Psalm 143:7-10
“Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”
This is the last of what are called the Penitential Psalms. It is supposed, by many, that it was written at the time of Absalom’s rebellion; but I conceive that it must rather have been penned during the persecutions which David suffered at the hands of Saul; because his trouble had evidently been of long continuance, verse 3; whereas that which arose from Absalom’s rebellion was soon terminated. However this may be, it is plain that he was brought into great distress, and that he sought help, where alone it could be found—in the Lord his God.
That I may bring the substance of the Psalm distinctly before you, I will take occasion to show,
I. To what a state a godly man may, by accumulated troubles, be reduced.
Of David’s piety, except in the matter of Uriah, we have no doubt.
But he was exposed to many and sore trials.
Even from his youth he was in continual danger from the persecutions of Saul; and how heavily they bore upon his mind, the Psalms which he composed most amply testify. “Save me, O God! For the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing. I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying; my throat is dried; my eyes fail while I wait for my God.”
Would we know what was the occasion of this overwhelming sorrow? He tells us, “Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; those who would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty, Psalm 69:1-4.”
Much also was that holy man exercised with spiritual affliction. His feelings were quite in accordance with those of Heman in the 88th Psalm, “O LORD, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength. I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care. You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. Selah.
Why, O LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me? From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death; I have suffered your terrors and am in despair. Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me. All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me! Psalm 88:1-7; Psalm 88:14-16.”
In the Psalm before us, the affliction which pressed the more heavily on David’s mind seems to have been of a temporal kind; but it was very heavy, insomuch that “his spirit was overwhelmed within him, and his heart within him was desolate verse 4.” This accounts for a degree of impatience which he manifested; which yet was the impatience of importunity only, and not of murmuring; and, consequently, was well pleasing to the Lord, “Hear me speedily, O Lord! my spirit fails.” But from whatever source it flowed, it shows that:
Good men among ourselves may be reduced to like extremities.
No man is exempt from trouble, whether of a temporal or spiritual kind. Heavy trials, from whatever quarter they come, will still overwhelm the mind, especially if they are of long continuance. And Satan will take advantage of a season of dejection, to instill into the mind hard thoughts of God, and to sink it into utter despair.
The experience of holy Job clearly shows us how powerful the devices of Satan are, and how terrible his assaults. “The arrows of the Almighty are within me,” says he, “the poison whereof drinks up my spirit; the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me! Job 6:4.” Do not let any, then, take offence at religion, if they still find that people of genuine piety be occasionally harassed with temptation, or oppressed with a dread of God’s avenging wrath. They may not immediately see why God contends with them; but they shall be made victorious in the end, yes, and “more than conquerors, through Him who loves them.”
In confirmation of this, I proceed to show,
II. What a blessed refuge yet remains open to troubled believer.
To whom did David betake himself in this extremity?
In the preceding Psalm this point is answered, “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me; refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. I cried unto you, O Lord; I said, You are my refuge! Psalm 142:4-5.”
Accordingly, in the Psalm before us, we find him crying unto the Lord, and saying, “I stretch forth my hands unto you; my soul thirsts after you, as a thirsty land.” But let us mark how strongly he reiterates this in the words of my text, “Hear me speedily, O Lord! for in you do I trust; I lift up my soul unto you; I flee unto you to hide me; for you are my God!” He knew how utterly unable he was to deliver himself; while of God’s condescension and grace he had had ample experience; and therefore, while destitute of all other hope, “he encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”
And is there not the same blessed refuge for us at this day?
Yes, “God is a refuge for us, Psalm 62:8;” and it is the privilege of every true believer to say, “In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God! Psalm 62:7.” Of whatever kind our trials are, the direction given us is this, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you! Psalm 55:22.”
Are we assaulted by persecutors? David’s example will show us where to go, and how to obtain relief, “Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me; say unto my soul, I am your salvation! Psalm 35:1-3.”
Is our trouble rather of a spiritual kind? The Prophet Isaiah clearly directs our way, “Who is among you that fears the Lord, that obeys the voice of his servant, that walks in darkness, and has no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God Isaiah 50:10.”
