Bird's-eye view
In this latter half of Psalm 143, David’s prayer shifts from a description of his desperate state to a rapid-fire series of petitions. The urgency is palpable; his spirit is failing, and he is on the brink of collapse. This is not a calm, meditative prayer, but a cry from the battlefield of the soul. He pleads for God to act quickly, to reveal His covenant love, to provide guidance, to deliver him from his enemies, to teach him obedience, and to lead him by the Spirit. The basis for these requests is multifaceted: his trust in God, his identity as God’s servant, and ultimately, the glory of God's own name and righteousness. The psalm concludes with a raw, imprecatory plea for the destruction of his enemies, grounding this request not in personal vindictiveness, but in God’s covenant lovingkindness and David's status as a slave of Yahweh. It is a model of prayer for the believer in deep distress, demonstrating how to bring our desperation, our desire for guidance, and even our pleas for justice before the throne of a righteous and merciful God.
This is a prayer that understands the stakes. David knows that if God hides His face, the result is death, the pit. So he appeals to God on the basis of God's own character. He asks to hear of God's lovingkindness, for guidance in the path of obedience, and for deliverance. The climax is a plea for revival for the sake of God's name, and a righteous verdict that brings him out of distress. The final verse is a thunderclap, asking God to cut off his enemies as an act of covenant faithfulness to His servant. This is a prayer that takes God, sin, and the covenant with the utmost seriousness.
Outline
- 1. Urgent Petitions from a Fainting Soul (Psalm 143:7-12)
- a. A Plea for a Swift Answer (Ps 143:7)
- b. A Plea for Morning Mercy and Guidance (Ps 143:8)
- c. A Plea for Deliverance and Refuge (Ps 143:9)
- d. A Plea for Instruction and Spiritual Leadership (Ps 143:10)
- e. A Plea for Revival for God's Name's Sake (Ps 143:11)
- f. A Plea for Covenantal Justice (Ps 143:12)
Context In Psalms
Psalm 143 is the last of the seven traditional penitential psalms (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143). While it has the feel of a lament, with David crying out because of persecution from his enemies, there is a strong undercurrent of personal sin and unworthiness. David begins the psalm by pleading with God to answer him based on His faithfulness and righteousness, but immediately follows it with, "And do not enter into judgment with Your slave, For in Your sight no one living is righteous" (v. 2). This sets the tone for the entire psalm. David is in a righteous cause against his enemies, but he knows he has no righteous standing before God apart from grace. This psalm, therefore, sits at the intersection of lament and penitence, a cry for deliverance from external foes from a man who is acutely aware of his own internal frailty. It is a prayer that understands that the only hope for a sinner beset by sinners is the covenant mercy of God.
Key Issues
- The Nature of Desperate Prayer
- God's Lovingkindness (Hesed)
- Divine Guidance
- The Role of the Holy Spirit
- Prayer for the Sake of God's Name
- Imprecatory Prayer
- The Believer's Identity as God's Slave
The Cry of a Covenant Slave
One of the striking features of this prayer is how David frames his relationship with God. Twice he refers to himself as God's "slave" or "servant" (vv. 2, 12). In our egalitarian age, this language makes us uncomfortable. We prefer to think of ourselves as friends of God, or children of God, and both are true. But we must not lose the foundational truth that we are also His property. We have been bought with a price. David is not using this term in a demeaning way; he is using it as the very basis of his appeal. He is saying, "I belong to You. My enemies are assailing Your property. My distress brings dishonor to Your household. Therefore, for the sake of Your own name, and because of the covenant You have made with me, Your slave, act!"
This identity is not one of cowering fear, but of covenantal confidence. An ambassador from a great king has a certain standing, not because of who he is in himself, but because of the king he represents. In the same way, David, as God's slave, appeals for God to act consistently with His own honor. The final, shocking request for God to "cut off my enemies" is not the plea of a private citizen seeking personal revenge. It is the plea of a servant of the Great King, asking his Master to deal with those who are in rebellion against the throne.
Verse by Verse Commentary
7 Answer me quickly, O Yahweh, my spirit wastes away; Do not hide Your face from me, Or I will become like those who go down to the pit.
The prayer begins with raw urgency. "Answer me quickly." This is not a sign of immature impatience, but of genuine, soul-crushing desperation. His spirit is failing, wasting away, at the end of its rope. He feels himself slipping. The greatest fear is not the enemy, but the silence of God. For God to hide His face is, for the covenant believer, the ultimate catastrophe. It is a sign of judgment and disfavor. The result of God's hidden face is to become like those who go down to the pit, a Hebrew idiom for death and the grave. David is saying that without a swift intervention from God, he is a dead man. His spiritual life, his psychological stability, and his physical safety all depend on God breaking His silence.
