Psalm 143:2 Komentář

This psalm, as those before, is a prayer of David, and full of complaints of the great distress and danger he was in, probably when Saul persecuted him. He did not only pray in that affliction, but he prayed very much and very often, not the same over again, but new thoughts. In this psalm, I. He complains of his troubles, through the oppression of his enemies (Psa 143:3) and the weakness of his spirit under it, which was ready to sink notwithstanding the likely course he took to support himself (Psa 143:4, Psa 143:5). II. He prays, and prays earnestly (Psa 143:6), 1. That God would hear him (Psa 143:1-7). 2. That he would not deal with him according to his sins (Psa 143:2). 3. That he would not hide his face from him (Psa 143:7), but manifest his favour to him (Psa 143:8). 4. That he would guide and direct him in the way of his duty (Psa 143:8, Psa 143:10) and quicken him in it (Psa 143:11). 5. That he would deliver him out of his troubles (Psa 143:9, Psa 143:11). 6. That he would in due time reckon with his persecutors (Psa 143:12). We may more easily accommodate this psalm to ourselves, in the singing of it, because most of the petitions in it are for spiritual blessings (which we all need at all times), mercy and grace. A psalm of David.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 143 A Psalm of David. This psalm was composed by David when he fled from Absalom his son, according to the title of it in Apollinarius, the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions; so R. Obadiah Gaon: and of the same opinion is Theodoret and others. The sense he had of his sins, and his deprecating God's entering into judgment with him for them, seems to confirm it; affliction from his own family for them being threatened him, Sa2 12:9; though Kimchi thinks it was written on the same account as the former, and at the same time, namely, when he was persecuted by Saul; and what is said in Psa 142:2, seems to agree with it. The Syriac inscription is, "when the Edomites came against him;'' which is very foreign, since these were subdued by him.

And enter not into judgment with thy servant,.... The house of judgment, as the Targum, or court of judicature; God is a Judge, and there is and will be a judgment, universal, righteous, and eternal; and there is a day fixed for it, and a judgment seat before which all must stand, and a law according to which all must be judged; but the psalmist knew he was but a man, and could not contend with God; and a sinful creature, and could not answer him for one of a thousand faults committed by him; and though his servant, yet an unprofitable one; his nature, his heart, his thoughts, words, and actions, would not bear examining, nor stand the test of the holy law of God; nor was he able to answer the demands of divine justice in his own person; and therefore pleads for pardon and acceptance through Christ and his righteousness, and entreats that God would not proceed against him in a judicial way, now nor hereafter; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified; in a legal sense, so as to be acquitted in open court, and not condemned; that is, by the deeds of the law, as the apostle explains it, Rom 3:20; by obedience to it, by a man's own works of righteousness; because these are imperfect, are opposed to the grace of God, and would disannul the death of Christ, and encourage boasting; and much less in the sight of God; for, however men may be justified hereby in their own sight, and before men, in their esteem and account, yet not before God, the omniscient God; who sees not as man sees, and judges not according to the outward appearance, and is perfectly holy and strictly just; and none but the righteousness of Christ can make men righteous, or justify them before him; and this can and does, and presents men unblamable and irreprovable in his sight.

It is clear from all this that there are two kinds of perfections in holy Scripture, and two kinds of justices and two kinds of fears. The first kind of perfection, and its comparable truth, and perfect justice and fear, which is the beginning of wisdom, are compatible with the virtues of God; but the second kind of perfection, which befits not only human beings but also every living creature, and our weakness, according to what is said in the Psalms: “In your sight no one living shall be justified,” is the kind of justice that is called perfect, not in comparison with God but according to the knowledge of God. Job, Zachariah and Elizabeth are called just, according to this latter type of perfection, which can change on occasions into injustice, and not according to the former type, which can never change, of which it is said, “I am God, and I change not.”

Atticus: From this it is clear that people are called righteous and said to be without fault; but that, if negligence comes over them, they may fall. [It is also clear] that a person always occupies a middle place, so that he may slip from the height of virtue into vice or may rise from vice to virtue. He is never safe but must dread shipwreck even in fair weather. Therefore, a person cannot be without sin. Solomon says, “There is not a righteous person on earth that does good and sins not.” Likewise in the book of Kings [2 Chronicles]: “There is no one that sins not.” So, also, the blessed David says, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from hidden faults, and keep back your servant from presumptuous sins.” And again, “Enter not into judgment with your servant, for in your sight shall no one living be justified.” Holy Scripture is full of passages to the same effect.

