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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM CXLIII.</FONT>
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<P>
This psalm, as those before, is a prayer of David, and full of
complaints of the great distress and danger he was in, probably when
Saul persecuted him. He did not only pray in that affliction, but he
prayed very much and very often, not the same over again, but new
thoughts. In this psalm,
I. He complains of his troubles, through the oppression of his enemies
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:3">ver. 3</A>)
and the weakness of his spirit under it, which was ready to sink
notwithstanding the likely course he took to support himself,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:4,5">ver. 4, 5</A>.
II. He prays, and prays earnestly
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:6">ver. 6</A>),
1. That God would hear him,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:1-7">ver. 1-7</A>.
2. That he would not deal with him according to his sins,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:2">ver. 2</A>.
3. That he would not hide his face from him
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:7">ver. 7</A>),
but manifest his favour to him,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:8">ver. 8</A>.
4. That he would guide and direct him in the way of his duty
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:8,10">ver. 8, 10</A>)
and quicken him in it,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:11">ver. 11</A>.
5. That he would deliver him out of his troubles,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:9,11">ver. 9, 11</A>.
6. That he would in due time reckon with his persecutors,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:12">ver. 12</A>.
We may more easily accommodate this psalm to ourselves, in the singing
of it, because most of the petitions in it are for spiritual blessings
(which we all need at all times), mercy and grace.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps143_3"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps143_4"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps143_5"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps143_6"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Complaints and Petitions.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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<P>A psalm of David.</P>
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<P>
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Hear my prayer, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, give ear to my
supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, <I>and</I> 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 smitten my
life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as
those that have been long dead.
4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within
me is desolate.
5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I
muse on the work of thy hands.
6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul <I>thirsteth</I> after
thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
</FONT></P>
<P>
Here, I. David humbly begs to be heard
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
not as if he questioned it, but he earnestly desired it, and was in
care about it, for, having desired it, and was in care about it, for
having directed his prayer, he looked up to see how it sped,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hab+2:1">Hab. ii. 1</A>.
He is a suppliant to his God, and he begs that his requests may be
granted: <I>Hear my prayer; give ear to my supplications.</I> He is an
appellant against his persecutors, and he begs that his case may be
brought to hearing and that God will give judgment upon it, in his
faithfulness and righteousness, as the Judge of right and wrong. Or,
"Answer my petitions in thy faithfulness, according to the promises
thou hast made, which thou wilt be just to." We have no righteousness
of our own to plead, and therefore must plead God's righteousness, the
word of promise which he has freely given us and caused us to hope
in.</P>
<P>
II. He humbly begs not to be proceeded against in strict justice,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
He seems here, if not to correct, yet to explain, his plea
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
Deliver me <I>in thy righteousness;</I> "I mean," says he, "the
righteous promises of the gospel, not the righteous threatenings of the
law; if I be answered according to the righteousness of this broken
covenant of innocency, I am quite undone;" and therefore,
1. His petition is, "<I>Enter not into judgment with thy servant;</I>
do not deal with me in strict justice, as I deserve to be dealt with."
In this prayer we must own ourselves to be God's servants, bound to
obey him, accountable to him, and solicitous to obtain his favour, and
we must approve ourselves to him. We must acknowledge that in many
instances we have offended him, and have come short of our duty to him,
that he might justly enquire into our offences, and proceed against us
for them according to law, and that, if he should do so, judgment would
certainly go against us; we have nothing to move in arrest or
mitigation of it, but execution would be taken out and awarded and then
we should be ruined for ever. But we must encourage ourselves with a
hope that there is mercy and forgiveness with God, and be earnest with
him for the benefit of that mercy. "<I>Enter not into judgment with thy
servant,</I> for thou hast already entered into judgment with thy Son,
and laid upon him the iniquity of us all. <I>Enter not into judgment
with thy servant,</I> for thy servant enters into judgment with
himself;" and, if <I>we will judge ourselves, we shall not be
judged.</I>
2. His plea is, "<I>In thy sight shall no man living be justified</I>
upon those terms, for no man can plead innocency nor any righteousness
of his own, either that he has not sinned or that he does not deserve
to die for his sins; nor that he has any satisfaction of his own to
offer;" nay, if God contend with us, <I>we are not able to answer him
for one of a thousand,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+9:3,15:20">Job ix. 3; xv. 20</A>.
