Understanding Psalm 143.

Psalm 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 Psalm 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 chapters 15-19.

What Psalm 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".