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Psalm 143 English Standard Version (ESV)

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.

143 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
  give ear to my pleas for mercy!
  In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant,
  for no one living is righteous before you.

3 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.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;
  my heart within me is appalled.

5 I remember the days of old;
  I meditate on all that you have done;
  I ponder the work of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
  my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

7 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.
8 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.

9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
  I have fled to you for refuge.
10 Teach me to do your will,
  for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
  on level ground!

11 For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!
  In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
12 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.

Reflection

• Once again, fears drove David to the Lord. Again he was helped. He meditated on God’s past works, and ultimately reached a clear understanding of how he must deal with his trials.
• No one likes to feel helpless. David probably felt like this when he wrote this psalm. He cried out to God for mercy and relief. He realized he had no right to expect God’s help. Yet his desperate situation filled him with dismay. David recalled what God had done and reaffirmed his trust in the Lord.
• We may be helpless to improve our situations. But there is still something we can do! “Make me know the way I should go” (v8b) and “Teach me to do your will” (v10). Each day, each hour, as we wait for God to deliver us, we can concentrate our attention on doing God’s will for that day, for that hour.
• What a sense of relief comes over us as we make David’s discovery. We are not helpless after all. There is something we can do. The most important thing of all. We can do God’s will. So, when you can’t change your situation, make it your priority simply to do each hour, each day, what God wills.
• What is God’s will for you for this day? For this hour?

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Psalm 142 English Standard Version (ESV)

You Are My Refuge

A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.

142 With my voice I cry out to the Lord;
  with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
  I tell my trouble before him.

3 When my spirit faints within me,
  you know my way!
In the path where I walk
  they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see:
  there is none who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
  no one cares for my soul.

5 I cry to you, O Lord;
  I say, “You are my refuge,
  my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Attend to my cry,
  for I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
  for they are too strong for me!
7 Bring me out of prison,
  that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
  for you will deal bountifully with me.

Reflection

• The setting of this psalm was the cave in which David hid from Saul’s pursuing army. Troubled and discouraged, David cried out to God for rescue.
• One of the most important lessons we learn from the book of Psalms is that, like David, we can “pour out our complaints” to the Lord. We can tell him every trouble, share every dark and distressed emotion. When no one else is concerned about us, we have in God one who truly cares.
• Sharing our fears and pain with the Lord reminds us of who God is. He not only listens, he is able to help! Our enemies may be too strong for us, but they are not too strong for the Lord.
• We come to the Lord with our fears and our pain. And we come away in peace, with a renewed sense of hope. At last we can see ahead to a time when “The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me”.
• Tell God what is causing your fears and pain. Pause, and allow God to respond and to fill you with his presence, his peace and wait for his deliverance.

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Psalm 141 English Standard Version (ESV)

Give Ear to My Voice

A Psalm of David.

141 O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!
  Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
  and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
  keep watch over the door of my lips!
4 Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
  to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
  and let me not eat of their delicacies!

5 Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
  let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
  let my head not refuse it.
Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
6 When their judges are thrown over the cliff,
  then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
  so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

8 But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
  in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
9 Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me
  and from the snares of evildoers!
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
  while I pass by safely.

Reflection

• David sought help from God, first to live a righteous life, and then to be delivered from evil-doers he expected God to judge.
• Life is built on character and character is built on decisions. This psalm reveals David making a number of wise decisions as he faced the attacks of the enemy.
• We who are God’s people should pray regularly for our own sanctification, and for protection from the evil individuals who oppose us, as we seek to walk with God.
• Is there any person who is making your life difficult right now? Pray for God’s help and deliverance.

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Psalm 140 English Standard Version (ESV)

Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

140 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
  preserve me from violent men,
2 who plan evil things in their heart
  and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
  and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

4 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
  preserve me from violent men,
  who have planned to trip up my feet.
5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
  and with cords they have spread a net;
  beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

6 I say to the Lord, You are my God;
  give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
7 O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
  you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
  do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah

9 As for the head of those who surround me,
  let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let burning coals fall upon them!
  Let them be cast into fire,
  into miry pits, no more to rise!
11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
  let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

12 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
  and will execute justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
  the upright shall dwell in your presence.

Reflection

• David’s enemies were evil, violent men who were stirring up trouble for him and his kingdom. He asked God not to permit his enemies’ evil intentions.
• David called on God to rescue him, confident that among his works is protecting his people from men of violence, and securing justice for the poor.
• This psalm encourages God’s people to call on him in distress when wicked people oppress them.
• Bring all your troubles and difficulties to God right now and ask God to rescue you!