To all, then, in the name of God himself, I would say, “Come, my people, enter into your chambers, (the perfections and the promises of your God,) and shut your doors about you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation be over, Isaiah 26:20.”
Not to rest in this general view, I will go on to show,
III. What the troubled believer may hope to obtain by fervent and persevering prayer.
See what the petitions of David were, “Hear me speedily, O Lord! my spirit fails; hide not your face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear your loving-kindness in the morning; cause me to know the way wherein I should go; deliver me from my enemies; teach me to do your will; and lead me into the land of uprightness.” Now, what in these petitions he sought, we also may hope by similar importunity to obtain:
1. The manifestations of God’s favor.
An upright soul cannot but earnestly desire these; for “in His favor is life, and His loving-kindness is better than life itself, Psalm 63:3.” In comparison with this, there is nothing good, nothing desirable, in the whole universe, “Who will show us any good? Lord, lift up the light of your countenance upon us! Psalm 4:6.” If a sense of God’s favor be withdrawn, and his face be hidden from an upright soul, it is as the precincts of Hell itself, Psalm 80:3-5. Seek then, in the first place, to be reconciled to God through the Son of his love; and cease not to importune him, until the morning arises upon you, and a sense of his loving-kindness is shed abroad in your hearts.
2. The interpositions of God’s providence.
In arduous circumstances, our way is made exceeding difficult; so that oftentimes we know not what to do; we seem indeed to be shut up in the very hands of our enemies, and to have no way of escape open to us. But it is never in vain to call upon God, who in the very hour of extremity will appear for us, and will rescue us, like Peter, from our prison, when, to all human appearance, there is no longer any hope of escape, Acts 12:6-9. Still is that proverb realized, “In the mount, the mount of difficulty, shall the Lord be seen, Genesis 22:14.” Only cry out, like Jonah, “from the very belly of Hell;” and from thence shall you be delivered, Jonah 2:2; and your enemies, who sought your life, shall all be turned back, 2 Chronicles 18:31.
The whole people of Israel, at the Red Sea, appeared to be already, as it were, swallowed up by their powerful and blood-thirsty enemies; but a way was opened through the mighty waters, which became a path to Israel, and a grave to Egypt. And to us also will God still be known, as the God who “makes the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over, Isaiah 51:10.”
3. The influences of God’s grace.
To the last hour of our lives we shall need the sanctifying and saving operations of God’s Holy Spirit; and he will guide us in all our ways, until he bring us finally to the possession of his glory, Psalm 73:24. His blessed Spirit is still as good and gracious and condescending as ever. He will teach us to do God’s will, as well as to know it; and will make all our tribulation a way to his kingdom, Acts 14:22 and Revelation 7:14, and our sufferings the means of fitting us for the enjoyment of it, 2 Corinthians 4:17. Romans 8:28.
Let us then learn, from this subject,
1. How to judge of our state before God.
It is not by our occasional feelings that we are to judge, but by our abiding taste. You may be fainting, and, in your own apprehension, ready to perish; and yet be in a state of safety before God; for Heman, Asaph, David, and Job, were all under great distress of mind, and were brought, for a season, to the very brink of despair. But if you are longing for a sense of God’s favor as your supreme good, and are desirous to know, in order that you may do, his will—you have nothing to fear. You may be in darkness; but “light is sown for you;” and it shall spring up in due season. Your “weeping may endure for a night; but joy shall come in the morning, Psalm 30:5.”
2. How to act under overwhelming calamities.
Do not go away from God, but to him; and the greater sense you have of your necessities, be only so much the more urgent in your application to him. That you may be overwhelmed for a season, the prophet acknowledges, “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint! Isaiah 40:30-31.” Only “follow on to know the Lord;” and you shall as surely behold the light of his countenance, as the sun shall return after the darkest night, Hosea 6:3. “The vision, it is true, may tarry; but at its appointed season it shall come,” and not disappoint the expectations of any creature in the universe who waits for it, Hebrews 2:3.
Charles Simeon