Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit.
Parallel Translations
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Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit.
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Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
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Answer me speedily, O LORD, my spirit faileth; hide not Thy face from me; lest I become like them that go down into the pit.
Cross-references (18)
Passages linked to Psalms 143:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 69:17 Don’t hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress. Answer me speedily!
- Psalms 28:1 To you, Yahweh, I call. My rock, don’t be deaf to me, lest, if you are silent to me, I would become like those who go down into the pit.
- Psalms 27:9 Don’t hide your face from me. Don’t put your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Don’t abandon me, neither forsake me, God of my salvation.
- Psalms 71:12 God, don’t be far from me. My God, hurry to help me.
- Psalms 69:3 I am weary with my crying. My throat is dry. My eyes fail looking for my God.
- Psalms 70:5 But I am poor and needy. Come to me quickly, God. You are my help and my deliverer. Yahweh, don’t delay.
- Psalms 88:4-6 I am counted among those who go down into the pit. I am like a man who has no help, set apart among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more. They are cut off from your hand. You have laid me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.
- Psalms 102:2 Don’t hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Turn your ear to me. Answer me quickly in the day when I call.
- Isaiah 38:18 For Sheol can’t praise you. Death can’t celebrate you. Those who go down into the pit can’t hope for your truth.
- Psalms 13:1-4 How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me? Behold, and answer me, Yahweh, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death; lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him;” lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall.
- Psalms 22:24 For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, Neither has he hidden his face from him; but when he cried to him, he heard.
- Psalms 40:12-13 For innumerable evils have surrounded me. My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs of my head. My heart has failed me. Be pleased, Yahweh, to deliver me. Hurry to help me, Yahweh.
- Psalms 40:17 But I am poor and needy. May the Lord think about me. You are my help and my deliverer. Don’t delay, my God.
- Psalms 88:10-11 Do you show wonders to the dead? Do the departed spirits rise up and praise you? Is your loving kindness declared in the grave? Or your faithfulness in Destruction?
- Isaiah 8:17 I will wait for Yahweh, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
- Isaiah 57:16 For I will not contend forever, neither will I always be angry; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls whom I have made.
- Luke 21:26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
- Psalms 84:2 My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of Yahweh. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 143:7 Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit…
Psa 143:7 Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
Ver. 7. Hear me speedily] A very pathetic prayer uttered in many words to like purpose; as the manner is, in extreme danger.
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My spirit faileth] I am ready to sink and to swoon. This David knew; God hath a great care that the spirit fail not before him, and the souls which he hath made, Isa 57:16. When Bezoard stone is beaten we see that none of it be lost; not so when ordinary spices: so here, for ordinary spirits God cares not much what becometh of them, as he doth of the choice spirits of his people.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain That are dead and buried, of whom there is…
That are dead and buried, of whom there is no hope.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain David here tells us what he said when he…
David here tells us what he said when he stretched forth his hands unto God; he begins not only as one in earnest, but as one in haste: "Hear me speedily, and defer no longer, for my spirit faileth. I am just ready to faint; reach the cordial - quickly, quickly, or I am gone." It was not a haste of unbelief, but of vehement desire and holy love. Make haste, O God! to help me. Three things David here prays for: -
I. The manifestations of God's favour towards him, that God would be well pleased with him and let him know that he was so; this he prefers before any good, Psa 4:6. 1. He dreads God's frowns: "Lord, hide not thy face from me; Lord, be not angry with me, do not turn from me, as we do from one we are displeased with; Lord, let me not be left under the apprehensions of thy anger or in doubt concerning thy favour; if I have thy favour, let it not be hidden from me." Those that have the truth of grace cannot but desire the evidence of it. He pleads the wretchedness of his case if God withdrew from him: "Lord, let me not lie under thy wrath, for then I am like those that go down to the pit, that is, down to the grave (I am a dead man, weak, and pale, and ghastly; thy frowns are worse than death), or down to hell, the bottomless pit." Even those who through grace are delivered from going down to the pit may sometimes, when the terrors of the Almighty set themselves in array against them, look like those who are going to the pit. Disconsolate saints have sometimes cried out of the wrath of God, as if they had been damned sinners, Job 6:4; Psa 88:6. 2. He entreats God's favour (Psa 143:8): Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning. He cannot but think that God has a kindness for him, that he has some kind things to say to him, some good words and comfortable words; but the present hurry of his affairs, and tumult of his spirits, drowned those pleasing whispers; and therefore he begs, "Lord, do not only speak kindly to me, but cause me to hear it, to hear joy and gladness," Psa 51:8. God speaks to us by his word and by his providence, and in both we should desire and endeavour to hear his lovingkindness (Psa 107:43), that we may set that always before us: "Cause me to hear it in the morning, every morning; let my waking thoughts be of God's lovingkindness, that the sweet relish of that may abide upon my spirits all the day long." His plea is, "For in thee do I trust, and in thee only; I look not for comfort in any other." God's goodness is commonly wrought for those who trust in him (Psa 31:8), who by faith draw it out.
