Psalms 143
Big idea: The last of the seven penitential psalms, and it opens by conceding the case: don't enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no man living is righteous. Paul builds part of Romans on that sentence. What follows is a man in the dark asking for two things he cannot manufacture — a word in the morning and a direction to walk. Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk. Teach me to do your will.
Psalm 143 asks to be taught the way. Psalm 144 asks what a man even is, and then asks for a harvest.
143:1–6 — No man living is righteous
The last of the seven penitential psalms, and verse 2 is the one that makes it so: 'in your sight NO MAN LIVING is righteous.' Paul quotes it in Romans 3 and Galatians 2 as the premise of justification by faith. What is remarkable is that this is the same voice that asked to be judged 'according to my righteousness' in Psalm 7 — the claim there was about one case, and this is about the whole.
1 A Psalm by David. Hear my prayer, Yahweh. Listen to my petitions. In your faithfulness and righteousness, relieve me. 2 Don’t enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no man living is righteous. 3 For the enemy pursues my soul. He has struck my life down to the ground. He has made me live in dark places, as those who have been long dead. 4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me. My heart within me is desolate. 5 I remember the days of old. I meditate on all your doings. I contemplate the work of your hands. 6 I spread out my hands to you. My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land. Selah.
143:7–12 — Teach me to do your will
Six verses of requests, and the two at the centre are about direction rather than rescue: cause me to KNOW THE WAY I should walk, and TEACH ME TO DO YOUR WILL. A man who has just said no one living is righteous asks to be taught rather than excused. And the ground he gives for everything is never his own record — it is the name, the righteousness, the loving kindness.
7 Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit. 8 Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for I trust in you. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you. 9 Deliver me, Yahweh, from my enemies. I flee to you to hide me. 10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness. 11 Revive me, Yahweh, for your name’s sake. In your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble. 12 In your loving kindness, cut off my enemies, and destroy all those who afflict my soul, for I am your servant.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).