A manual of the book of Psalms · Martin Luther
PSALM CXLIII.
_David prayeth for favour in judgment.—He complaineth of his griefs.—He strengtheneth his faith by meditation and prayer.—He prayeth for grace, for deliverance, for sanctification, for destruction of his enemies._ A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, _and_ in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. 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 hath been long dead. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me: my heart within me is desolate. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works: I muse on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul _thirsteth_ after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah. 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. Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness 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. Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
Teach me to do thy will; for thou _art_ my God: thy Spirit _is_ good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I _am_ thy servant. This is a prayer, expressing the deep feelings of an afflicted and agonizing conscience. The Psalmist, being in the midst of the sense and peril of sin, and terrified at the judgment of God, begs of God not to enter into judgment with him, and firmly cleaves to the promise of mercy, and of the remission of sins. He complains, on the other hand, of hypocrites and teachers of the law and of works; by means of whom, as his instruments, the devil terribly harasses the godly, and loads them with various trials and straits of mind and conscience, and endeavours to draw them away from the certainty of the divine promise unto doubt; in which state, consciences are horribly shaken with fear and darkness, and the dread of the wrath of an unappeased God.
“The enemy,” saith David, “hath persecuted my soul; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead; therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me.” Here David refers to those straits into which consciences are cast by those who lay upon them burdens too heavy to be borne, (as Christ saith concerning the Pharisees, Matt. xxiii.) And yet will not so much as touch them with one of their fingers. And hence this Psalm blessedly shows that there is no sure or solid consolation for consciences, save for those who depend on the promise of the free remission of sins, and on the word of God’s grace: “Enter not,” saith David, “into judgment with thy servant, O Lord, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.” That afflicted hearts and consciences can find rest in no other way than this, all the scriptural histories bear witness. All the holy patriarchs, from the beginning of the world, were justified before God by the free, unmerited imputation of righteousness, and not by their own works; as Peter also testifies (Acts xv.) concerning the law, “Why tempt ye God; to lay upon us a yoke which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear. But we believe that by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved, as they.”
“I remember,” says David again, “the days of old, I meditate on the works of thy hands;” as if he had added, ‘By these, thy works from the beginning, I comfort and support myself in all my temptations: for all the great saints from the beginning were saved, not by any merit of their own righteousness, but by grace alone: they were delivered from sin and from the wrath of God, by faith in Christ the promised seed: as Abraham also was, by the same grace of God in Christ, called out of idolatry.’ Joshua xxiv. 2, 3. Therefore God leaves here no ground for any mortal’s boasting in his own works and merits: and yet, by this doctrine of works Satan hath never ceased to distress and torment consciences, contrary to the manifest words and works of God.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.