Psalms 142:0 ¶ Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave.
Maschil is the term for a didactic or teaching poem. David was inspired to write this poem by thoughts of a prayer he made when hiding from Saul in a cave.
Spurgeon: “Had David prayed as much in his palace as he did in his cave, he might never have fallen into the act which brought such misery upon his later days.”
Psalms 142:1 ¶ I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.
Psalms 142:2 I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.
David opens by sharing that the subject prayer was one that he prayed aloud to God; it wasn’t a silent cry from the heart. He wanted to make sure that the LORD heard the tone of passion in his cry for help. He describes his words as gushing out like water being poured from a pitcher. He fully explained the trouble he was experiencing—as if God didn’t know. I think it just helps us to be able to verbalize what is in our heart in trying to gain a spiritual perspective, even though we realize that God knows us better than we know ourselves. I know that in times of my deepest distress, I have poured out my heart to the LORD with great tears and experienced a great cleansing of the spirit and sense of peace afterwards.
Spurgeon: “Pour out your thoughts and you will see what they are; show your trouble and the extent of it will be known to you: let all be done before the Lord, for in comparison with his great majesty of love the trouble will seem to be as nothing.”
Psalms 142:3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
This verse affirms the thoughts I expressed above. When we get overwhelmed, the LORD knows it before we share with Him and has already prepared to instruct us in the way we should go. David notes that his enemies have laid many traps, hoping to capture him.
Psalms 142:4 ¶ I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
Though we know that David usually traveled with a band of men that were loyal to him, at the time being referenced he felt abandoned. He could find no safe refuge. He felt that there was no one that truly cared whether he lived or died.
Psalms 142:5 I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
Psalms 142:6 Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
Psalms 142:7 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.
In his depression, David called out to the LORD and claimed Him as his hope (from the Hebrew for “refuge”) and inheritance (from the Hebrew for “portion”) in this life. He pleads with the LORD to hear his cry for help because he is very oppressed at the injustice he is experiencing. He admits that his persecutors are stronger than he. He prays for the LORD to set him free and give him reason to once again praise God’s name. He is confident that when the LORD delivers him, he will be surrounded by those that are righteous, that want to join him in serving the LORD in obedience. He knows that God will reward him for maintaining his faith (belief) and trust (confident expectation) in Him.
Spurgeon: “Anything which leads us to cry unto God is a blessing to us.“
Thomas Scott: “There can be no situation so distressing, perilous, or disgraceful, in which faith will not derive comfort from God by fervent prayer….In our greatest perplexities, when our spirits are overwhelmed by distress, and filled with confusion and discouragement, and all our own wisdom and resources exhausted and swallowed up; and when we see snares laid for us on every side, we may reflect with comfort, 'that ‘ the LORD knoweth our path : “'and if we aim to walk in his way, he will protect and guide us, and extricate us from every danger and difficulty.’”
Psalms 143:0 ¶ A Psalm of David.
This is yet another prayer of David he set to music.
EBC Abridged: “This psalm is classified as one of the seven penitential psalms (6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143).”
Guzik: “It is numbered among the Seven Penitential Psalms – songs of confession and humility before God. It was a custom in the early church to sing these psalms on Ash Wednesday, the Wednesday before Easter.”
Psalms 143:1 ¶ Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
Psalms 143:2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
As with several other psalms, David opens this one with an immediate cry for the LORD to hear his prayer, implying a feeling of great urgency and need. He bases his request on God’s faithfulness and righteousness, both of which are inseparable from His character. He follows his cry for help with the request that God not base His answer on His judgment of David because he knows that no man can stand justified before the LORD.
Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God….”
Daniel 9:14 “…for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth….”
How blessed we are as followers of Jesus to know that we stand before God justified in His Son through faith!
Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ….”
Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
Psalms 143:3 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.
Psalms 143:4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
David now presents the reason for his prayer; he is suffering persecution from an enemy that is seeking to kill him—probably Saul or Absalom. He is in the pit of despair.
Obviously, David is making reference to a person as his enemy. As I read these verses, I couldn’t help but make application to how Satan, the enemy, and his forces for evil are ever at work doing the same, seeking to destroy those that have placed their trust in Jesus as their Savior.
Psalms 143:5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
As he prays, David’s thoughts turn to the works of God as recorded in the scripture, the Torah (Genesis-Deuteronomy). The book of Deuteronomy in particular is full of exhortation for God’s people to remember what God has done as a motivation to stay true to their covenant with God. To meditate is to ponder or spend time thinking about something; to muse is the same thing, but also includes the idea of talking about your thoughts. David notes that he meditates on all that God has done for His people and, I am sure, for him particularly. He also meditates and talks about the wonderful things that God has created and the miracles He has performed.
If we would but follow David’s example more, I am sure we would not be as apt to worry in light of how faithful and powerful our God is.
Psalms 143:6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
I think David is painting a picture of how he longs for God’s favor and protection. He compares his desire to feel God’s presence to dry land needing water.
Selah - a pause in the music, a time for meditation
Spurgeon: “It was time to pause, for the supplication had risen to agony point. Both harp strings and heart strings were strained, and needed a little rest to get them right again for the second half of the song.”
Psalms 143:7 ¶ 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.
Once again, David expresses an urgent need that requires the LORD’s provision. He is losing all hope and fears he is close to death.
Psalms 143:8 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.
I get a picture of David praying during the night hoping to have a loving answer from God in the morning. He declares that his only hope rests in the LORD. He is trusting the LORD to guide his steps and show him what to do.
Psalms 143:9 Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
David repeats his plea for the LORD to deliver him from his enemies because he is counting on Him as his refuge for protection.
Spurgeon: “That which makes us flee to our God may be an ill wind, but it blows us good. There is no cowardice in such flight, but much holy courage.”
Psalms 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
David is aware that he has much more to learn about living in accordance with God’s will, so he asks Him for instruction. He declares himself to be God’s servant. He knows that God is good. He asks God to help him to walk in uprightness, in accordance with His will.
Psalms 143:11 Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
Psalms 143:12 And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.
As David closes his psalm, he asks the LORD to “quicken” him. The Hebrew for this word includes many things—“to live, revive, nourish preserve, save.” David wants to live, he wants to be revived to full strength and receive nourishment to preserve and save his life. I think application can be made to both physical and spiritual quickening in context with the whole psalm. He asks that God answer him for His righteousness’ sake. In that day, a person’s “god” was often judged by how “he” provided for that person. David adds the request for God to destroy his enemies in light of that perception.