# Psalm 143 📖: Teach Me to Do Your Will [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Psalm Overview]] | [[Psalm 142]] | [[Psalm 144]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) #### A psalm of David. [[#Verse 01.]] O Lord, hear my prayer. Pay attention to my plea for help. Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me. [[#Verse 02.]] Do not sit in judgment on your servant, for no one alive is innocent before you. [[#Verse 03.]] Certainly my enemies chase me. They smash me into the ground. They force me to live in dark regions, like those who have been dead for ages. [[#Verse 04.]] My strength leaves me; I am absolutely shocked. [[#Verse 05.]] I recall the old days. I meditate on all you have done; I reflect on your accomplishments. [[#Verse 06.]] I spread my hands out to you in prayer; my soul thirsts for you in a parched land. (Selah) [[#Verse 07.]] Answer me quickly, Lord. My strength is fading. Do not reject me, or I will join those descending into the grave. [[#Verse 08.]] May I hear about your loyal love in the morning, for I trust in you. Show me the way I should go, because I long for you. [[#Verse 09.]] Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord. I run to you for protection. [[#Verse 10.]] Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God. May your kind presence lead me into a level land. [[#Verse 11.]] O Lord, for the sake of your reputation, revive me. Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble. [[#Verse 12.]] As a demonstration of your loyal love, destroy my enemies. Annihilate all who threaten my life, for I am your servant. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. The heading attributes Psalm 143 to David. 2. It is the last of the seven traditional penitential psalms (Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143). 3. Paul echoes 143:2 when he teaches that no one is justified by works of the law (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16). 4. Spreading out hands to God (143:6) was a posture of prayer and longing. 5. A soul like a parched land (143:6) pictures desperate thirst for God. 6. Selah appears once, after 143:6. 7. Hearing God's loyal love "in the morning" (143:8) reflects the hope that morning brings God's help (Psalm 30:5). 8. "Your good Spirit" (143:10) is one of the few Old Testament references to God's Spirit leading a person, also seen in Nehemiah 9:20. 9. "Level ground" (143:10) pictures a smooth, safe path without stumbling. 10. David bases his requests on God's name, righteousness, and loyal love, not his own merit (143:11-12). ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the One through whom sinners are made right with God. No one living is righteous before God (143:2), so we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ, not by works of the law (Galatians 2:16). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. David asks God not to judge him, because no one living is righteous in His sight (143:2). How does this verse prepare us for the gospel? 2. In a dark season, David remembers the days of old and thinks about God's works (143:5). What memories of God's faithfulness can you rehearse when life feels dark? 3. David prays, "Teach me to do Your will" (143:10). What area of your life needs that prayer this week? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 2: Do not sit in judgment on Your servant, for no one alive is innocent before You. - 📖 verse 8: May I hear about Your loyal love in the morning, for I trust in You; show me the way I should go. - 📖 verse 10: Teach me to do Your will, and may Your kind Spirit lead me on level ground. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[Galatians 02#Verse 16.|Galatians 2:16]] - Justified by faith in Christ. - 🔗 [[Romans 03#Verse 20.|Romans 3:20-24]] - No one is justified by works of the law. - 🔗 [[Psalm 63#Verse 01.|Psalm 63:1]] - My soul thirsts for You. - 🔗 [[Lamentations 03#Verse 22.|Lamentations 3:22-23]] - Great is His faithfulness every morning. - 🔗 [[Romans 08#Verse 14.|Romans 8:14]] - Those led by the Spirit of God are His children. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 📂 Internal Notes