Psa 143 | CalvinCommentaries | STEP | PSALM 143 Although the enemies with whom David had to contend were wicked, and their persecution as unjust as it was cruel, David recognized the just judgment of God in it all, and seeks to conciliate his favor by humbly supplicating pardon. Having complained of the cruelty of his enemies, and declared that amidst all his affliction he still remembered God, he prays for restoration, and the guidance of God’s Spirit, that the remainder of his life might be devoted to his fear. A Psalm of David. 1. Hear my prayer, O Jehovah! give ear to my supplication, in thy truth answer me, 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 prostrated my life on the ground: he hath set me in dark places, as the dead of an age. 1. Hear my prayer, O Jehovah ! It is evident that the oppression of his enemies must have been extreme, when David laments his case in such earnest and pathetic terms. The introductory words show that the grief he felt was great. His reason for speaking of the justice and faithfulness of God in connection we have shown elsewhere. Under the term justice , or righteousness , we are not to suppose that he speaks of merit, or hire, as some ignorantly imagine, but of that goodness of God which leads him to defend his people. To the same effect does he speak of God’s truth or faithfulness ; for the best proof he can give of his faithfulness is in not forsaking those whom he has promised to help. In helping his people he shows himself to be a just and true God, both in not frustrating their expectation, and in so far as he shows in this extension of mercy what his nature is, that David very properly encourages himself in prayer by making mention of both.

Psalms 143

PSALM 143

Although the enemies with whom David had to contend were wicked, and their persecution as unjust as it was cruel, David recognized the just judgment of God in it all, and seeks to conciliate his favor by humbly supplicating pardon. Having complained of the cruelty of his enemies, and declared that amidst all his affliction he still remembered God, he prays for restoration, and the guidance of God’s Spirit, that the remainder of his life might be devoted to his fear.

A Psalm of David. ^{▼▼
To the title “A Psalm of David,” some copies of the Septuagint and the Vulgate add — “when his son Absalom pursued him,” (see 2 Samuel 17:24, 25;) and interpreters in general agree that this is the most probable occasion on which it was penned.}

1. Hear my prayer, O Jehovah! It is evident that the oppression of his enemies must have been extreme, when David laments his case in such earnest and pathetic terms. The introductory words show that the grief he felt was great. His reason for speaking of the justice and faithfulness of God in connection we have shown elsewhere. Under the term justice, or righteousness, we are not to suppose that he speaks of merit, or hire, as some ignorantly imagine, but of that goodness of God which leads him to defend his people. To the same effect does he speak of God’s truth or faithfulness; for the best proof he can give of his faithfulness is in not forsaking those whom he has promised to help. In helping his people he shows himself to be a just and true God, both in not frustrating their expectation, and in so far as he shows in this extension of mercy what his nature is, that David very properly encourages himself in prayer by making mention of both.