"And enter not into judgment with Your servant" [Psalm 143:2]. Who are willing to enter into judgment with Him, save they who, "being ignorant of the righteousness of God, go about to establish their own?" "Wherefore have we fasted, and You have not seen; wherefore have we afflicted our souls, and You take no knowledge?" [Isaiah 58:3] As though they would say, "We have done what You have commanded, why do You not render to us what You have promised?" God answers you: I will give to you to receive what I have promised: I have given you that you should do that whereby you may receive. Finally, to such proud ones the Prophet speaks; "Wherefore will you plead with Me? You have all transgressed against Me, says the Lord." [Jeremiah 2:29] Why will you enter into judgment with Me, and recount your own righteousnesses?..."For before You every one living shall not be justified." "Every one living;" living, that is, here, living in the flesh, living in expectation of death; born a man; deriving his life of man; sprung from Adam, a living Adam; every one thus living may perhaps be justified before himself, but not before You. How before himself? By pleasing himself, displeasing You. Enter not then into judgment with me, O Lord my God. How straight soever I seem to myself, You bring forth a standard from Your store-house, Thou fittest me to it, and I am found crooked. Well is it said, "with Your servant." It is unworthy of You to enter into judgment with Your servant, or even with Your friend. [Matthew 5:40] ...What of the Apostles themselves?...That ye may perceive it at once, they learned to pray what we pray: to them was given the pattern of prayer by the heavenly Counsellor. "After this manner," says He, "pray ye." [Matthew 6:9] And having set down certain things first, He laid down this too to be said by the leaders of the sheep, the chief members of the Shepherd and Gatherer of the one flock; even they learned to say, "Forgive us our debts." [Matthew 6:12] They said not, "Thanks be to You, who hast forgiven us our debts, as we too forgive our debtors," but, "Forgive, as we forgive." But surely the faithful prayed then, surely the Apostles prayed then, for this Lord's Prayer was given rather to the faithful. If those debts only were meant which are forgiven by Baptism, it would befit catechumens rather to say, "Forgive us our debts." Let the Apostles then say, yea let them say, "Forgive us our debts." And when it is said to them, "Wherefore say ye this? What are your debts?" let them answer, "for in Your sight every one living shall not be justified."

And so, my glory and my life, God of my heart, I will lay aside for a while all the good deeds that my mother did. For them I thank you, but now I pray to you for her sins. Hear me through your Son, who hung on the cross and now “sits at your right hand and pleads for us,” for he is the true medicine of our wounds. I know that my mother always acted with mercy and that she forgave others with all her heart when they trespassed against her. Forgive her too, O Lord, if ever she trespassed against you in all the long years of her life after baptism. Forgive her, I beseech you; “do not call her to account.” “Let your mercy give your judgment an honorable welcome,” for your words are true and you have promised mercy to the merciful. If they are merciful, it is by your gift; and “you will show pity on those whom you pity; you will show mercy where you are merciful.”

And now, to summarize briefly and comprehensively the idea I have of the virtue that belongs to right living: that virtue is charity by means of which we love what we should love. This is greater in some, less in others, lacking in still others; its fullest measure, beyond which there is no increase, is found in no one as long as he lives the life of a human being. As long as it is subject to increase, the defect by which it is less than it ought to be is accounted as vice; by reason of this vice “there is no just person on earth who will do good and sin not”; because of this vice, “no one living shall be justified in the sight of God”; because of this vice, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us"; because of it, also, however much progress we have made, we still have to say, “Forgive us our debts,” even though in baptism all our words, deeds, thoughts have been forgiven. Therefore, he who sees rightly sees where and when and whence that perfection is to be hoped for, to which no addition is possible. But, if there were no commandments, there would certainly be no norm by which a person might look into himself and see what he should avoid, what he should strive after, what he should rejoice in, what he should pray for. Commandments, then, are highly useful, if only because free will is thereby given the opportunity of doing greater honor to the grace of God.

Whether in this world there has ever been or could be anyone living so just a life as to be entirely without sin can be a subject of some discussion among true and pious Christians. Nevertheless, if anyone doubts that such a person surely can exist after this life, he lacks good sense. But, for my part, I do not wish to argue the point even as it concerns this life. For although it appears to me that one cannot understand otherwise the passage of Scripture that reads, “In your sight no one living shall be justified,” and other similar passages, still I would that it were possible to show either that such testimonies could be understood more favorably or that a complete and perfect justice, to which it would be impossible to add anything, had in the past been realized in someone while he lived in this body, is presently being realized and will be realized in the future. But even so, there are far more who, while not doubting it is necessary for them up to the last day of their life to say, “Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors,” still confess that in Christ and his promises they have a true, certain and firm hope. At all events, there is no other way than the helping grace of the Savior, Christ crucified, and the gift of his Spirit, by which any persons, whoever they be, can arrive at absolute perfection or by which anyone can attain the slightest progress to true and holy justice—whoever denies this, I question whether he can be counted in the number of true Christians of any sort.

In another way tears flow, proceeding without any consciousness of deadly sin, yet still from the fear of hell and an awareness of that terrible judgment. With such terror, the prophet was struck and prayed to God, saying: “Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight shall no one living be justified.”

But if someone asks why God predicted all the things predestined and still did not promise all the predestined things, we answer that it cannot be called a promise unless when it is predicted that something is going to be done, what is done can be of use to the one to whom it is promised. What is promised is always something of a gift but not always something of a judgment, since the gift of what is promised always brings happiness while the severity of a judgment sometimes saddens.As the prophet, fearing something of this sort, pours out his prayer to God: “Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.” For he knew that all would have to be restrained by the equal chain of punishment unless God, in those whom he willed, made mercy surpass judgment. Justification and glorification that do not exist in a human being from a human being, but from God, have been both predicted and promised because they were to be of great benefit to the saints.

This Psalm sustains a close connection with the foregoing. The chosen people are exhorted to praise God, in view of past favors, and also future victories over enemies, of which they are impliedly assured. (Psa 149:1-9) (Compare Psa 96:1).

enter . . . judgment--deal not in strict justice. shall no . . . justified--or, "is no man justified," or "innocent" (Job 14:3; Rom 3:20).