Psalms 143

Psalms 143. The Psalm is completed in the number twelve, and falls into two main parts, each of six verses, divided by Selah-the first (after an introductory prayer in ver. 1 and 2) containing a re-presentation of the distress and the complaint, the second con-taining the prayer and the hope. The six is again divided by the three, so that the whole falls into four strophes, each of three verses. To the number of verses corresponds the fourfold Jeho-vah, which makes up the number seven, when added to the three-fold use of the name in the preceding Psalm. So also the num-ber of the preparatory petitions, ver. 1 and 2. To the numberof particular strophes corresponds the threefold mention of theloving-kindness of the Lord, and of his righteousness and truth, which is also thrice noticed. It corresponds to the division intotwo halves, that the Psalmist twice designates himself, in ver. 2and 12, as the servant of the Lord.

The whole number of versescorresponds to the twelve times utterance of prayer and hope in the second part, in each verse a double one, with the exceptionof ver. 7, where there are three petitions, and of ver. 9, where there is only one-in each strophe six petitions, correspondingto the number of verses in the two divisions. The representationof the distress in the first division, ver. 3-6, presents ten parti-culars, in the first strophe three, in the second seven, accordingto one of the two ordinary divisions of the ten.

In like mannerthe second part presents a tenfold grounding of the prayer andhope, in each strophe a fivefold one, according to, the other of thetwo ordinary divisions of the ten, 2. 2. 1.-1. 2. 2. In unison with the superscription, the Psalm bears evidence throughout of David’s spirit and David’s mode of expression. It isalmost wholly composed of the sounds of complaint, supplication, and hope, which had already been uttered in the earlier Davidic Psalms (only in such), and had sunk deep into the heart. These clear brooks were drawn from all sides into the channel of this smooth-flowing Psalm, which was designed to provide quickening for the fainting souls of David’s race during future times of op-pression. With so much of dependance the Psalm still bears throughout the character of originality, not merely where the dependance ceases, as in ver. 2, which has become of such im-portance for the church, and to which the Psalm owes its place among those of the penitential class, though, from its predomi-nant tendency, it does not belong to that class, but also in the dependant passages themselves, in the thoughtful and artificial manner of their collection, which could only have proceeded from the person, out of whose breast the utterances originally welled forth. There is nowhere any trace of “a flat compilation;” all is feeling and life.

Along with this there is the repose and self-possession of one who does not find himself immediately involved in the distress, but looks down upon it as from a high tower, andprays and intercedes for the afflicted of his seed, as Moses of old did upon the Mount. That the Psalm must not be viewed apart from those that sur-round it, is clear already from the connection with Psalms 142. , comp. ver. 4 here with ver. 3 there, ver. 8 with ver. 3, and ver. 11 with ver. 7.

That David calls himself so expressly at the beginning and the end, the servant of God, establishes a connec-tion with 2 Sam. vii., where, in David’s thanksgiving, this appel-lation occurs almost every verse.

Psalms 143:1-6

Ver. 1-6.-Ver. 1. Lord, hear my prayer, attend to my sup-plication, in thy faithfulness hear me, in thy righteousness. Ver.2. And enter not into judgment with thy servant, for be-fore thee no one living is righteous. Ver. 3. For the enemypersecutes my soul, crushes to the ground my life, makes me to dwell in dark places like one eternally dead. Ver. 4. Andwearied is my spirit with me, my heart is confounded to me in my body. Ver. 5. I think of the days of old, I reflect upon allthy doing, meditate upon the work of thy hands. Ver. 6. Istretch forth my hands to thee, my soul is to thee as a faint land. Selah.–ver. 1 the hearing is rested upon a double foundation, the faithfulness and righteousness of God, corresponding to thedouble prayer in the first half of the verse. The appeal tothe faithfulness presupposes, that the Psalmist had received defi-nite promises from God, comp. 2 Samuel 7. Righteousness givesto every one his own; to the righteous-and only such must ven-ture, after Psalms 139., to take into their mouth the words of thisPsalm-in spite of their failings, the forgiveness of which is itselfthe work of divine righteousness (comp. on Psalms 51:15) salvation;to the wicked destruction. In Psalms 36:5; Psalms 36:6, righteousness andfaithfulness are united together.-Enter not into judgment withthy servant, ver, 2, on account of the human infirmity, which stillalways cleaves to thy people, along with the righteousness whichthey also possess as the indispensable condition of salvation. ThePsalmist had appealed in ver. 1 to the divine righteousness. Theappeal to this has for its foundation a consciousness of personalrighteousness, compare on Psalms 17:1. But with the mention ofthis there is quite naturally introduced also the thought of itsgreat imperfection, and on this account the Psalmist betakes him-self to the forbearance and pardoning mercy of the Lord, whichcan never be withdrawn from his servants, which he must grant them precisely according to his righteousness (comp. on Psalms 19:13), not because they could demand it, but because he would otherwise deny his own nature. The accuser goes into the judg-ment with the accused Job 9:32; Job 22:4; but here the accuser is, at the same time, judge, and appears as such in the second mem-ber. God does go in point of fact into judgment with those who have offended against him, by suspending over them desolating punishments. The expression: with thy servant, contains the grounding of the prayer; with his servants God cannot go into judgment; he chastens them indeed, but he does not give them over to death. No one living, no servant even, who constantly needs the forgiveness of his sins, and must perish, if thou dost not grant it to him, 1 Peter 4:18. The passage before us has pro-duced impressions also upon the territory of Scripture.

