PSALMS 143

READING CYCLE THREE(see “Guide
to Good Bible Reading“)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT
PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are
responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in
the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in
interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations
above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original
author’s intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one
and only one subject.

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Etc.

 

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

A. There are several
imperatives and
jussives of request.

1. hear, Ps. 143:1a

2. give ear, Ps. 143:1b

3. do not exile into judgment, Ps. 143:2a

4. answer me quickly, Ps. 143:7a

5. do not hide Your face, Ps. 143:7b

6. let me hear, Ps. 143:8a

7. teach me, Ps. 143:8c

8. deliver me, Ps. 143:9a

9. teach me, Ps. 143:10a

10. let Your good Spirit lead me, Ps. 143:10c

B. There are three people characterized in this
Psalm.

1. YHWH

a. faithful, Ps. 143 1c

b. righteous, Ps. 143:1c,11b

c. lovingkindness, Ps. 143:8a,12a

d. in Ps. 143:10c and 11a the parallel phrases
(i.e., “Your good Spirit” and “Your Name”) also characterize YHWH

2. the psalmist

a. his spirit is overwhelmed, Ps. 143:4a

b. his spirit is appalled, Ps. 143:4b

c. he remembers God’s past acts, Ps. 143:5

d. he longs for God, Ps. 143:6

e. his spirit fails, Ps. 143:7a

f. he trusts in God, Ps. 143:8b

g. he lifts his soul to God, Ps. 143:8d

h. he takes refuge in God, Ps. 143:9b

i. YHWH is his God, Ps. 143:10b

3. the enemy

a. persecutes the psalmist, Ps. 143:3a

b. crushed his life, Ps. 143:3b

c. made him dwell in dark places, Ps. 143:3c

d. afflicted the psalmist, Ps. 143:12b

 

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 143:1-4
 ¹Hear my prayer, O Lord,
 Give ear to my supplications!
 Answer me in Your
faithfulness, in Your righteousness!
 ²And do not enter
into judgment with Your servant,
 For in Your sight no man
living is righteous.
 ³For the enemy has
persecuted my soul;
 He has crushed my life to the
ground;
 He has made me dwell in dark
places, like those who have long been dead.
 ⁴Therefore my spirit
is overwhelmed within me;
 My heart is appalled within
me.

143:1 “faithfulness” This noun (BDB 53) comes from the
verb (BDB 52) which denotes “believe,” “faith,” “trust,” and
“faithfulness.” See
Special Topic: Believe, Trust, Faith and Faithfulness in the
OT.

A different word (BDB 105, KB 120) in Ps. 143:8b also means
“trust.”

▣ “righteousness” See
Special Topic:
Righteousness.

Notice how YHWH is characterized, see Contextual Insights, B.
1.

143:2 If YHWH counts sin(s), who can
stand? All humans are affected by the Fall of Genesis 3 (see
Special Topic: The
Fall and the notes at Ps. 130:3-4).

Some rabbis assert that sin begins in Genesis 3 but most in
Genesis 6. The rabbis assert the choices of humans as the source of evil (i.e.,
the two yetzers). Paul affirms Genesis 3 as the source (cf. Rom.
1:18-3:20; 3:23; 11:32; Gal. 3:22). The result is the same, as humans are rebels
and need to be forgiven (cf. 1 Kgs. 8:46; Job 4:17; 9:2; 25:4; Ps. 130:3-4; Pro.
20:9; Eccl. 7:20; Isa. 53:6; Rom. 5:12-21)!

143:2b The UBS Handbook (p.
1151) mentions that this line of poetry, as translated by the LXX, may be
alluded to by Paul in Rom. 3:20 and Gal. 2:16.

143:3-4 These verses describe in
poetic language the feelings of the persecuted psalmist. The imagery is related
to the Hebrew concept of Sheol (cf. Job 10:21; Ps. 88:5-6; Lam. 3:6).

But notice the drastic change that comes in Ps. 143:5, when the
psalmist reflects on YHWH’s wonderful, gracious acts in the past (i.e.,
creation, call of the Patriarchs, Israel becoming a nation and occupying the
land of promise, etc.).

143:3 “the enemy” Note this (Qal participle) is linked to
singular verbs. There are two good options.

1. a collective term (plural
in Ps. 143:9,12)

2. one main enemy

3. a reference to “death,” “the pit,” “Sheol“

 

143:4 “spirit. . .heart” Both of these
refer to the person. The first phrase is a repeat of Ps. 142:39, see note there.