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II. The operations of God's grace in him. Those he is as earnest for as for the tokens of God's favour to him, and so should we be. He prays,
1. That he might be enlightened with the knowledge of God's will; and this is the first work of the Spirit, in order to his other works, for God deals with men as men, as reasonable creatures. Here are three petitions to this effect: - (1.) Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk. Sometimes those that are much in care to walk right are in doubt, and in the dark, which is the right way. Let them come boldly to the throne of grace, and beg of God, by his word, and Spirit, and providence, to show them the way, and prevent their missing it. A good man does not ask what is the way in which he must walk, or in which is the most pleasant walking, but what is the right way, the way in which he should walk. He pleads, "I lift up my soul unto thee, to be moulded and fashioned according to thy will." He did not only importunately, but impartially, desire to know his duty; and those that do so shall be taught. (2.) "Teach me to do thy will, not only show me what thy will is, but teach me how to do it, how to turn my hand dexterously to my duty." It is the desire and endeavour of all God's faithful servants to know and to do his will, and to stand complete in it. He pleads, "Thou art my God, and therefore my oracle, by whom I may expect to be advised - my God, and therefore my ruler, whose will I desire to do." If we do in sincerity take God for our God, we may depend upon him to teach us to do his will, as a master does his servant. (3.) Lead me into the land of uprightness, into the communion of saints, that pleasant land of the upright, or into a settled course of holy living, which will lead to heaven, that land of uprightness where holiness will be in perfection, and he that is holy shall be holy still. We should desire to be led, and kept safe, to heaven, not only because it is a land of blessedness, but because it is a land of uprightness; it is the perfection of grace. We cannot find the way that will bring us to that land unless God show us, nor go in that way unless he take us by the hand and lead us, as we lead those that are weak, or lame, or timorous, or dim-sighted; so necessary is the grace of God, not only to put us into the good way, but to keep us and carry us on in it. The plea is, "Thy Spirit is good, and able to make me good," good and willing to help those that are at a loss. Those that have the Lord for their God have his Spirit for their guide; and it is both their character and their privilege that they are led by the Spirit.
2. He prays that he might be enlivened to do his will (Psa 143:11): "Quicken me, O Lord! - quicken my devotions, that they may be lively; quicken me to my duty, and quicken me in it; and this for thy name's sake." The best saints often find themselves dull, and dead, and slow, and therefore pray to God to quicken them.
III. The appearance of God's providence for him, 1. That God would, in his own way and time, give him rest from his troubles (Psa 143:9): "Deliver me, O Lord! from my enemies, that they may not have their will against me; for I flee unto thee to hide me; I trust to thee to defend me in my trouble, and therefore to rescue me out of it." Preservations are pledges of salvation, and those shall find God their hiding-place who by faith make him such. He explains himself (Psa 143:11): "For thy righteousness-sake, bring my soul out of trouble, for thy promise-sake, nay, for thy mercy-sake" (for some by righteousness understand kindness and goodness); "do not only deliver me from my outward trouble, but from the trouble of my soul, the trouble that threatens to overwhelm my spirit. Whatever trouble I am in, Lord, let not my heart be troubled," Joh 14:1. 2. That he would reckon with those that were the instruments of his trouble (Psa 143:12): "Of thy mercy to me cut off my enemies, that I may be no longer in fear of them; and destroy all those, whoever they be, how numerous, how powerful, soever, who afflict my soul, and create vexation to that; for I am thy servant, and am resolved to continue such, and therefore may expect to be owned and protected in thy service." This prayer is a prophecy of the utter destruction of all the impenitent enemies of Jesus Christ and his kingdom, who will not have him to reign over them, who grieve his Spirit, and afflict his soul, by afflicting his people, in whose afflictions he is afflicted.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth,.... Ready…
Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth,.... Ready to sink, swoon, and faint away, through the weight of the affliction on him, by reason of the persecution of his enemy, and for want of the divine Presence; hence the Targum renders it,
"my spirit desireth thee;''
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see Sol 5:6; and therefore entreats that God would hear and answer him quickly; or, "make haste to answer" him, and not delay, lest he should be quite gone. Wherefore it follows,
