Catholic Commentary on Psalm 143

"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground." (Psalm 143:10)

The Last Penitential Psalm

Psalm 143, the last of the seven Penitential Psalms, begins with an appeal to God's faithfulness and righteousness and immediately acknowledges the foundational truth of all penitential prayer: Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you. The basis of the petition is not the psalmist's virtue but God's faithfulness. No human being can stand before God on the basis of their own righteousness. The only ground that holds is the faithfulness of God to his covenant promises.

The psalm is saturated with images of thirst and faintness: my spirit grows faint within me, my heart within me is dismayed, I stretch out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land. Then comes the most complete prayer of surrender in the Psalter: Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. The Catechism calls this prayer of surrender the heart of Christian discipleship: not my will but yours, prayed not just in crisis but as the habitual orientation of the soul (CCC 2827). The good Spirit who leads on level ground is the Holy Spirit, the guide and companion whose leading is the fulfilment of this prayer.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, teach me to do your will. Make this the morning prayer. Not teach me what your will is, though that is also a good prayer. But teach me to do it, to actually live it when I know it, to choose it when the alternative is more comfortable. That is the harder petition and the more necessary one.

Prayer

Lord God, do not bring your servant into judgment. I stretch out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your good Spirit lead me on level ground, for your name's sake. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

143
I Stretch Out My Hands to You
A Psalm of David.
 
1 O LORD, hear my prayer.
In Your faithfulness, give ear to my plea;
in Your righteousness, answer me.
2 Do not bring Your servant into judgment,
for no one alive is righteous before You.
 
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul,
crushing my life to the ground,
making me dwell in darkness
like those long since dead.
4 My spirit grows faint within me;
my heart is dismayed inside me.
 
5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I consider 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.
Do not hide Your face from me,
or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.
8 Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning,
for I have put my trust in You.
Teach me the way I should walk,
for to You I lift up my soul.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD;
I flee to You for refuge.* 143:9 LXX and one Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts in You I take cover
10 Teach me to do Your will,
for You are my God.
May Your good Spirit lead me
on level ground.
 
11 For the sake of Your name, O LORD,
revive me.
In Your righteousness,
bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your loving devotion,
cut off my enemies.
Destroy all who afflict me,
for I am Your servant.

*143:9 143:9 LXX and one Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts in You I take cover

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