The same thought is repeated in Ps. 143:7a.

For “spirit” see SPECIAL TOPIC: SPIRIT IN THE BIBLE.

For “heart” see SPECIAL TOPIC: THE HEART.

▣ “overwhelmed” This is literally
“faint” (BDB 742, KB 814, Hithpael
imperfect with waw, cf. Ps. 142:3a). This
verb is used with

1. spirit (ruah) – Ps. 77:3; 142:3; 143:4

2. heart (leb) – Ps. 61:2; 143:4

3. soul (nephesh) – Ps. 107:5

 

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 143:5-6
 ⁵I remember the days
of old;
 I meditate on all Your doings;
 I muse on the work of Your
hands.
 ⁶I stretch out my
hands to You;
 My soul longs for You,
as a parched land.
 Selah.

143:5-6 This describes the actions of
the psalmist.

1. he remembers God’s gracious acts of deliverance
in the past, Ps. 143:5a

2. he continues to meditate on God’s actions, Ps.
143:5b, cf. 105:2

3. he reflects/muses (cf. Ps. 77:12; 145:5) on
God’s creation, Ps. 143:5c, cf. Ps. 8:6; 102:25

4. he prays to God, Ps. 143:6a

5. his soul longs for God, Ps. 143:6b, cf. Ps.
42:2; 63:1

These are the focus of faithful followers’ thoughts. We are what we think
about. Our prayers and our acts reveal the true nature of each person.

143:5 “days of old” This noun (BDB 869) can mean “ancient” or “before
time” (cf. Deut. 33:27; Pro. 8:22-23; Micah 5:2). Usually the root denotes
“east” or “before” (NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 869-871).

143:6 “I stretch out my hands to You”
See note at Ps. 141:2b.

▣ “soul” This is the Hebrew term
nephesh. See note at Gen. 35:18 online.

▣ “My soul longs for You, as a parched
land” The psalmist longs/thirsts for personal fellowship with YHWH (i.e.,
Ps. 143:7b; Ps. 42:2; 63:1; 84:2). This is the goal of Gen. 1:26-27. It was
“the” purpose of creation!

Notice that remembering YHWH’s acts and worship gives hope in
current circumstances!

▣ “Selah” See note at Ps. 3:2 online.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 143:7-9
 ⁷Answer me quickly,
O Lord, my spirit fails;
 Do not hide Your face from me,
 Or I will become like those
who go down to the pit.
 ⁸Let me hear Your
lovingkindness in the morning;
 For I trust in You;
 Teach me the way in which I
should walk;
 For to You I lift up my soul.
 ⁹Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
 I take refuge in You.

143:7 “my spirit fails” The verb (BDB 477, KB 476, Qal perfect) means “to be complete” or “to be
finished.” It is used of a person in

1. Job 33:21, flesh fails

2. Ps. 71:9, strength fails

3. Ps. 73:26, flesh and heart fail

4. Pro. 5:11, flesh and body fail

The psalmist feels he is about to die and go to Sheol (i.e., the pit,
Ps. 143:7c).

▣ “hide Your face from me” This is
idiomatic, anthropomorphic language of (1) God being silent and not responding
to the psalmist’s prayers or (2) God rejecting the psalmist; only context or
parallelism can determine (cf. Ps. 10:11; 13:1; 27:9; 30:7; 51:9; 69:17; 88:14;
102:2). It expresses a sense of hopeless helplessness (cf. Ps. 142:4).

143:8c “Teach me the way in which I should
walk” This
verb (BDB 393, KB 390, Hiphil imperative) basically means “to know.” The
NASB translates it as

1. make known – 1 Chr. 17:19; Job 26:3; Ps. 89:1;
98:2; 106:8; 145:12; Isa. 64:1; Hab. 3:2

2. teach – Exod. 18:20; Jer. 31:19; and here

“Walk” is often used as a metaphor for daily living (i.e., Ps.
1:1; Pro. 1:15; 4:14; Isa. 48:17; Jer. 42:3; in the NT also, i.e., Rom. 14:15;
Eph. 4:1,17; 5:2,15).

