Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Pre-exilic Prophets 1 (7)
Pray Psalm 143.9-12.
Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies;
In You I take shelter.
Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.
Revive me, O LORD, for Your name’s sake!
For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
In Your mercy cut off my enemies,
And destroy all those who afflict my soul;
For I am Your servant.
Sing Psalm 143.9-12.
(Divinum Mysterium: Of the Father’s Love Begotten)
Rescue me from all my enemies! LORD, I refuge seek in You.
Let me know Your will, O LORD my God; make me know what I must do.
Let Your Spirit lead me on to level ground; save my life! Preserve my soul!
Rescue, LORD, and make me whole!
Read Psalm 143.1-12; meditate on verses 9-12.
Preparation
1. What was troubling the psalmist?
2. What was he seeking from the LORD?
Meditation
Our lengthy sojourn through the psalms concludes with this beautiful prayer for deliverance. David was in a muck (what’s new?) and seemed to be entirely alone. Except for the LORD. A variety of enemies pursued David from time to time, and in each case, he had learned that God is a faithful Deliverer.
In our case, it’s mostly the devil and his minions, always seeking some new way to draw us aside from our journey in the Lord to some path of disobedience. That way lies darkness, distress, and death (vv. 3, 4). When we find ourselves there, we must retrace our steps in the Lord (v. 5), recalling all He has done for us and stretching out our hands in repentance, that He might deliver us yet again (vv. 6-8).
Then we must relearn and recover the path of the upright (v. 10). This is way that leads through and in and by and with Jesus, Who is our Way of deliverance and salvation (Jn. 14.6). He will guide us along the path of God’s commandments (1 Jn. 2.1-6) that we may continue to grow in love for God and our neighbor (Matt. 22.34-40).
The Spirit of God can revive and renew us, but we must seek Him in Jesus’ Name (vv. 10, 11) and put to death the old man and all our sinful ways yet again (v. 12). The enemy of our soul will never cease pursuing us in this life. But we have a strong Deliverer, even our Lord Jesus Christ. His face looks always upon us with favor (v. 7), and His Spirit can keep us in the good and upright way (v. 10).
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
What does God want most of all for us?
He wants us to know Him.
And by knowing Him, to glorify, honor, fear, trust, appreciate, obey, serve, and love Him.
“I will take you as My people, and I will be your God.
Then you shall know that I AM the LORD your God,
Who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians” (Ex. 6.7).
“No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’
for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD.
For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jer. 31.34).
“I know Whom I have believed…” (2 Tim. 1.12).
“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 Jn. 2.3).
When we know Him, we understand that He wants us to learn from Him and be like Him. So,
“Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.
Revive me, O LORD, for Your Name’s sake!
For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble” (Ps. 143.10, 11).
“He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake” (Ps. 23.3).
There is a reason for all of this: and all arrows are pointing to God and His glory—amazingly not to our health, wealth, popularity, or happiness. Shocker.
(Herein lies a serious misconception about the Christian’s secret of a happy life.)
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done…” (Matt. 6.10). Not mine.
“If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19.17).
“I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts;
and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Heb. 8.10).
However this does not happen by just having a bad case of the “want tos”.
It takes work. “Study (KJV)” or “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2.15). Study the Word.
Learn Jesus—not just about Him; but Him—learn Him.
How did He live?
How did He pursue time with His Father?
How did He respond to trouble?
How did He love others?
How did He proclaim the Kingdom?
How did He describe the Church?
What did His wisdom look like?
How did it play out in His everyday relationships?
How did He face death?
“Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You” (Ps. 143.8).
More about Jesus let me learn, More of His holy will discern;
Sprit of God, my teacher be, Showing the things of Christ to me.
More about Jesus; in His Word, Holding communion with my Lord;
Hearing His voice in every line, Making each faithful saying mine.
More, more about Jesus, More, more about Jesus;
More of His saving fullness see, More of His love Who died for me.
(Eliza E. Hewitt, 1887)
Reflection
1. How would you explain to a new believer what it means to “learn Jesus”?
2. How do you experience God as our faithful Deliverer?
3. How can you know when the enemy of your soul is seeking to distract you from Jesus? What should you do then?
Those who have the Lord for their God, have his Spirit for their Guide; they are led by the Spirit. He prays that he might be enlivened to do God’s will. But we should especially seek the destruction of our sins, our worst enemies, that we may be devotedly God’s servants. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Psalm 143.7-12
Pray Psalm 143.1-8.
Bring your troubles, trials, challenges, and frustrations to the Lord. Roll them onto Him. Give Him thanks and praise for His strength, as seen in all the mighty works He has done for you in the past.
Sing Psalm 143.1-8.
(Divinum Mysterium: Of the Father’s Love Begotten)
Hear my earnest prayer, O LORD! Give ear to my pleas for grace!
In Your faithfulness and righteousness, look upon me with Your face!
Enter not to judgment with Your servant, LORD, with Your loving servant, LORD:
None can stand before Your Word.
See, the enemy pursued my soul; he has crushed and cast me down.
He has made me sit in darkness, LORD, like those dead and in the ground.
Thus my troubled spirit faints within me, LORD, faints within my weary soul,
and my heart is no more whole.
I recall the days of old; on Your works I meditate—
all the wonders of Your mighty hand, works both small, O LORD, and great.
LORD, my thirsty soul cries out for help to You! To You, LORD, I reach my hand
in a dry and weary land.
Answer quickly, O my LORD! Do not hide from me Your face!
For my spirit fails and I am like those who do not know Your grace.
In the morning let me hear Your steadfast love; LORD I trust You, show my way!
I lift up my soul and pray!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