hide not thy face from me; nothing is more desirable to a good man than the "face" or presence of God, the light of his countenance, and sensible communion with him; which may be said to be "hid" when he withdraws his gracious presence, and withholds the discoveries of his love, and the manifestations of his free grace and favour; which he sometimes does on account of sin, and is the case at times of the best of saints; and is consistent with the love of God, though very grieving to them, and therefore here deprecated: the Targum is,
"cause not thy Shechinah to remove from me;''
lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit; either the house of the grave, as the Targum; look wan and pale, become lifeless and spiritless, or like a dead man; for as in the favour of God is life, his absence is as death: or the pit of hell, the pit of destruction; that is, be in such horror and despair, and under such apprehensions of divine wrath, as the damned feel.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 7. Hear me speedily] מהר maher, make haste…
Verse 7. Hear me speedily] מהר maher, make haste to answer me. A few hours, and my state may be irretrievable. In a short time my unnatural son may put an end to my life.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 143:7-9. Hear me speedily — Defer no longer;…
Psa 143:7-9. Hear me speedily — Defer no longer; for my spirit faileth — I am just ready to faint. Hide not thy face — Be not angry with me; do not turn from me as one displeased with me, nor deprive me of the light of thy countenance: if I have thy favour let me know that I have it; lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit — That are dead and buried, of whom there is no hope; or, lest I be discouraged, dejected, and disconsolate. Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning — Early, seasonable, and speedily, as this phrase is taken Psa 90:14. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk — So as to please thee and to secure myself; I flee unto thee to hide me — Without whose care these caves, and rocks, and human helps can give me no protection.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain “Hear me speedily, O Lord.” Hasten to hear me;…
“Hear me speedily, O Lord.” Hasten to hear me; do not delay. Literally, “Hasten; answer me.” I am in imminent danger. Do not delay to come to my relief.
My spirit faileth - My strength is declining. I can hold out no longer. I am ready to give up and die.
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Hide not thy face from me - Do not refuse or delay to look favorably upon me; to lift up the light of thy countenance upon me.
Lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit - Margin, “For I am become like.” The idea is, Unless thou shalt lift up the light of thy countenance - unless thou shalt interpose and help me, I shall die. The “pit” here refers to the grave. See the notes at Psa 28:1.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 7. Hear me speedily—This second half of the psalm…
7. Hear me speedily—This second half of the psalm presents many thoughts already familiar. The night is advancing, and with the dawn, comes battle, and, unless he gain the ear and aid of Jehovah, utter ruin will also come, irretrievable as a plunge into the bottomless.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 7. From Psa_69:17; Psa_102:2; Psa_27:9; Psa_84:2; Psa_28:1.
7. From Psa_69:17; Psa_102:2; Psa_27:9; Psa_84:2; Psa_28:1.
Hear me speedily] R.V. Make haste to answer me.
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hide not &c.] For if God withdraws the light of His Presence, he will be like the dying or the dead.
7–12. Prayer for speedy hearing, for guidance and deliverance, for the destruction of his enemies. The language is borrowed almost entirely from older Psalms.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (7) With the first clause comp. Psa_69:17, with the…
(7) With the first clause comp. Psa_69:17, with the second, Psa_102:2,
This dependence on former psalms does not detract from the reality of the feeling expressed by means of these ancient sobs and cries. The contrast of the present with former times (Psa_143:5) with the recollection of God’s dealings then, joined to thoughtful contemplation of the reality of His power as displayed in His works, makes the psalmist’s anguish the more intense, his longing the more consuming, his supplication the more urgent.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Hear me speedily, O Lord. Here the direct supplication…
Hear me speedily, O Lord. Here the direct supplication of ver. 1 is taken up, and pressed. "Hear me, O Lord; and not only hear me, but that speedily. It is a time for haste". (comp. Psa_141:1) My spirit faileth; or, "fainteth" (LXX, exelipe ). Hide not thy face from me. (comp. Psa_27:9 Psa_69:17 Psa_102:2) Lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. (see the comment on Psa_28:1)
Becoming "like unto them that go down into the pit;
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Such was the psalmist"s horrible dread, the extreme terror of his soul.
I WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? The dead were they who went down into the pit.
