King James Version
Psalms 43
5 verses with commentary
Send Out Your Light and Your Truth
Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. ungodly: or, unmerciful the deceitful: Heb. a man of deceit and iniquity
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KJV Study Commentary
The cry 'Judge me, O God' (<em>shaphten</em>) appeals for divine verdict in the psalmist's favor. The 'ungodly nation' and 'deceitful and unjust man' represent opposition that cannot be overcome by human means. The phrase 'plead my cause' uses legal terminology (<em>rivah</em>), portraying God as advocate in the heavenly court.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
** XLIII.**
(1) **An ungodly nation.**—In the Hebrew simply a negative term, a nation not *khasîd, i.e., *not in the *covenant. *But naturally a positive idea of ungodliness and wickedness would attach to such a term.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
16-18. God reigns. The wicked, if for a time successful, shall be cut off. He hears and confirms the hearts of His suffering people (Psa 112:7), executes justice for the feeble, and represses the pride and violence of conceited, though frail, men (compare Psa 9:16).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 43
David endeavours to still his spirit, with hope and confidence in God.
--As to the quarrel God had with David for sin, he prays, Enter not into judgment with me, if Thou doest so I shall be condemned; but as to the quarrel his enemies had with him, he prays, Lord, judge me, and in thy providence appear on my behalf. If we cannot comfort ourselves in God, we may stay ourselves upon...
Read full commentary →For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
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KJV Study Commentary
The paradox intensifies: 'Thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off?' Faith affirms God's power while honestly acknowledging felt abandonment. 'Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?' repeats the question from 42:9, emphasizing that faith persists even when answers don't come.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
16-18. God reigns. The wicked, if for a time successful, shall be cut off. He hears and confirms the hearts of His suffering people (Psa 112:7), executes justice for the feeble, and represses the pride and violence of conceited, though frail, men (compare Psa 9:16).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 43
David endeavours to still his spirit, with hope and confidence in God.
--As to the quarrel God had with David for sin, he prays, Enter not into judgment with me, if Thou doest so I shall be condemned; but as to the quarrel his enemies had with him, he prays, Lord, judge me, and in thy providence appear on my behalf. If we cannot comfort ourselves in God, we may stay ourselves upon...
Read full commentary →O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.</strong> This verse shifts from complaint and plea to specific petition for divine guidance. Following protests about oppression and deceit (43:1-2), the psalmist asks God to intervene through His light and truth—personified attributes that will guide him back to worship. The...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me.**—Instead of the violent and contemptuous escort of Assyrian soldiers, leading the exile away from the “holy hill,” the poet prays for God’s light and truth to lead him, like two angel guides, back to it. Light and truth! What a guidance in this world of falsehood and shadow! The *Urim *and *Thummim *of the saints (Deuteronomy 33:8), the ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 43
David endeavours to still his spirit, with hope and confidence in God.
--As to the quarrel God had with David for sin, he prays, Enter not into judgment with me, if Thou doest so I shall be condemned; but as to the quarrel his enemies had with him, he prays, Lord, judge me, and in thy providence appear on my behalf. If we cannot comfort ourselves in God, we may stay ourselves upon...
Read full commentary →Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God. my exceeding: Heb. the gladness of my joy
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.</strong> This verse describes the anticipated outcome of divine guidance—restoration to worship. Following the request for light and truth to lead him (v.3), the psalmist envisions arriving at the altar, encountering God, and offering praise. The future tense expresses conf...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **God my God.**—An expression used in this collection instead of the more usual “Jehovah my God.” (Comp. Psalm 45:7, and for its import see *General Introduction, *and Psalm 50:7, Note.)
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 11 Psa 11:1-7. On title, see Introduction. Alluding to some event in his history, as in 1Sa 23:13, the Psalmist avows his confidence in God, when admonished to flee from his raging persecutors, whose destruction of the usual foundations of safety rendered all his efforts useless. The grounds of his confidence are God's supreme dominion, His watchful care of His people, His hatred to the wick...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 43
David endeavours to still his spirit, with hope and confidence in God.
--As to the quarrel God had with David for sin, he prays, Enter not into judgment with me, if Thou doest so I shall be condemned; but as to the quarrel his enemies had with him, he prays, Lord, judge me, and in thy providence appear on my behalf. If we cannot comfort ourselves in God, we may stay ourselves upon...
Read full commentary →Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.</strong> This verse repeats the refrain appearing in 42:5 and 42:11, now concluding Psalms 42-43 (originally one psalm). The threefold repetition creates rhythmic structure, reinforcing the psalm's central message: despite ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. privily--**literally, "in darkness," treacherously.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 43
David endeavours to still his spirit, with hope and confidence in God.
--As to the quarrel God had with David for sin, he prays, Enter not into judgment with me, if Thou doest so I shall be condemned; but as to the quarrel his enemies had with him, he prays, Lord, judge me, and in thy providence appear on my behalf. If we cannot comfort ourselves in God, we may stay ourselves upon...
Read full commentary →