seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Psalm 143 A psalm of David.
1 Lord, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief.
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous before you.
3 The enemy pursues me,
he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in the darkness
like those long dead.
4 So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.
5 I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your works
and consider what your hands have done.
6 I spread out my hands to you;
I thirst for you like a parched land.[a]
listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief.
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous before you.
3 The enemy pursues me,
he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in the darkness
like those long dead.
4 So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.
5 I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your works
and consider what your hands have done.
6 I spread out my hands to you;
I thirst for you like a parched land.[a]
7 Answer me quickly, Lord;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
9 Rescue me from my enemies, Lord,
for I hide myself in you.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
9 Rescue me from my enemies, Lord,
for I hide myself in you.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.
11 For your name’s sake, Lord, preserve my life;
in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
destroy all my foes,
for I am your servant.
in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
destroy all my foes,
for I am your servant.
a. Psalm 143:6 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
This is from the enduringword.com site.
For the enemy has persecuted my soul: In his wide and amazing life, David knew suffering of many kinds. Here he spoke of the persecution and suffering of his soul. Perhaps there was also a physical or material aspect to his misery, but that is not in view. David ached and cried out to God out of soul-misery.
He has crushed my life to the ground: David went on to describe his sense of soul-misery.
· His life felt crushed…to the ground
· He felt that he lived in darkness as would be true of those long…dead
· He felt his spirit to be overwhelmed within himself
· He felt his heart to be distressed
Oh I've been there.... bought that T-Shirt!
I bet David did get nostalgic whenever he saw a sunrise or a sunset. As a child he grew up helping with the flock. He would have spent a lot of time just sitting and enjoying everything around him. There were no video games... or steaming videos to take up his day. He probably chased butterflies or rabbits for sport. Sitting in a bat infested cave [like the one Saul used as a bathroom 1 Samuel 24] had to be a real letdown for the man who stood up to Goliath.
I know what it's like to have soul misery.....
