Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 143:12
And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I [am] thy servant.
12. And in thy lovingkindness wilt thou cut off my enemies,
And destroy all them that distress my soul,
For I am thy servant.
The prayer for ‘life’ is characteristic of Psalms 119: see note on p. 705: cp. Psa 138:7. The plea for thy name’s sake is found in Psa 25:11, and often elsewhere. With thou wilt bring my soul out of distress cp. Psa 142:7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
12. Cp. Psa 54:5, “Cut them [my enemies] off in thy truth”; Psa 94:23. Such a prayer breathes the spirit of the Old Testament and not of the Gospel. It is a harsh and discordant conclusion to a Psalm full of humble penitence, patient resignation, and persevering faith. But the enemies who are relentlessly persecuting Jehovah’s servant to the death are the enemies of Jehovah; they are traitors to His kingdom who have forfeited their right to live; they give no quarter and deserve none themselves; if they triumph, Jehovah’s faithfulness to His promises would seem to have failed and his lovingkindness to have been exhausted or defeated (Psa 77:8-9). For such hardened and impenitent offenders nothing remains but extermination.
for I am thy servant ] And therefore entitled to claim Thy protection. Cp. Psa 143:2; Psa 86:2; Psa 86:4; Psa 86:16; Psa 119:17, and often.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And of thy mercy … – Thy mercy to me; thy mercy to the world. The destruction of the wicked is a favor to the universe; just as the arrest and punishment of a robber or a pirate is a mercy to society, to mankind; just as every prison is a display of mercy as well as of justice – mercy to society at large; justice to the offenders.
And destroy all them that afflict my soul – Cut them off; render them powerless to do mischief.
For I am thy servant – Not as a matter of private feeling – not for personal revenge – but because I am in thy service, and it is only by being delivered from these dangers that I can honor thee as I would. It is thine own cause, and I ask that they may be cut off in order that the service which I might render thee may be unembarrassed.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. And of thy mercy] To me and the kingdom.
Cut off mine enemies] Who, if they succeed, will destroy the very form of godliness. The steps he has already taken show that even morality shall have no countenance, if Absalom reign.
I am thy servant.] Whoever is disloyal to me, I will love and serve thee.
For a full explanation of this Psalm, as applied to penitents, see the analysis.
ANALYSIS OF THE HUNDRED AND FORTY-THIRD PSALM
David, being driven from Jerusalem by his son Absalom, wisely calls to mind his sin, as being the cause of it.
This Psalm has four parts: –
I. A prayer for remission of sin, grounded on God’s promise, Ps 143:1; not on his own worthiness, Ps 143:2.
II. A narration of the sad state of his affairs, Ps 143:3-4.
III. The comfort he received in his sad condition, and whence, Ps 143:5-6.
IV. His petition, containing many particulars and reasons, Ps 143:7-12.
I. He prays for audience: “Hear my prayer, O Lord,” c. He does not plainly express the matter he prayed for but it may be gathered from the context that it was for remission of sin.
1. “In thy faithfulness,” c. Thou art a faithful God, and hast promised to pardon the penitent. I am a penitent have mercy on me.
2. “And in thy righteousness,” c. Which here signifies mercy, loving-kindness.
This sense appears more plainly from the next verse.
1. “And enter not into judgment,” c. Call me not to a strict account at the bar of thy justice. This he deprecates so that Justitia in the former verse could not be taken for that justice.
2. “For in thy sight,” c. Not I, nor any other man: pardon me, then, for the sake of thy mercy and promise, not my merits.
II. And now he enters upon the narration of his sad condition.
1. “For the enemy hath persecuted,” &c. My son Absalom seeks my life: but it was Satan who enticed me to adultery and homicide.
2. “He hath smitten,” &c. Humbled me made me a lover of earth, vile in thy sight.
3. “He hath made me to dwell,” c. After Satan had entangled me with earthly pleasures, I was in spiritual darkness, and saw not the way of life, any more than those who have been long dead.
