, and yet doth gape with open mouth as if she silently implored the rain, so is it with me.» God sends the dew to the grass which cannot call to him for it; then how much more will he send the dew of his grace to us who do cry to him for it, and with anguish thirst after it!
Psalms 143:7-19. Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
What a dead «lift» it is sometimes! Yet we must not let our soul lie in the gutter. By God's help, we must lift it up; and the nearer the soul is lifted up to God, the more it comes into the light, and the more sure it is yet to obtain its liberty.
Psalms 143:9-10. Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good;
«Make my spirit good!»
Psalms 143:10-11. Lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake:
Do not these prayers fit you, my brothers and sisters? Do you not feel as if you were being taught how to pray by the reading of this Psalm? I think it must be so at least with some of you.
Psalms 143:11-12. For thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.
We cannot join in the prayers in this verse just as it stands, for we live in another dispensation, in which we are taught to pray for our enemies, not against them; but as far as this verse relates to our spiritual enemies our sins, and temptations, and Satanic foes, we do pray that they may be utterly out off, and that the very name of them may be blotted out from under heaven. May God hear that prayer, and answer it, for his dear Son's sake! Amen.