There is an entire series of similar expressions resting upon it in the book of Job; for example, 9:2, 14:3, 15:14, then Romans 3:20.-The for in ver. 3 grounds the preceding prayers: not that merely in ver. 1, but the one also in ver. 2. For the request: enter not into judgment, is as to the meaning., q. d., surrender me not on account of my failings to destruction.

On the first member comp. Psalms 7:5. The Psalmist must, in spite of his innocence (comp. Psalms 139.) suffer what, according to that fundamental passage, could permanently and conclusively rest only upon those who are laden with guilt. The fem. form היה, in the sig. of life only poetically, occurs in this sig. also in another Psalm, of the time of David, Psalms 78:50. In regard to the dark places in the third member, compare on Psalms 88:6. What is only briefly indicated here, is there enlarged upon in ver. 3-6, a passage in other respects also containing various marks of dependance. This third member is literally borrowed in Lamentations 3:6.

As a commen-tary on the words: dead of eternity, or eternally dead (Gauss: “who lie in the long-continuing night of the grave and of death, out of which no return can be found to this life,”) those in Psalms 88:5 may serve: “whom thou rememberest no more, and they are cut off from thy hand,” q. d., who have for ever ceased to be the objects of thy providential care. Several: as those who have been long dead; but whether long ago or recently makes no difference. Luther falsely: as the dead in the world,-On the first member of ver. 4 compare Psalms 142:3. שמם, to be prostrated in soul, faint, compare Psalms 40:15.-From the connection the mention of God’ s active energy in the bestowal of salvation upon his people during the past, the wonders he wrought for their deliverance, cannot be as an object of hope (several: sperans quod mini etiam none ita sis facturus) as in Psalms 44:1-3, but only a doleful one, as in Psalms 22:3-5. For we find ourselves here in the region of sorrow. In the dependant pas-sage also, Psalms 77:5, the remembrance of the past serves, not to mitigate, but to increase and deepen the pain. On the second and third members, comp. the dependant passage, Psalms 92:5.–The second member of ver. 6 rests upon Psalms 63:1 : “My soul thirsts after thee in a dry land, and faints without water.” As a parched land stands related to the rain, so my soul to thee, and to thy salvation.

The relation is only indicated in a general way. The more exact description would have been: as faint land thirsts after the rain, so thirsts my soul after thee. Stier: “faint land mixes the image in a lively manner, since properly only שPנעיפה a faint, languishing soul, could be used.”

Psalms 143:7-12

Ver. 7-12. Ver. 7. Make haste, hear me, Lord, my spirit is exhausted, hide not thy face from me, otherwise I shall be like those that go into hell. Ver. 8. Let me hear in the morn-ing thy loving-kindness, for on thee I trust, make known to me the way, wherein I should go, for to thee I carry my soul. Ver. 9. Deliver me from mine enemies, Lord, to thee I hide myself. Ver. 10. Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God, let thy spirit, the good, lead me upon a plain land. Ver. 11. For thy name’s sake, Lord, wilt thou quicken me; in thy righteousness wilt thou bring my soul out of trouble. Ver. 12. And in thy loving-kindness wilt thou extirpate mine enemies, and destroy all, who make war against my soul, for I am thy servant. On the words: make haste, hear me, in ver. 7, comp. 102:2, 69:17. On: for my spirit is exhausted, through the heavy, long-continued suffering, Psalms 39:10 : “Through the blow of thy hands I am exhausted;” on the second half, Psalms 102:2; Psalms 28:1. The prayer in both members is grounded upon this, that mat-ters had now come with the Psalmist to an extremity. Where this is the case with the servants of God, there the divine help cannot be longer withheld. In ver. 8 and 9 the prayer rests uponthe heartfelt confidence which the Psalmist entertained toward God, on the principle, that whoever places his confidence in God, he cannot be abandoned by God. On the expression: let me hear, ver. 8, through a matter-of-fact speech, a proof of loving kindness, comp. Psalms 51:9. On: in the morning, Psalms 59:16.

