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Psalm 143

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

A Psalm of David.

1

Hear my prayer, O L ord;

give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;

answer me in your righteousness.

2

Do not enter into judgment with your servant,

for no one living is righteous before you.

 

3

For the enemy has pursued me,

crushing my life to the ground,

making 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 think about all your deeds,

I meditate on the works 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 L ord;

my spirit fails.

Do not hide your face from me,

or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.

8

Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,

for in you I put my trust.

Teach me the way I should go,

for to you I lift up my soul.

 

9

Save me, O L ord, from my enemies;

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 a level path.

 

11

For your name’s sake, O L ord, preserve my life.

In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.

12

In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,

and destroy all my adversaries,

for I am your servant.


9. Deliver me, O Jehovah! from my enemies. This prayer is to the same effect, his enemies being so earnestly bent upon his destruction as to leave no outgate for him. The verb כסיתי, chisithi, some render to hope: the proper meaning is to cover, and I am unwilling to depart from it. The explanation some give is, that David upon perceiving the imminent danger to which he was exposed, betook himself to the covert of God’s shadow, and concealed himself under the protection of it. This seems a very natural rendering, at least I prefer it to another which has recommended itself to some as being ingenious — that David, instead of having recourse to various quarters for relief, was satisfied to have God cognizant of his case, and called upon him in a hidden manner and apart.


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