The effect this darkness produced was fear and consternation.
1. “Therefore is my spirit,” &c. I suffered a kind of swoon in my soul I was ready to faint when I considered thy holiness and my impurity.
2. “My heart within me,” c. Far from comfort in heavy trouble.
III. In this sadness of heart and mind, –
1. “I remember the days of old,” &c. Thy past kindness to me and to others.
2. “I meditate,” &c. I did not slightly run them over, but pondered on them.
And I derived great profit from my meditation for,
1. “I stretch forth my hands,” c. I began earnestly to pray to thee.
2. “My soul thirsteth,” &c. After thy righteousness, as the dry land wanting water. For as the earth without rain has no consistence, but is pulverized so the soul not moistened with the grace of God falls on the right and left hand into temptation, and brings forth no fruit to God’s glory.
IV. The sad case in which David was, upon a sense of God’s indignation, makes him seek out a remedy.
1. “Hear me speedily,” c. And his reason for this is the sad condition in which he was till God was pacified for his sin.
2. “Hide not thy face,” &c. Thy presence, thy favour.
His next petition resembles the former in substance.
1. “Cause me to hear,” &c. Thy pardoning mercy out of thy word it is thy Spirit which must work with it to save me.
2. “In the morning,” c. Betimes, speedily, quickly, &c.
3. His reason: “For in thee do I trust,” &c. I did not let go my hold even in my extremity but still hoped against hope.
His third petition is –
1. “Cause me to know,” c. The psalmist. being truly penitent, fears to relapse into his pardoned sin, and prays to God for grace and direction.
2. His reason: “For I lift up my soul,” &c. My purpose, to serve thee.
His fourth petition is –
1. “Deliver me, O Lord,” &c. From the devil and all his temptations.
2. His reason: “I flee unto thee,” &c. From them.
His fifth petition resembles his third.
1. “Teach me to do thy will,” &c. Both by an active and passive obedience may I know thy will perfectly in adversity, to submit to it in prosperity, to do it without pride or presumption.
2. His reason: “For thou art my God.” Who hast promised me thy help; and from whom all my good proceeds, being and well-being.
His sixth petition: “Thy Spirit is good.” Not mine. Let then thy good Spirit instruct and lead me in the right way.
His seventh petition is –
1. “Quicken me, O Lord,” c. Restore life justify me fully.
2. “For thy name’s sake.” Not my merits, but thy mercy, and the glory that will accrue to thy name in pardoning a penitent soul.
3. He goes on: “For thy righteousness’ sake,” c. Freedom he desires but still at the hands of God’s infinite mercy.
His last petition is for the destruction of Satan’s kingdom.
1. “Of thy mercy cut off mine enemies,” c.
2. His reason: “For I am thy servant,” c. A follower one under thy patronage and protection one of thy family honoured with the dignity of being thy servant, and well contented and pleased to perform my duty and service.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Of thy mercy; out of thy mercy to me, whose life they seek.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. God’s mercy to His people isoften wrath to His and their enemies (compare Ps31:17).
thy servantas chosento be such, entitled to divine regard.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies,…. Which, though an act of vindictive justice, and terrible righteousness to them, would be an act of grace and mercy to him, who thereby would be delivered from them: or, “for thy grace” b; for the sake of it, for the honour of it, do this; those being, as Cocceius thinks, despisers of the grace of God;
and destroy all them that afflict my soul; by their persecutions, reproaches, and blasphemies. These clauses, with those in Ps 143:11, are read in the future tense, “thou shalt quicken–bring out–cut off–destroy”, in the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions; and so may be considered as a prophecy of what would be the case of David and his enemies, or of the Messiah and his, here typified; as well as a prayer for those things;
for I [am] thy servant; by creation, by redemption and grace; and by office, being set upon the throne for the service of God and his people, and therefore pleads for his protection and help; and the rather, as he was the servant of God; and not they, his enemies, as Kimchi observes.
