Psalms 143:1

Psalms 143:1 says, A Psalm of David.  This is identified as a psalm of David, then verse one says, Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.  David asked God to hear him based on God's goodness and righteousness and not on David's.  When we ask help from God, it must be in accordance with God's goodness and righteousness and not our own.  Verse two adds, And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.  Just like David, we must acknowledge that no one is justified before God by their own merit.  As followers of Christ, we are all simply sinners saved by grace, unworthy of God's forgiveness.  Verse three continues, 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.  David said that his enemies had reduced him to almost nothing.  He was living in darkness amongst the dead.  Until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, no matter how successful we may be in the world, we are living in spiritual darkness amongst those who are spiritually dead.  Verse four states, Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.  David said his spirit was overwhelmed and his heart was desolate.  I believe that as Christians we should never feel this way, because the Holy Spirit is always with us, but sometimes when things go terribly wrong, we may.  Verse five adds, I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.  Like David, when things look bleak, we need to remember how God has been with us in the past in bad situations.  Verse six continues, I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.  David said he reached out to God and his soul thirsted for God like a dry land thirsts for water.  Our soul as a follower of Christ should always thirst for His living water.  Verse seven says, 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.  As David asked then, we need for God to hear us quickly when we are in distress, to keep us from being like those who go down into the pit of the unrighteous.  We have everlasting life if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, but we can still fall into bad habits if we are not careful and follow after some of the ways of the world.  I believe having worry and doubt are two of the ways that we can become like those of the world.  Verse eight adds, Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.  David asked that God allow him to hear His voice of lovingkindness in the morning, to guide the way that he should walk, because he lifted up his soul to God.  This should be our prayer every morning.  Verse nine states, Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.  Like David, we must turn to God to deliver us from our enemies.  We cannot be spiritually successful on our own.  Verse ten adds, Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.  David asked God to teach him to do God's will, because He was David's God.  We cannot do God's will or truly learn His ways if He is not our God, which is only possible by putting our faith Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse eleven continues, Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.  When we ask God for deliverance, we must always do so not just for our own benefit, but so that He might be glorified.  Too often I believe that God blesses us by delivering us out of a bad situation and we never give Him the glory.  Verse twelve concludes, And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.  As Christians, out of His mercy God has already cut off our enemies, forever, in the spiritual aspect.