That in the prayer: make known to me the way wherein I should go, the discourse is not of a moral guidance, but that the way is the way of salvation from trouble, appears. from Psalms 142:3, and the radical passage, Psalms 25:4. Calvin: “When he seeks that the way should be made patent to him, in which he should walk, the matter is to be referred to his anxieties.

For it signifies, that he stood as it were astonished, incapable of lifting a foot, unless by having a way of escape divinely laid open to him; as if he should say: Lord, all the desires of my soul are borne upwards to thee; therefore in a time of so great perplexity do thou administer counsel to me.” The words, “On thee I trust,” and “to thee I carry my soul,” are taken from Psalms 25:1; Psalms 25:2. On: deliver my soul from my enemies, in ver. 9, comp. 59:1, 142:6. The se-cond member literally: to thee I cover or conceal myself; כסה to cover one’s self, Genesis 38:14, Deuteronomy 22:12, Jonah 3:6. The unusual and strange manner of expression was called forth by the reference had to Psalms 27:5 : “for he conceals me in his tabernacle at the time of adversity, he covers me in the secret of his tent,” and Psalms 31:20, “Thou hidest them in a taber-nacle from the strife of tongues.” The כסה here is the trans-posed סכה there. The allusion points to this, that God must conceal those who conceal themselves with him. It is commonly explained: for I discover myself to thee, or confide myself in se-cret.

But the expression: to conceal to any one, for to discover one’s self to him, is very hard, (besides, the parallel: I confide, I carry my soul, in ver. 8, shews, that here also the discourse must be of confidence), and what then could be the meaning of: con-fide in secret? The matter in hand here was a secret grief, for the distress of the Psalmist lay open to all the world.

The cor-rect view was already given by Calvin.-In ver. 10 many exposi-tors find only a prayer for moral strength, others only a prayer for the granting of deliverance. Both views are beset with dif-ficulties. The first member cannot without violence be under-stood otherwise, than of moral instruction, and the bestowal ofstrength–comp. Psalms 40:9, nor can we without violence fail to recognize in the “good Spirit,” the Spirit, which teaches the well disposed to do good. But it is at the same time impossible to understand by the leading upon a plain land something else than external preservation and prosperity. The leading is already of itself a standing term for leading upon the path of salvation-comp., for example, Psalms 139:10; Psalms 139:24; and the parallel and fundamental passages in the Psalms of David for the whole man-ner of speech, leave no shadow of doubt upon the subject-comp. v. 8, 27:11, and 26:12, “My foot stands upon the plain,” where the plain stands opposed to a difficult piece of ground, full of steep rocks and pits.

The exposition: pathway of manners, righteousness, is therefore decidedly to be rejected. The dif- ficulties connected with both the expositions may be removed by the following view.

David’s proper regard is directed to the ob-taining of deliverance, which is the object of all his prayers in the preceding and following verses. But he shows himself throughout deeply penetrated with the conviction, that the foun-dation of the deliverance is righteousness-that it never can come, where this foundation is wanting, but that it of necessity must come, where this foundation exists. He knew, also, that nothing could be done here by one’s own power-comp., for example, Psalms 19:19; Psalms 19:51. Hence he prays here, expanding his views farther, that the Lord would (internally) teach him to do his will, convinced that this first gift must necessarily draw the second in its train, that of salvation; so, he prays, that the good Spirit of God would make him good, and consequently would guide him upon the path of salvation. We must explain: Thy Spirit, good, q. d., which is a good one, or, and indeed the good, as opposed to the evil spirit, to the dominion of which Saul was given up in righteous judgment, and which hurried him onward into sin and perdition -comp. 1 Samuel 16:14; 1 Samuel 16:15; 1 Samuel 18:10, and corresponding to the Holy Spirit in Psalms 51. The good Spirit works good in those who partake of the gift.-The expression: for thy name’s sake, ver. 11, is a standing one with David-comp. 23:3, 25:11, 31:3, 109:20. On: thou wilt quicken me, comp. Psalms 138:7. On this: after thy righteousness, ver. 1, and Psalms 31, 1. On the last words, Psalms 142:7; Psalms 25:15; Psalms 34:17.-On the first member of ver. 12, comp. Psalms 31:16; Psalms 18:40. האבדת, thepret., as an expression of confidence, to which the Psalmist rosefrom the prayer through the intermediate stage of hope (thefut. in the preceding verb), points distinctly to Deuteronomy 7:24. Onthe last words: for I am thy servant, Calvin says: “By naminghimself the servant of God, he by no means extols his own ser-vices, but rather commends the grace of God, to which ought to be referred what he had done with acceptance. For not by our own prowess or labour is this dignity acquired, that we should be reckoned among the servants of God, but it depends on his free election, which even before we were born has graciously appointed us to the number and rank of his people.”