8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul.
Having cried out for a quick answer, he now specifies what he wants to hear. He wants to hear of God's lovingkindness. The Hebrew word is hesed, which is not just a feeling of affection, but God's rugged, unbreakable, covenant loyalty. He wants the assurance of this to be the first thing he experiences when he wakes up, a fresh dose of grace to face a new day of trouble. The basis for this request is simple: "For I trust in You." This is the trust of a desperate man who has no other options. Because he trusts, he also asks for guidance. "Cause me to know the way in which I should walk." He is not just asking for a feeling of comfort; he is asking for marching orders. True trust leads to a desire for obedience. He doesn't know what to do next, so he lifts up his soul, his very being, to God as a plea for direction.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh, I have concealed myself in You.
The petitions continue. This one is for deliverance from his human adversaries. But notice the beautiful phrase that accompanies it: "I have concealed myself in You." Some translations render this "I flee to You for refuge." The idea is that David has run into God as a man runs into a fortress to escape a marauding army. He has hidden himself in the character and promises of God. His prayer for deliverance is not a shot in the dark; it is a plea from within the very walls of the divine refuge. He is asking God to be the fortress that he has, by faith, already taken Him to be.
10 Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
This is a profound request that reveals the heart of a true believer. In the midst of persecution, his central desire is not just for comfort or safety, but for sanctification. "Teach me to do Your will." He wants to be an obedient servant. The reason is simple and all-encompassing: "For You are my God." This is the foundational confession of faith. Because Yahweh is his God, David's highest ambition is to please Him. He then asks for the "good Spirit" to lead him on "level ground." He recognizes that the path of obedience is treacherous and full of snares. He needs the direct, personal guidance of the Holy Spirit to keep him from stumbling, to lead him on a straight, plain, and safe path. This is a prayer for practical, daily holiness, led by the Spirit.
11 For the sake of Your name, O Yahweh, revive me. In Your righteousness bring my soul out of distress.
Here David provides the ultimate basis for all his requests: the glory of God's own name. "For the sake of Your name...revive me." To revive means to preserve his life, to quicken his failing spirit. He is asking God to act not because David is worthy, but because God's reputation is at stake. If the servant of Yahweh is destroyed, the name of Yahweh will be blasphemed among the nations. He then asks God to bring him out of distress "in Your righteousness." This is a stunning appeal. Earlier, he prayed that God would not enter into judgment with him because of his sin. But here, in his conflict with his enemies, he appeals to that very same righteousness. He is asking God to act as a righteous judge and vindicate him against the unjust attacks of his foes. God's righteousness is a terror to the unrepentant sinner, but it is a comfort and a refuge for the justified man in a just cause.
12 And in Your lovingkindness, cut off my enemies And cause all those who assail my soul to perish, For I am Your slave.
The psalm concludes with a raw and shocking imprecation. He asks God, as an act of lovingkindness (hesed), to destroy his enemies. How can covenant loyalty be expressed through such violence? Because these are not just David's enemies; they are God's enemies. They are assailing the Lord's anointed. God's covenant faithfulness to David requires Him to act against those who would destroy David. This is not personal revenge. It is a prayer for the establishment of divine justice. And the final reason given is the clincher: "For I am Your slave." As we noted, this is an appeal based on ownership. "These men are destroying Your property. They are attacking Your servant, the one who belongs to You. Vindicate Your own name by defending Your own man." This is a prayer that we can only pray in Christ, when our enemies are His enemies, and when our cause is the cause of the gospel.
Application
This psalm is a divine tutorial on how to pray when the bottom drops out. First, it teaches us to be honest with God about our desperation. There is no need for pious pretense. We can cry out, "Answer me quickly, my spirit is failing." God can handle our raw emotions and our sense of urgency.
Second, it teaches us to ground our prayers in the character of God. We appeal to His hesed, His covenant love. We appeal to His righteousness. We appeal to the honor of His name. Our confidence in prayer does not come from our own spiritual performance, but from who God is and what He has promised to be for His people.
Third, it shows us that a desire for deliverance must be coupled with a desire for holiness. In the midst of our troubles, we should be praying, "Teach me to do Your will. Lead me by Your Spirit." The goal is not just to get out of the trial, but to be sanctified through the trial. We should want level ground for our feet, a straight path of obedience, more than we want a comfortable life.
Finally, this psalm gives us a framework for dealing with opposition. While we must be careful not to apply the imprecations to our personal enemies in a fit of pique, we must pray for God's justice to be done. We pray for the gospel to triumph, for the enemies of Christ's church to be confounded, and for God to vindicate His people. And we do all this knowing our standing before Him. We are His children, yes. But we are also His slaves, bought by the blood of His Son. And that is the most secure position in the universe.