January 7
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PSALM 143 -MY SOUL THIRSTS FOR YOU LIKE A PARCHED LAND
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. -Psalm 143:1-6
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In this psalm, we witness David deeply discouraged and longing so much for the Lord’s presence and deliverance. As he cries out and pleads God to grant him mercy, we hear how intimate he is with God. Verse 1 declares that God is full of faithfulness and righteousness. While David is feeling so beaten down, he never forgets to praise his God by declaring to the Lord himself his own attributes. He pleads God in verse 2 not to judge him for he knows that he is sinful and that no one is righteous before the Lord. According to Van Gemeran, David seemed to anticipate the Apostle Paul in Romans 3:10 (quoting Isaiah), There is none righteous, no not one; and Romans 3:23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Verse 3 is stating the condition of his soul. David seemed so exhausted at the pursuit of the enemy and how he is feeling so defeated and totally crushed in his spirit. He likens this deep depression into those who have long been dead: lifeless and without peace and joy. When we hear David speaks how his spirit is faint, doesn’t it remind us of Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was about to die?
I myself feel David’s anguish during this time of exhaustion from the enemy’s attacks and ploys. When we are constantly targeted by the fiery arrows of the devil, we can physically, emotionally and mentally be drained and depleted. When we are betrayed, manipulated and tricked by those people closest to us, yet do everything they can to make our lives so miserable, we can be so worn out. I recently feel the effects of being marinated in constant attacks for over a decade. It has made me focus on the dark side of things.
In verses 5-6, we hear a shift of emotions from despair to hope as he ponders on God’s goodness from past battles he won. He declares his need for God.
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REFLECTION
• Why is it important to cry out to God in our deepest agony?
• What can praying do for us who are in deep emotional turmoil?