1. The expression is one of those which mark the intense repulsion with which the Old Testament saints regarded death. Listen to David"s piteous cry, "Oh, spare me that I may recover strength," etc.. (Ps 39; cf. also Psa_88:1-7, 10-12 115:16-18; and passim throughout the Old Testament) They regarded the grave with feelings of the deepest gloom as a dark pit, a prison with bars. (Job_17:16) See also Hezekiah"s entreaty that he might not die. (Isa 38) The grave was the land of destruction, of darkness, where they could not praise God nor enjoy his favor; where they would be utterly forgotten; and whence they should never return. Because of its dread associations, our translators have often rendered the Hebrew word into our word "hell," as in the well-known passage, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all," etc. But it is the same word as is used by Jacob when he says, "Ye will bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave." The souls of the pious Jews shrank from death with an unutterable repulsion; and hence, when the psalmist here would express the extremity of spiritual distress, he describes it as becoming "like unto them that go down into the pit." Life and immortality are brought to light by the gospel; but those ancient saints had not that light. Contrast St. Paul"s courageous "I am ready to be offered up," and the mournful moan of the psalmist, "Oh, spare me!" the joy and hope of the gospel with the gloom of the Old Testament. (cf. Job 14 with Joh 14 and the whole of the New Testament)
2. But, wherefore so it will at once be asked was this hope withheld from the psalmists and such as they? And we reply that probably one reason was that they might learn, as they did learn, to put all their trust and find all their delight in God. He was to be everything to them; their God and their exceeding Joy; and, when this was so, they could leave to him to determine what their future should be. They were to have, and to teach us to have, a present salvation, and to trust in God for all the rest. And this, in our best moments, is what we do. It is not the thought of the future life that most of all influences the true believer, but the present realization of God. If he has that, it is well with him; but without that, even the hope of the future life waxes dim. What the soul of man wants is a salvation here and now; and it is what we may have, and many have, and all should have, and then the soul will be at rest as to all the future may bring. And to teach this was, we think, one of the reasons why the clear promise of the future life which we enjoy was not given to them. But to return to the text, we inquire
II WHENCE SUCH DISTRESS OF SOUL AS THE TEXT INDICATES ARISES?
1. Sometimes it is owing to the presence of earthly sorrow, and the cruelty of men. Such was the case, evidently, with the writer of this psalm. "Man"s inhumanity to man" will not seldom smite the "soul down to the ground," and make the spirit faint. It has done such cruel and cursed work again and again.
2. Delayed answers to prayer. How frequently do these psalms show the terrible strain upon the faith of God"s people which such delayed answers to their prayers has caused! (Psa_22:2 Psa_88:9, and parallels)
3. The sense of sin. (See Ps 32 Ps 51; and the penitential psalms generally; also the publican"s prayer, "God be merciful," etc.!) Where no relief comes, sometimes, as in the case of Saul and Judas, men have rushed to self-destruction. The agony of this sense of sin is to the soul like that of broken bones to the body. (Psa_51:8) Think of what the prodigal"s home-journey must have been, what bitter thoughts must have filled his mind. The conviction of sin has no comfort in itself, though it should lead thereto.
4. And sometimes God lets his beloved ones fall into such deep depression. See our blessed Lord in Gethsemane, and in the darkness on the cross. He knows what such soul-agony means; in this, as in all points, he has been tried like as we are.
III WHEREFORE IS IT PERMITTED?
1. For the trial and so the strengthening of trust in God. See the Syrophoenician woman how her faith was tried! But she stood the test, as the Lord knew she would; and she rose thereafter and because of it to a glorious height of faith, such as even made the Lord himself to marvel, and to pronounce on her a benediction which otherwise she would never have gained. Hence it is that St. James bids us count it all joy when we fall into such trials. They are the opportunity for the soul"s winning the high prizes of the kingdom of God; and when God sends to us such trials, he is but entering us for the glorious contest. Therefore count it all joy!
2. For the working in us of a holy hatred of sin. That is the reason of the Holy Spirit"s convicting work. Burnt children dread the fire; therefore God lets sin burs the sinner.
3. For the helping of others. He who endures trial witnesses for God as none other can. He declares in the face of an unbelieving world not to say Church that God"s grace is sufficient, and that therewith he can do and bear all things. That testimony is needed, and is fruitful of blessing. It was thus that always and everywhere the blood of the martyrs has been the seed of the Church. What heart-cheer it brings to tempted yet timid souls! See to it that we thus witness for God. It was thus our Lord witnessed.
