Psalms 143:1-12
1 Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
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.
4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
7 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.
8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness 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.
9 Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
11 Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.
Gordon Churchyard
God Is My Only Hope
Psalms 143
Jesus said, "Father, if it is possible, I pray that this cup will pass from me. But (it must be) what you want (to happen). It must not be what I want" (Mark 26:39). ("Cup will pass from me" is how Jesus said "I do not want to die". The cup was like a picture of death.)
Psalms 143
(This is) a psalm of David.
v1 *LORD, hear my *prayer.
Listen to me when I ask you for help.
Answer me, because you are a loving and fair (God).
v2 Do not *judge (me) your servant,
because nobody alive (on earth) is *righteous.
v3 An enemy is following me.
He is trying to kill me.
He wants to put me in a dark place,
like (people) who have been dead for a long time.
v4 My *spirit inside me is becoming weak.
My *heart inside me has no hope.
v5 I remember (what happened) many years ago.
I think about all that you did.
Also, I see in my mind all that your hands have done.
v6 I raise my hands to you.
I want you as badly as dry ground (wants rain). *SELAH
v7 Answer me soon, *LORD. I am losing hope.
Do not hide your face from me.
(If you do) I will be as those (people) that go down into the *Pit.
v8 I want to hear news of your kind love in the morning.
(This is) because I am *trusting in you.
Show me what I should do.
Show me because I have asked you (to show me).
v9 *LORD, make me free from my enemies,
because I am hiding in you.
v10 Teach me what you want me to do.
Teach me because you are my God.
Your *spirit is good.
It will lead me to ground that is flat.
v11 Save my life, *LORD, because of your (great) name.
Bring me out of trouble, because you are *righteous.
v12 Because you love me, kill my enemies.
And destroy the people that fight against me.
(Do this) because I am your servant.
The Story of Psalms 143
Bible students think that David wrote verses 1-6 of this psalm. A later writer put verses 7-12 after what David wrote. Verses 7-12 all come from other psalms. The later writer maybe did this to make the psalm better.David wrote his part of the psalm when he had trouble. Maybe this was when his son Absalom tried to kill David. The story is in 1 Samuel Chapter s 15-19.
What Psalms 143 means
Verse 1: "*LORD" is a special name for God. It is his *covenant name. A *covenant is when two people (or groups of people) agree. Here, God agrees to love and give help to his people. They agree to love and obey him. You say a *prayer when you speak to God.Verse 2: "*Judge" means "say whether someone is right or wrong". "*Righteous" means "very, very good". Only God is really *righteous.
Verse 3: The dark place was *Sheol. *Jews believed that they went to *Sheol when they died. There was no light there.
Verse 4: Our spirit is the part of us that lives after our body dies. The *Jews believed that you thought with your *heart.
Verse 5: Many Bible students think that:
• "all that you did" means what God did for his people;
• "all that your hands have done" means what God made, like the earth, the stars and the sun.
Verse 6: People raised their hands to God when they prayed to him. Many Christians still do this. Bible students are not sure what "*selah" means. Maybe it means "stop and think"; or "stop and pray"; or "a place for music".
Verse 7: "Hide your face" means "look the other way". If God looked away, he would not see (or answer) people’s *prayers. The Pit was the worst part of *Sheol. It was a hole. If you went into that hole, you never came out again!
Verse 8: "*Trusting" means "believing in and hoping". The *psalmist (the person who wrote the psalm) believed in God. And they hoped that God would send help.
Verse 9: "Hiding in you" means "*trusting that you will do something".
Verse 10: "Your spirit" is another name for God. In the *New Testament it became the *Holy Spirit. The "ground that is flat" means a place where it is easy to walk. It is like a picture of an easy life. The *psalmist hopes that God will lead him to an easier life.
Verse 11: "Because you are *righteous" may mean "because you do what is right and good". It is not quite the same as "very, very good".
Something to do
Find these verses from the Psalms. Which verses in Psalms 143:7 12 are they like?Psalms 25:2; Psalms 25:4-5; Psalms 25:11; Psalms 27:9; Psalms 27:11; Psalms 28:1; Psalms 30:5; Psalms 31:14-15; Psalms 32:8; Psalms 49:14; Psalms 59:1; Psalms 60:8; Psalms 69:17; Psalms 77:8-9; Psalms 84:2; Psalms 86:2; Psalms 86:4; Psalms 86:16; Psalms 90:14; Psalms 94:23; Psalms 102:2; Psalms 119:17; Psalms 138:7; Psalms 140:6.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; It is the word "Adonai" in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
lord ~ someone with authority.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God (in a covenant you agree with someone).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
prayer ~ you say a prayer when you speak to God.
judge ~ a judge says who is right and who is wrong; or, to say who is right and who is wrong.
righteous ~ very good (only God is really righteous). God says that the people who love and obey him are righteous. Sometimes we say they are "the righteous", meaning "righteous people". Look after Psalm 5 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the word "righteous".
spirit ~ this part of us lives when our body dies.
heart ~ (in Hebrew poems), "heart" means "mind", the part of us that thinks.
heart ~ part of the body. Jews believed that you thought in your heart.
poem ~ using words in a special (often very beautiful) way.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; in the Psalms, belief in God.
Pit ~ the worst bit of Sheol.'trusting in you ~ looking to you for help.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
judge ~ a judge says who is right and who is wrong; or, to say who is right and who is wrong.
righteous ~ very good (only God is really righteous). God says that the people who love and obey him are righteous. Sometimes we say they are "the righteous", meaning "righteous people". Look after Psalm 5 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the word "righteous".
Sheol ~ Jews believed that you went to Sheol when you died.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; in the Psalms, belief in God.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; in the Psalms, belief in God.
SELAH ~ a place to pray or think or make music.
trust ~ believe that someone (usually God in the psalms) will be kind to you.
psalmist ~ the person that wrote a psalm (or psalms).
trust ~ believe that someone (usually God in the psalms) will be kind to you.'New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus. It is about the things that Jesus did and taught. It is also about what Christians believe and do.
holy ~ all good with no bad in it; separate from sin; very, very good; only God is really holy. The land where he lives with his people is also holy. This is because he is there.
sin ~ not obeying God; or what you do when you do not obey God.