Psalms 143:1

A psalm of David.

1 Lord, hear my prayer. Listen to my cry for your favor. You are faithful and right. Come and help me.

Psalms 143:1 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 143:1

Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications
With these requests David begins the psalm; for it was to no purpose to pray and were heard; and for which he always appears to be concerned, as every good man will, and not to be heard only, but to be answered, as follows;

in thy faithfulness answer me, [and] in thy righteousness;
he does not plead his own faith, with which he believed in God, as rama interprets it; though the prayer of faith is very effectual; but the faithfulness of God to his promises; he had promised to hear, answer, and deliver such as called on him in a time of trouble; and he is faithful that has promised, nor will he suffer his faithfulness to fail; he cannot deny himself; and on this the psalmist relied for an answer, as well as desired and expected it; not on account of his own righteousness, but either on account of the goodness and grace of God, sometimes designed by righteousness, or because of the righteousness of Christ, or for the sake of Christ, the Lord our righteousness; on whose account God is just and faithful to forgive sin, the blessing the psalmist wanted, as appears from ( Psalms 143:2 ) .

Psalms 143:1 In-Context

1 Lord, hear my prayer. Listen to my cry for your favor. You are faithful and right. Come and help me.

2 Don't take me to court and judge me, because in your eyes no living person does what is right.

3 My enemies chase me. They crush me down to the ground. They make me live in darkness like those who died long ago.

4 So I grow weak. Deep down inside me, I'm afraid.

5 I remember what happened long ago. I spend time thinking about all of your acts. I consider what your hands have done.