Psalms 143:10

Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. TEACH ME TO DO THY WILL ( ); FOR THOU ART MY GOD: THY SPIRIT IS GOOD; LEAD ME INTO THE LAND OF UPRIGHTNESS. The parallelism to the two former clauses is better kept up in the English version, which divides the latter half of the verse into two clauses, than by making one clause, as Hengstenberg translates, 'Let thy spirit, the good, lead me upon a plain land.' Palpably the fourth clause corresponds to the first, as the third answers to the second. The whole is a prayer for spiritual guidance, the necessary condition for receiving the temporal as well as the spiritual deliverance which David prays for himself, his seed, and the elect nation. In other psalms similarly we have prayers for deliverance from calamities joined with prayers f...

10._Teach me that I may do thy will_. He now rises to something higher, praying not merely for deliverance from outward troubles, but, what is of still greater importance, for the guidance of God’s Spirit, that he might not decline to the right hand or to the left, but be kept in the path of rectitude. This is a request which should never be forgotten when temptations assail us with great severity, as it is peculiarly difficult to submit to God without resorting to unwarrantable methods of relief. As anxiety, fear, disease, languor, or pain, often tempt persons to particular steps, David’s example should bad us to pray for divine restraint, and that we may not be hurried, through impulses of feeling, into unjustifiable courses. We are to mark carefully his way of expressing himself, for what he asks is not simply to be taught what the will of God is, but to be taught and brought to the o...

7-12 David prays that God would be well pleased with him, and let him know that he was so. He pleads the wretchedness of his case, if God withdrew from him. But the night of distress and discouragement shall end in a morning of consolation and praise. He prays that he might be enlightened with the knowledge of God's will; and this is the first work of the Spirit. A good man does not ask the way in which is the most pleasant walking, but what is the right way. Not only show me what thy will is, but teach me how to do it. Those who have the Lord for their God, have his Spirit for their Guide; they are led by the Spirit. He prays that he might be enlivened to do God's will. But we should especially seek the destruction of our sins, our worst enemies, that we may be devotedly God's servants...

Verse Psalms 143:10. _TEACH ME TO DO THY WILL_] רצונך _retsonecha_, thy _pleasure_. To be found doing the will of God is the only safe state for man. _THY SPIRIT_ IS _GOOD_] The Author of every _good desire_ and _holy_ _purpose_. _LEAD ME_] _Let it lead me_ by its continued inspirations and counsels. _INTO THE LAND OF UPRIGHTNESS._] "Into a right land," CHALDEE. Into the place where I shall be safe. The old Psalter has, _Thi_ _goste gude sal lede me into rygt lande_....

TEACH ME TO DO THY WILL ... - To do that which will be agreeable or pleasing to thee; which will meet with thy approbation. That is, Teach me in the present emergency to do that which thou wilt approve; which will be wise; which will be best adapted to secure my deliverance and my safety. THY SPIRIT IS GOOD - The spirit which guides those who trust in thee; the spirit with which “thou” dost guide people. That spirit is wise, prudent, judicious, reliable. It will not lead astray. Grant me “that” spirit, and I shall be certain that I am going in the right path. There is no certain evidence that the psalmist here refers distinctively to the Holy Spirit, considered as the Third Person of the Trinity; but the prayer is one for guidance from on high in the day of darkness and trouble. It is an acknowledgment of dependence on God for direction, and the expression of confidence that under the di...

EXPOSITION ALMOST entirely a psalm of supplication, partly general (Psalms 143:1, Psalms 143:7), partly special (Psalms 143:2, Psalms 143:8). Psalms 143:3, however, give the grounds upon which the supplications are made; Psalms 143:3, Psalms 143:4 describing the psalmist's wretched condition; and...

TEACH ME TO DO THY WILL,.... Revealed in the word; which saints desire a greater knowledge of in order to do it, and in which they delight; and also are desirous of being taught, and to practise submission to the will of God under afflictions; which was now the case of the psalmist; FOR THOU [ART] MY GOD; his covenant God; and from whom all his afflictions came in a covenant way, and therefore desires to be instructed by him in them; see Jeremiah 31:18; THY SPIRIT [IS] GOOD; thy holy good Spirit, as the Targum; the Spirit of thy holiness, as the Arabic version: the Holy Spirit of God is meant, the third Person in the Trinity; who is "good" essentially, being of the same nature and essence with the Father and Son, with God, who is only good; and effectively is the author of the good work of grace upon the heart, and of the several particular graces

Psalms 143:1. _Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified._ That is, of course, apart from the wondrous system of justification by faith in Jesus Christ, whereby believers are made the righteousness of God in him. Apart from that righteousness, no man living can be justified in the sight of God. Psalms 143:3. _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. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate._ Are any of you passing through this trying experience? If s

PSALM 143-145 In Psalms 143:1 the enemy is mentioned again, the enemy who pursued David. “For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has smitten my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have long been dead.” How this again reminds us of the death experience of the pious remnant when the man of sin, the Antichrist will rule in Israel's land. Prayer for deliverance follows. Hear me speedily--Hide not Thy face from me--Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness--Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies, I flee unto Thee to hide me! The next Psalm riseth higher. Faith lays hold on God. Israel, as David did, will look in faith to Him who has the power to deliver His trusting ones. “My Goodness, and my Fortress; my high tower and my deliverer; my shield and He in whom I trust; who subdueth the peoples under me” (literal translation). They acknowledge before

CXLIII. There is no internal argument to justify the LXX title, A Ps. of [or by] David when his son persecuted him. On the contrary, it contains reminiscences of other and those late Psalms 143:3_ b_ is borrowed from Lamentations 3:6, for clearly the author of the latter passage is more vigorous and original than the author of the Ps. The theme is an ordinary one. The Psalmist prays for deliverance from his foes, who have brought him to death's door, and imprecates vengeance upon them. But we should notice one or two points important for religious history. The righteousness of God here and in other writers later than Deuteronomy is equivalent to faithfulness, and especially the fidelity with which God delivers and guides His people (_cf._...