When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path - (Psalms 143:4; Psalms 102:1-28, Title; 77:3.) What urged him to 'cry' with "supplication," 'pouring out his complaint before' God, was his deep depression of spirit, caused by his perilous position, as well as his conviction that God 'knew his path' at the very time when "there was no man that would know him" (Psalms 142:4). Observe the beautiful opposition between "Thou knewest" and "no man would know me" (Psalms 1:6; Psalms 31:7). So as to Israel in the wilderness, "He knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness" (Deuteronomy 2:7). When I am utterly at a loss to know where to turn, my consolation is that my sufferings and perils are not unknown to thee.
In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me - (Psalms 140:5; Psalms 141:9.) Hengstenberg, from Psalms 143:8, translates, 'In the way wherein I should walk.' But here he speaks of his way, or path in life, as a fact; in Psalms 143:8 he desires God to show him what it ought to be, in order to avoid falling into the enemies' snares.