Psalm 143
1-4 A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In Your faithfulness answer me, in Your righteousness! Enter not into judgment with Your servant, for no one living is righteous before You. For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.
5-6 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that You have done; I ponder the work of Your hands. I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah
7-9 Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Hide not Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of Your steadfast love, for in You I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.
Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD! I have fled to You for refuge.
10-12 Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God! Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
For Your Name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life! In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! And in Your steadfast love You will cut off my enemies, and You will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am Your servant. (ESV)
The Main Idea:
Because no one living is righteous before God, the justified sinner prays Psalm 143 daily on the same ground on which he was saved: he pleads God’s righteousness and mercy rather than his own record, remembers God’s works supremely at the cross, trusts God’s steadfast love, and is led by the Spirit into obedience that flows from grace rather than earning it.
1. No Righteousness of My Own
1.1 The appeal rests on God, not David (v. 1)
1.2 The confession cuts every legal claim (v. 2)
1.3 The condition: pursued and in the dark (vv. 3-4)
2. Remembering the Works of God
2.1 Faith looks back (v. 5)
2.2 Faith reaches out thirsty (v. 6)
2.3 The greatest work of God: Christ crucified (vv. 7-9)
3. Trusting Steadfast Love
3.1 The urgency of need (v. 7)
3.2 The morning hope: steadfast love (v. 8)
3.3 The refuge (v. 9)
4. Led by the Spirit
4.1 Teach me to do Your will (v. 10a)
4.2 Let Your good Spirit lead me (v. 10b)
4.3 Preserved for His Name’s sake (vv. 11-12)