143:8d “to You I lift up my soul” This
could be imagery, used only three times with YHWH as the object (cf. Ps. 25:1;
86:4) related to

1. praying (i.e., lift up my hands/palms)

2. sacrifice (i.e., wave offering or the imagery
of the horns of the sacrificial altar)

 

143:9

NASB“I take refuge in You”
NKJV“In You I take shelter”
NJB“since in you I find protection”
JPSOA“to You I look for cover”
REB“with you I seek refuge”
LXX, Vulgate“to You I flee”

The participle
(BDB 491, KB 487, Piel
participle) basically means “to
cover” or “to hide.” It is a very common root in the OT.

The AB (p. 325) translates this line of poetry as “my God (El),
truly am I being submerged.” Dahood connects it to a reference to Sheol
by using Job 22:11.

The UBS Handbook (p. 1153) mentions two Hebrew MSS which
translate the MT differently.

1. “I seek refuge in You”

2. “to You I flee”

 

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 143:10-12
 ¹⁰Teach me to do
Your will,
 For You are my God;
 Let Your good Spirit lead me
on level ground.
 ¹¹For the sake of
Your name, O Lord, revive me.
 In Your righteousness bring my
soul out of trouble.
 ¹²And in Your
lovingkindness, cut off my enemies
 And destroy all those who
afflict my soul,
 For I am Your servant.

143:10 “Teach me to do Your will” This
is a different word (BDB 540, KB 531, cf. Deut. 4:1; 6:1; 20:18; Jer. 12:16)
from the “teach” of Ps. 143:8c. YHWH wants to teach us His will so that His
faithful followers can model it for the lost world!

Also note the sovereign God must reveal His will but humans
must choose to act (and continue to act) on this revelation. The covenant
involves both God and humans!

NASB“Your good Spirit”
NKJV“Your Spirit is good”
NRSV, LXX“Your good spirit”
NJB“your generous spirit”
JPSOA, REB“Your gracious spirit”
Peshitta“Your gentle spirit”

As is obvious from the English translations there are two theological issues.

1. how to view “spirit”

a. imagery of God’s agency (i.e., Gen. 1:2; Num.
11:17,25,29; Ps. 139:7; Hag. 2:5)

b. as a characterization of God Himself (cf. Ps.
51:11; Isa. 63:10-11)

2. the definition of “good” (BDB 373 III), which
is a common verb with a wide semantic field; the general
sense is

a. “pleasing,” “good” (verb)

b. “pleasant,” “agreeable,” “good” (adjective)

c. “good thing,” “goodness” (masculine noun)

d. “welfare,” “benefit,” “good thing” (feminine noun)

For #1 please look at
Special Topic: The Personhood of the
Spirit and SPECIAL TOPIC: THE TRINITY.

▣ “level ground” The OT uses the
imagery of a path/road/way to describe one’s life (cf. Ps. 5:8; 26:12; 27:11).

1. the good/godly life is

a. smooth

b. level

c. unobstructed

d. straight

2. the wicked life is

a. crooked

b. unlevel

c. obstructed

d. slippery

 

143:11-12 The psalmist bases his
request, not on his own merit (cf. Ps. 143:2), but on

1. God’s good name, Ps. 143:11a

2. God’s righteousness, Ps. 143:11b

3. God’s lovingkindness, Ps. 143:12a

 

143:11 “For the sake of Your Name” See
Special Topic: “The Name” of YHWH.

NASB, NKJV,
TEV, REB“revive me”
NRSV, JPSOA“preserve my life”
NJB“give me life”
LXX“quicken me”

The verb (BDB
310, KB 309, Piel imperfect) is the common term “life” (noun), “live” (verb),
“alive,” or “living” (adjective).
This
Piel stem is used often in the Psalter (cf. Ps. 80:18; 85:6; 119:25,37,
40,50,88,93,107,149,154,156, 159). It is often parallel to BDB 996, KB 1427, cf.
Ps. 80:3,17,19. It can refer to

1. physical life

2. spiritual life

 

143:12 “Your servant” This can mean

1. a faithful follower

2. an honorific title for leaders

a. Moses

b. Joshua

c. David (i.e., Kings of Judah)

d. Messiah/Israel (i.e., Servant Songs of Isaiah
41-53)

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide
commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of
the Bible. Each of us must walk n the light we have. You, the Bible, and the
Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a
commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think
through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be
thought provoking, not definitive.

1. Since all humans are sinful, on what basis does
the psalmist ask for God to hear and help him?

2. Who is “the enemy”?

3. Define “dark places” in Ps. 143:3.

4. What is the implication of YHWH “hiding His
face”?

5. Does Ps. 143:10 refer to the Holy Spirit?

6. Define “servant.”

 

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