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Psalm 143

A psalm of David.

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
    listen to my plea!
    Answer me because you are faithful and righteous.
Don’t put your servant on trial,
    for no one is innocent before you.
My enemy has chased me.
    He has knocked me to the ground
    and forces me to live in darkness like those in the grave.
I am losing all hope;
    I am paralyzed with fear.
I remember the days of old.
    I ponder all your great works
    and think about what you have done.
I lift my hands to you in prayer.
    I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. Interlude

Come quickly, Lord, and answer me,
    for my depression deepens.
Don’t turn away from me,
    or I will die.
Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning,
    for I am trusting you.
Show me where to walk,
    for I give myself to you.
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord;
    I run to you to hide me.
10 Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God.
May your gracious Spirit lead me forward
    on a firm footing.
11 For the glory of your name, O Lord, preserve my life.
    Because of your faithfulness, bring me out of this distress.
12 In your unfailing love, silence all my enemies
    and destroy all my foes,
    for I am your servant.

A Prayer for Rescue from Enemies

A psalm of David.[a]

143 O Yahweh, hear my prayer;
listen to my supplications.
In your faithfulness answer me,
and in your righteousness.
And do not enter into judgment with your servant,
because no one alive is righteous before you.
For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground.
He has made me dwell in dark places
like those long dead.
And so my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within[b] me is desolate.
I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your doings.[c]
I muse on the labor of your hands.
I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul longs for you like a dry land. Selah
Quickly answer me, O Yahweh;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
or I will become
like those descending to the pit.
Cause me to hear your loyal love in the morning,
for I trust you.
Cause me to know the way that I should go,
for I lift up my soul to you.
Deliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh.
I take refuge in you.[d]
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God;
your Spirit is good.
Lead me onto level ground.
11 For your name’s sake, O Yahweh, preserve my life;
in your righteousness bring me[e] out of trouble.
12 And in your loyal love destroy my enemies,
and exterminate all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 143:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
  2. Psalm 143:4 Literally “in the midst of”
  3. Psalm 143:5 Hebrew “doing”
  4. Psalm 143:9 This reading for the difficult Hebrew “I cover to you” is suggested by the LXX
  5. Psalm 143:11 Hebrew “my soul”