IV WHENCE RELIEF COMES. "Hide not thy face from me so the psalmist prays, and thus plainly declares that what would certainly bring him relief would be the face of God shining upon him. When God thus blesses his servants, then it is that he gives them quietness, and none then can make trouble; (Job_34:29) for then, man may be as cruel as he will, the specific answers to our prayers may be delayed as long as God sees fit, the sense of sin will be swallowed up in the certainty of God"s pardoning love, and we are able to say, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him!
CONCLUSION.
1. Can God"s face shine upon us? Not if we are refusing to let go our hold of sin. If we will not renounce that, God"s face cannot shine upon us. Therefore, be now, at once, reconciled to God.
2. Will it shine upon us? Yes, it ever does; though, as with the sun, clouds may obscure its brightness. We patiently wait till the clouds clear. That is what the believer has to do patiently for him. S.C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 7. Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit…
Ver. 7. Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth. If long delayed, the deliverance would come too late. The afflicted suppliant faints, and is ready to die. His life is ebbing out; each moment is of importance; it will soon be all over with him. No argument for speed can be more powerful than this. Who will not run to help a suppliant when his life is in jeopardy? Mercy has wings to its heels when misery is in extremity. God will not fail when our spirit fails, but the rather he will hasten his course and come to us on the wings of the wind. Hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Communion with God is so dear to a true heart that the withdrawal of it makes the man feel as though he were ready to die and perish utterly. God's withdrawals reduce the heart to despair, and take away all strength from the mind. Moreover, his absence enables adversaries to work their will without restraint; and thus, in a second way, the persecuted one is like to perish. If we have God's countenance we live, but if he turns his back upon us we die. When the Lord looks with favour upon our efforts we prosper, but if he refuses to countenance them we labour in vain.
Ver. 7. Hear me speedily. David is in trouble, and he betakes himself to prayer. Prayer is the sovereign remedy the godly fly to in all their extremities. The saints in sorrows have fled for comfort and healing unto prayers and supplications. Heaven is a shop full of all good thingsthere are stored up blessings and mercies; this the children of God know who fly to this shop in their troubles, begging for help from this holy sanctuary. "In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord": Ps 77:2. When any vexation makes our life grievous unto us, what should we seek but help? of whom should we seek, but of the Lord? how should we seek, but by prayer? ..."Speedily." His request is not only for hearing, but for speedy hearing: "Hear me, and hear me speedily"; answer, and answer quickly. This is the tone and tune of men in distress. Man in misery earnestly sues for speedy delivery. In our afflictions and troubles, deliverance, though it should come with wings, we never think it comes soon enough. Weak man cannot content himself to know he shall have help, unless it be present help. Thomas Calvert, 1647.
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Ver. 7. My spirit faileth. This is David's first reason to move the Lord; he is at the last cast and even giving up the ghost with long waiting for help: from his low condition we may see what is often the condition of God's children, and the best of God's servants have waited for comfort and the feelings of his Spirit, to the very failing of their own spirit. David, a man after God's own heart, is yet brought low with the faintness and failing of his heart, in waiting for help from God. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread" (Ge 3:19); this lies upon the sons of men. But here, not sweat of face only, that were but small; but sighs and fainting of the heart lie upon the sons of God, in seeking and hungering after a taste of God's bread of life, inward comfort, assurance, and joy of the Holy Ghost. Thus the Church was brought to this sick bed ere her comfort came: "For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me:" La 1:16. The disciples spirits were even failing in the tempest, when Christ slept and seemed to neglect them, as if he cared not though they perished. How should our spirits do other but fail, when our Comforter sleeps, when our only friend seems to be our enemy?
Failing of spirit is both a motive which God means to yield unto and to be won by withal; and it is also his opportunity, when he usually helps. It is a strong motive in our prayers to move him, for he is pitiful, and will not let his children utterly fail and perish; he is a pitiful Spirit to failing spirits. "I will not contend (saith the Lord) for ever, neither will I be always wroth; "why? we deserve his wrath should last and take fire for ever against us; yea, but (saith the Lord) this is the reason, "The spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made" (Isa 57:16): I love and pity the fainting souls and spirits of men: I will help my children; how can I see my creatures whom I made and do love, to perish for want of my help? David knew the Lord's nature, and that this was speeding argument in prayer, which made him here and elsewhere so often use it. A pitiful father will not see the spirit of his children utterly fail. It is his opportunity; he usually helps when all other helps fail, that we may the more strongly cleave to him, and ground ourselves upon him, as knowing how infirm we are, if he confirm us not. When man's cruse of oil is dry, and fails, and can drop no more, then is God's time to prepare his. Thus helped he the Israelites at the Red Sea, when all man's strength and wisdom was at a stand. He loves to be seen in the mount, in extremities. Condensed from Thomas Calvert.