b “propter misericordiam tuam”, Pagninus; “propter benignitatem tuam”, Musculus, Junius Tremellius, Piscator “pergratiam tuam”, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
12. And in thy mercy, etc. In this verse he repeats for the fifth or sixth time that he looked for life only of God’s free mercy. Whatever severity may appear on the part of God when he destroys the wicked, David affirms that the vengeance taken upon them would be a proof of fatherly mercy to him. Indeed these two things often meet together — the severity and the goodness of God; for in stretching out his hand to deliver his own people, he directs the thunder of his indignation against their enemies. In short, he comes forth armed for the deliverance of his people, as he says in Isaiah,
“
The day of vengeance is in mine heart, and this is the year of my redemption.” (Isa 63:4.)
In calling himself The servant of God, he by no means boasts of his services, but rather commends the grace of God, to whom he owed this privilege. This is not an honor to be got by our own struggles or exertions — to be reckoned among God’s servants; it depends upon his free choice, by which he condescends before we are born to take us into the number and rank of his followers, as David elsewhere declares still more explicitly —
“
I am thy servant, truly I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid.” (Psa 116:16.)
This is equivalent to making himself God’s client, and committing his life to his protection.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) Comp. Pss. xviii, 40, 54:7.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. I am thy servant The petition of this and the preceding verse is now rested on the basis given in the last clause. It is not righteous as the word is used in this psalm that God fail to protect one who takes refuge with him, or that he leave his own servant to be the victim of his enemies. So, like many others, this psalm, with all its pains and struggles, ends in the calm and restful quietude of faith.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 143:12. Cut off Or, Shall thou cut off.
REFLECTIONS.1st, When we are in trouble, God permits us to pour our sorrows into his bosom.
1. The Psalmist begs an audience to his prayers, and pleads, as the ground of his hope, God’s faithfulness to his promises, and his righteousness; or his grace and mercy, which includes the righteous obedience of Christ to the death of the cross, the purchase of all our blessings. Note; If ever we hope for God’s acceptance of us, it must be not for any thing in us, but purely of grace for his dear Son’s sake, according to the promises of his word.
2. He humbly prays, Enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. Note; (1.) The most righteous man alive cannot bear the severity of God’s justice, according to a covenant of works. (2.) They who best know their own hearts, will ever be the first to cry for mercy at God’s hand, conscious that the merit of the death of Christ is as necessary for the highest in grace, as for the guiltiest of sinners. (3.) They who plead guilty before the law, and fly to the grace of the gospel in Jesus Christ, shall be justified from all things.
3. He complains of his afflicted state. Persecuted by his bitter foe; brought to the gates of the grave; compelled to hide himself in solitary caves, as if driven from the light, and already a companion of the dead; his spirit melancholy as his circumstances; and his heart within him desolate, dejected, and ready to sink into despair. Note; When the believer’s or the penitent’s distress is greatest, God’s power and grace shall be the more magnified in his deliverance.
4. Meditation and prayer are his chief resource. I remember the days of old; the wonders that God had wrought for his church and people, and for himself also, in former days. I meditate on all thy works; on the power and goodness of God therein displayed, and draw from thence encouragement for my soul. I muse on the work of thy hands, and speak thereof to others, as the most pleasing subject of discourse. I stretch forth my hands unto thee, in eager and importunate prayer; My soul thirtieth after thee, as a thirsty land; with such longings as the parched ground, whose fissures seem to gape for the refreshing showers. Note; (1.) Remembrance of God’s dealings with his people of old, and with ourselves in time part, is very encouraging in our distresses. (2.) They who are athirst for God, his love, and favour, shall never be sent empty away from a throne of grace.
2nd, Oppressed, and ready to faint under his trials, we have his fervent cries. My spirit faileth; swooning with the weight of his affliction, or with the sense of his sins; but a step from the pit of death, or perhaps in his own apprehension from the belly of hell; therefore, Hear me speedily, or I am past recovery. His particular requests are,
1. Hide not thy face from me; for the sense of God’s displeasure to a truly penitent soul is more bitter than death, and the hidings of his countenance the sorest affliction to a returning backslider.
2. Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; for God hath kindness still in store for his believing people in their deepest state of anguish, and faith embraces it; for in thee do I trust; and they can never perish, who perseveringly trust in him.
3. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for in our afflictions our eyes may be so filled with tears, that we cannot clearly see the path of duty; but the pious heart is conscious that it hath but one desire, and that is to please God; and therefore I lift up my soul unto thee for guidance and direction.
4. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: they are many: they are mighty: too mighty for me to oppose; but I flee unto thee to hide me: and they are safe from every foe, spiritual or temporal, who are covered with the shadow of his wings. My soul, fly ever thither for thy refuge!
5. Teach me to do thy will; for we have neither understanding to know what it is, nor ability to follow it, till God instruct and guide us; for thou art my God; I give myself up to thee as my covenant God, to be made such as thou wouldst have me to be.
6. Thy Spirit is good; or, Let thy good Spirit lead me into the land of uprightness. It is not only the essential perfection of this Spirit to be good, but his office it is to sanctify our souls, and lead us in the right way, that we may come through the paths of holiness to the land of eternal purity and blessedness; and here every gracious soul longs to come.
7. Quicken me, O Lord, from my low and dejected state, and revive my fainting soul, for thy name’s sake, for the glory of thy grace and faithfulness. For thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble; not only deliver my body from death, but my spirit from the sorer temptations which beset me; for if our soul be safe, then our all is safe.
8. And of thy mercy shalt thou cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul; my persecutors, who will meet just judgment from an avenging God, who espouseth the quarrel of his oppressed people; for I am thy servant, who, engaged in thy service, may hope for thy protection. And thus shall all the enemies of Christ and his people be cut off at the last, and tribulation in full measure be given to those who troubled us.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
READER, do pause to mark the blessedness of that state, which can look up and plead for justification before God, upon the sole authority of God’s covenant, and the person and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Jesus himself pleaded both these, so hath he taught his people to do the same. As poor, polluted, guilty, sinners, we could have nothing to plead, but only cry for pure mercy. But, while we keep God’s Christ in view, and behold him as Jehovah’s salvation to the ends of the earth; we may, and we ought, indeed, to lodge all our appeals both upon Christ’s merit, and the covenant faithfulness of God our Father. And, Reader, do mark it down, as a sure and certain thing, that when God the Holy Ghost leads out the soul to the full view of those united sources of our acceptance before God, nothing can afford a more solid and substantial resting-place, for maintaining fellowship and communion with God, by grace in this life, and everlasting glory in the life to come. Precious Lord, help me so to plead, so to come to the throne, and so to act faith upon God’s record concerning his dear Son, that I may always come boldly unto the throne of grace to obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 143:12 And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I [am] thy servant.
Ver. 12. Cut off mine enemies ] Because not so much mine as thine; and those also implacable and irrecoverable. Elsewhere he saith, Slay them not, lest my people forget. See Trapp on “ Psa 59:11 “
For I am thy servant
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
mercy = lovingkindness, or grace.
enemies. Compare Structure, Psa 143:3.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
of thy mercy: Psa 54:5, Psa 55:23, Psa 136:15-20, 1Sa 24:12-15, 1Sa 25:29, 1Sa 26:10
for I am thy: Psa 116:16, Psa 119:94
Reciprocal: Jdg 16:28 – that I may Psa 31:1 – deliver Psa 31:15 – deliver Psa 36:1 – servant Psa 55:19 – hear Psa 56:1 – Be Psa 59:1 – Deliver Psa 86:2 – save Psa 109:21 – But do Isa 14:1 – the Lord Act 27:23 – and Rom 6:22 – become
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
143:12 And of thy mercy {m} cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I [am] thy {n} servant.
(m) Which will be a sign of your fatherly kindness toward me.
(n) Resigning myself wholly to you, and trusting in your protection.