597_Lord, my shield, my teacher and my guide (Psalm 143) Psalm 143 Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! 2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. 3 For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. 4 Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. 5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. 6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah 7 Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. 8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. 9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge. 10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! 11 For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! 12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant. There is a story told of a seasoned mountain guide who once led a group through a treacherous pass just as a sudden storm descended. Visibility dropped to almost nothing, the path disappeared under fresh snow, and panic began to spread among the climbers. One of them asked the guide, “How do you know where to go when you can’t see?” The guide replied quietly, “I don’t trust my sight in moments like this. I trust what I know of the mountain and the path I’ve walked many times before.” Those words capture something deeply spiritual. When circumstances overwhelm us and clarity vanishes, what sustains us is not our ability to see the future, but our confidence in the One who has guided us faithfully in the past. Psalm 143 is David’s testimony from such a storm. Surrounded by danger, hunted by enemies, emotionally spent and spiritually weary, he turns to the Lord as his shield, his teacher, and his guide. David begins the psalm with urgency. There is no attempt at eloquence or composure. “Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!” This is the cry of a man who knows that time is short and danger is near. As in many of his psalms, David does not look for protection in alliances, strategies, or human strength. He turns instinctively to God. His confidence is not in his own righteousness, but in God’s faithfulness and righteousness. He is asking