Ver. 7. The prayer of David becomes, as he proceeds, both more spiritual and more fervent. In the sixth verse we find him thirsting after God; and now that thirst is become so intense that it admits of no delay. In the beginning of the psalm he was content to say, "Hear my prayer"; but now he cries, "Hear me speedily." This is not the language of sinful impatience: it is, indeed, good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of God; yet a man may desire, not only an answer, but also a speedy answer, without incurring the charge of impatience. Whatever a man desires to have he desires to have soon; nor can he be otherwise than grieved at anything which delays the accomplishment of his wishes. In such desire or grief there is nothing sinful, provided it do not lead to murmuring or distrust of God. Hence this petition for speedy relief, and manifestation of God's presence and favour is very frequent with the Psalmist. He often prays, "Make haste, O Lord, to deliver; make haste to help me, O Lord." Nay, if a man does not desire the light of God's countenance soon, it is a certain proof that he does not desire it at all. If the natural language of his heart be not, "hear me speedily", delay is to him no exercise of patience. The very idea of patience implies that something is contrary to our wish; and the stronger the desire is, the more difficult will that exercise of patience become.
"Hope deferred maketh the heart sick"; and therefore David adds, "my spirit faileth." He believed verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living; yet so intense was his desire, that faith could hardly keep his spirit from fainting, while the blessing, which he so eagerly pursued, seemed still distant, and fled before him. He is afraid lest if God should long delay, and withdraw himself, faith and hope could hold out no longer. He therefore pleads, "hide not thy face from me, lest I become like them that go down into the pit"; and urges the failing of his spirit before him who" will not contend for ever, lest the spirit should fait before him." John Fawcett.
Ver. 7-8, 10-11. Observe how David mixes together prayers for joy, for guidance, and for sanctification"Hide not thy face from me." "Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk." "Teach me to do thy will." "Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning." "Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name's sake." Now this is exactly right: our prayers, as well as our other obedience, must be without partiality; nay, we should desire comfort for the sake of holiness, rather than holiness for the sake of comfort. John Fawcett.
Ver. 7. Reasons for speedy answers.
Ver. 7. Never despair.
1. Because you have the Lord to plead with.
2. Because you may freely tell him the desperateness of your case.
3. Because you may be urgent with him for deliverance. J. F.
Ver. 7. Cordial for the swooning heart.
1. God's beloved fainting.
2. The best restorative; her Lord's face.
3. She has the presence of mind to call him as she falls. W. B. H.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 my spirit faints
my spirit faints
Here the "spirit" refers to the whole person. AT: "I am weak" or "I am very discouraged" (See: Personification and Synecdoche)
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Do not hide your face from me
This is a request. "I beg you not to hide from me" or "Please, do not hide from me"
Do not hide your face from me
The psalmist speaks of Yahweh refusing to do what the psalmist asks as if Yahweh were refusing to even look at the psalmist. This litotes can be stated as a positive. AT: "Do not refuse to listen to me" or "Please listen to me" (See: Metaphor and Litotes)
I will become like those who go down into the pit
Here the word "pit" refers to the place of the dead. This phrase is a euphemism for death. AT: "I will become just another dead person" (See: Euphemism)
Let me hear your covenant faithfulness
"Cause me to hear of your covenant faithfulness" or "Tell me of your covenant faithfulness." The abstract noun "faithfulness" can be translated with an adjective. AT: "Let me hear of how you are faithful to your covenant" (See: Abstract Nouns)
in the morning
Possible meanings are 1) "in the morning," at the time many people thought was the best time to pray, or 2) "morning by morning," every day.
Show me
"Tell me"
the way where I should walk
The psalmist speaks of the way people live as if it were a path on which they walk. AT: "how you want me to live" (See: Metaphor)
for I lift up my soul to you
Possible meanings are 1) "I pray to you" or 2) "I believe that you will guide and protect me."
translationWords
spirit
face
pit
covenant faithfulness
trust
walk
soul
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 143:7-10 The psalmist petitions the Lord for a renewal…
143:7-10 The psalmist petitions the Lord for a renewal of his love.
143:7 The psalmist experiences depression. He feels that he is dying from anguish (31:10; 119:87), exhausted (39:10; 71:9; 119:81), fainting with longing (84:2), and overwhelmed by the weariness of life (90:7, 9).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.