Make me know the way I should go

Psalm 143

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.

¹Hear 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.

³For 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.
⁴Therefore 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!
¹²And 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.

Much has been made of David holed up in a cave, fleeing his tormentor Saul, and that’s the first image that came to mind as I read Psalm 143. “My enemy… has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.” That cave must have felt dark and cold like a grave. If you think about it, good hiding places are by nature dark.

The early church classified this as the last of the “Penitential Psalms”, following Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, and 130. In that light, the words take on more relevant meaning for me. From the beginning David contrasts the ultimate righteousness of God with our sin. As a lament over the sin condition, this psalm is about a lot more than fleeing Saul.

The miracle of grace is that verse 2 is a confounding paradox. In the same verse, David notes the depravity of man (there is not sugarcoating, no softening of his declaration) and asks a holy and righteous God not to judge us for our sin, as if we could have it both ways.

The enemy who pursues and crushes could then be considered not Saul, but Satan. And what does sin cause us to do? We hide from God. Remember, good hiding places are by nature dark. Verses 9 and 10 are excellent strategy for overcoming sin’s temptation. Flee to God, not from Him. Learn His will. Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Moreover, the final imprecatory verses sit much better with me not as a call for God to crush a loony pursuer but instead for God to cut off our tempter Satan, to destroy the adversary of our soul.

Guard your heart today. Run to your righteous protector God. Learn His will and follow His ways.