David, before he prays for the removal of his trouble, prays for the
pardon of his sin, and depends upon mere mercy for it.</P>
<P>
III. He complains of the prevalency of his enemies against him
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
"Saul, that great enemy, <I>has persecuted my soul,</I> sought my life,
with a restless malice, and has carried the persecution so far that he
has already <I>smitten it down to the ground.</I> Though I am not yet
under ground, I am struck to the ground, and that is next door to it;
he has forced me to <I>dwell in darkness,</I> not only in dark caves,
but in dark thoughts and apprehensions, in the clouds of melancholy,
<I>as</I> helpless and hopeless as <I>those that have been long
dead.</I> Lord, let me find mercy with thee, for I find no mercy with
men. They condemn me; but, Lord, do not thou condemn me. Am not I an
object of thy compassion, fit to be appeared for; and is not my enemy
an object of thy displeasure, fit to be appeared against?"</P>
<P>
IV. He bemoans the oppression of his mind, occasioned by his outward
troubles
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
<I>Therefore is my spirit</I> overpowered and <I>overwhelmed within
me,</I> and I am almost plunged in despair; when without are fightings
within are fears, and those fears greater tyrants and oppressors than
Saul himself and not so easily out-run. It is sometimes the lot of the
best men to have their spirits for a time almost overwhelmed and their
hearts desolate, and doubtless it is their infirmity. David was not
only a great saint, but a great soldier, and yet even he was sometimes
ready to faint in a day of adversity. <I>Howl, fir-trees, if the
cedars be shaken.</I></P>
<P>
V. He applies himself to the use of proper means for the relief of his
troubled spirit. He had no force to muster up against the oppression of
the enemy, but, if he can keep possession of nothing else, he will do
what he can to keep possession of his own soul and to preserve his
inward peace. In order to this,
1. He looks back, and <I>remembers the days of old</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
God's former appearances for his afflicted people and for him in
particular. It has been often a relief to the people of God in their
straits to think of the wonders which their fathers told them of,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+77:5,11">Ps. lxxvii. 5, 11</A>.
2. He looks round, and takes notice of the works of God in the visible
creation, and the providential government of the world: <I>I meditate
on all thy works.</I> Many see them, but do not see the footsteps of
God's wisdom, power, and goodness in them, and do not receive the
benefit they might by them because they do not meditate upon them; they
do not dwell on that copious curious subject, but soon quit it, as if
they had exhausted it, when they have scarcely touched upon it. <I>I
muse on,</I> or (as some read it) <I>I discourse of, the</I> operation
<I>of thy hands,</I> how great, how good, it is! The more we consider
the power of God the less we shall fear the face or force of man,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+51:12,13">Isa. li. 12, 13</A>.
3. He looks up with earnest desires towards God and his favour
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
"<I>I stretch forth my hands unto thee,</I> as one begging an alms, and
big with expectation to receive something great, standing ready to lay
hold on it and bid it welcome. <I>My soul thirsteth after thee; it is
to thee</I> (so the word is), entire for thee, intent on thee; it is
<I>as a thirsty land,</I> which, being parched with excessive heat,
gapes for rain; so do I need, so do I crave, the support and
refreshment of divine consolations under my afflictions, and nothing
else will relieve me." This is the best course we can take when our
spirits are overwhelmed; and justly do those sink under their load who
will not take such a ready way as this to ease themselves.</P>
<A NAME="Ps143_7"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps143_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps143_9"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps143_10"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps143_11"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps143_12"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Prayers for Divine Grace.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P>
<FONT SIZE=+1>7 Hear me speedily, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: my spirit faileth: hide not thy
face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
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.
9 Deliver me, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to
hide me.
10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou <I>art</I> my God: thy spirit
<I>is</I> good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
11 Quicken me, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, for thy name's sake: for thy
righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them
that afflict my soul: for I <I>am</I> thy servant.
</FONT></P>
<P>
David here tells us what he said when he stretched forth his hands unto
God; he begins not only as one in earnest, but as one in haste:
"<I>Hear me speedily,</I> and defer no longer, for <I>my spirit
faileth.</I> I am just ready to faint; reach the cordial--quickly,
quickly, or I am gone." It was not a haste of unbelief, but of vehement
desire and holy love. <I>Make haste, O God! to help me.</I> Three
things David here prays for:--</P>
<P>
I. The manifestations of God's favour towards him, that God would be
well pleased with him and let him know that he was so; this he prefers
before any good,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+4:6">Ps. iv. 6</A>.
1. He dreads God's frowns: "Lord, <I>hide not thy face from me;</I>
Lord, be not angry with me, do not turn from me, as we do from one we
are displeased with; Lord, let me not be left under the apprehensions
of thy anger or in doubt concerning thy favour; if I have thy favour,
let it not be hidden from me." Those that have the truth of grace
cannot but desire the evidence of it. He pleads the wretchedness of his
case if God withdrew from him: "Lord, let me not lie under thy wrath,
for then I am <I>like those that go down to the pit,</I> that is, down
to the grave (I am a dead man, weak, and pale, and ghastly; thy frowns
are worse than death), or down to hell, the bottomless pit." Even those
who through grace are delivered from going down to the pit may
sometimes, when the terrors of the Almighty set themselves in array
against them, look like those who are going to the pit. Disconsolate
saints have sometimes cried out of the wrath of God, as if they had
been damned sinners,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+6:4,Ps+88:6">Job vi. 4; Ps. lxxxviii. 6</A>.
2. He entreats God's favour
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
<I>Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning.</I> He cannot
but think that God has a kindness for him, that he has some kind things
to say to him, some good words and comfortable words; but the present
hurry of his affairs, and tumult of his spirits, drowned those pleasing
whispers; and therefore he begs, "Lord, do not only speak kindly to me,
but cause me to hear it, to <I>hear joy and gladness,</I>"
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+51:8">Ps. li. 8</A>.
God speaks to us by his word and by his providence, and in both we
should desire and endeavour to <I>hear his lovingkindness</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+107:43">Ps. cvii. 43</A>),
that we may set that always before us: "<I>Cause me to hear</I> it
<I>in the morning,</I> every morning; let my waking thoughts be of
God's lovingkindness, that the sweet relish of that may abide upon my
spirits all the day long." His plea is, "<I>For in thee do I trust,</I>
and in thee only; I look not for comfort in any other." God's goodness
is commonly wrought <I>for those who trust in him</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:8">Ps. xxxi. 8</A>),
who by faith draw it out.</P>
<P>
II. The operations of God's grace in him. Those he is as earnest for as
for the tokens of God's favour to him, and so should we be. He
prays,</P>
<P>
1. That he might be enlightened with the knowledge of God's will; and
this is the first work of the Spirit, in order to his other works, for
God deals with men as men, as reasonable creatures. Here are three
petitions to this effect:--
(1.) <I>Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk.</I> Sometimes
those that are much in care to walk right are in doubt, and in the
dark, which is the right way. Let them come boldly to the throne of
grace, and beg of God, by his word, and Spirit, and providence, to show
them the way, and prevent their missing it. A good man does not ask
what is the way in which he must walk, or in which is the most pleasant
walking, but what is the right way, the way in which he should walk. He
pleads, "<I>I lift up my soul unto thee,</I> to be moulded and
fashioned according to thy will." He did not only importunately, but
impartially, desire to know his duty; and those that do so shall be
taught.
(2.) "<I>Teach me to do thy will,</I> not only show me what thy will
is, but teach me how to do it, how to turn my hand dexterously to my
duty." It is the desire and endeavour of all God's faithful servants to
know and to do his will, and to stand complete in it. He pleads,
"<I>Thou art my God,</I> and therefore my oracle, by whom I may expect
to be advised--my God, and therefore my ruler, whose will I desire to
do." If we do in sincerity take God for our God, we may depend upon him
to teach us to do his will, as a master does his servant.
(3.) <I>Lead me into the land of uprightness,</I> into the communion of
saints, that pleasant land of the upright, or into a settled course of
holy living, which will lead to heaven, that land of uprightness where
holiness will be in perfection, and he that is holy shall be holy
still. We should desire to be led, and kept safe, to heaven, not only
because it is a land of blessedness, but because it is a land of
uprightness; it is the perfection of grace. We cannot find the way that
will bring us to that land unless God show us, nor go in that way
unless he take us by the hand and lead us, as we lead those that are
weak, or lame, or timorous, or dim-sighted; so necessary is the grace
of God, not only to put us into the good way, but to keep us and carry
us on in it. The plea is, "<I>Thy Spirit is good,</I> and able to make
me good," good and willing to help those that are at a loss. Those that
have the Lord for their God have his Spirit for their guide; and it is
both their character and their privilege that they are <I>led by the
Spirit.</I></P>
<P>
2. He prays that he might be enlivened to do his will
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
"<I>Quicken me, O Lord!</I>--quicken my devotions, that they may be
lively; quicken me to my duty, and quicken me in it; and this <I>for
thy name's sake.</I>" The best saints often find themselves dull, and
dead, and slow, and therefore pray to God to quicken them.</P>
<P>
III. The appearance of God's providence for him,
1. That God would, in his own way and time, give him rest from his
troubles
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
"<I>Deliver me, O Lord! from my enemies,</I> that they may not have
their will against me; <I>for I flee unto thee to hide me;</I> I trust
to thee to defend me in my trouble, and therefore to rescue me out of
it." Preservations are pledges of salvation, and those shall find God
their hiding-place who by faith make him such. He explains himself
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
"<I>For thy righteousness-sake, bring my soul out of trouble,</I> for
thy promise-sake, nay, for thy mercy-sake" (for some by
<I>righteousness</I> understand <I>kindness</I> and <I>goodness</I>);
"do not only deliver me from my outward trouble, but from the trouble
of my soul, the trouble that threatens to overwhelm my spirit. Whatever
trouble I am in, Lord, let not my heart be troubled,"
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+14:1">John xiv. 1</A>.
2. That he would reckon with those that were the instruments of his
trouble
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+143:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
"<I>Of thy mercy</I> to me <I>cut off my enemies,</I> that I may be no
longer in fear of them; <I>and destroy all those,</I> whoever they be,
how numerous, how powerful, soever, <I>who afflict my soul,</I> and
create vexation to that; <I>for I am thy servant,</I> and am resolved
to continue such, and therefore may expect to be owned and protected in
thy service." This prayer is a prophecy of the utter destruction of all
the impenitent enemies of Jesus Christ and his kingdom, who will not
have him to reign over them, who grieve his Spirit, and afflict his
soul, by afflicting his people, in whose afflictions he is
afflicted.</P>
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