Chapter One Hundred Forty-Three

In the Greek and Latin Bibles, compared with the Hebrew inscription, the name of David is further supplemented with “against Goliath,” which indicates the occasion for writing the psalm. The content of the psalm has nothing that could be in contradiction with this indication of the inscription, and therefore it can be considered as a prayer before the single combat with the Philistine giant, written only after the victory was won.

In the psalm there are many passages that we have encountered before in other psalms, for instance, in 8, 17, 37, 101, and others.

Blessed is the Lord, my shield and my stronghold (1–2). O Lord, man is insignificant before You, his life is like a shadow, yet You remember him (3–4). O Lord! Bow Your heavens and flash lightning, stretch out Your hand and save me from foreigners, who are full of lies (5–8). For my salvation I will sing You a new song, as also for the deliverance of my people from foreigners (9–11). Let there be a life in my people full of both family happiness and external, material abundance (12–15).

Psalm 143:1. Blessed is the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle, David attributed his victory over Goliath to divine help, which he had prayed for before entering into battle.

Psalm 143:3. O Lord! What is man, that You know about him, and the son of man, that You pay attention to him? The choice of David and his anointing by the prophet Samuel as king over Israel filled David with a sense of awe before God, who him, insignificant among men, yet deemed worthy of a great choice and destiny. In the latter – the manifestation of God’s great mercy toward David. David’s victory over Goliath made his name the most popular among the Hebrew people. In honor of him they composed songs and set him above Saul. The hearts of the Hebrews noticeably inclined toward David, which David noticed and in which he saw the beginning of the fulfillment of his divine calling to be king over Israel, therefore he says that the Lord “subjects to him the people” (Ps 143:2).

Psalm 143:4. Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. It may be that the words of this verse refer to Goliath, who, in his confidence in his strength and victory over David, did not foresee how near his destruction was.

Psalm 143:5. O Lord! Bow Your heavens and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke; Psalm 143:6. flash lightning and scatter them; send Your arrows and confuse them; Psalm 143:7. stretch forth Your hand from on high, deliver me and save me from great waters, from the hand of foreigners, The Lord is almighty: the mountains obey Him and tremble before Him, He sends forth lightning. Show me also protection in the struggle with my enemy, send from heaven miraculous help to me (“stretch forth Your hand from on high”).

Psalm 143:8. whose mouths speak falsehood and whose right hand is a right hand of deception. A characterization of the Philistines. The Hebrews waged frequent wars with them and for complete securing of their territory from their attacks, one victory of David over Goliath was not sufficient, but the complete scattering of this whole people was necessary. David prays to the Lord to help him scatter the enemies, so hostile to the Hebrews and deceitful in their dealings with them.

Psalm 143:12. May our sons be as fully grown plants in their youth; our daughters as cornerstones carved for a palace; Psalm 143:13. May our granaries be full, overflowing with all kinds of grain; may our sheep multiply by thousands and ten thousands in our pastures; Psalm 143:14. may our cattle be fat; may there be no breach, no exile, no cries of distress in our streets. Psalm 143:15. Blessed is the people to whom this belongs. Blessed is the people whose God is the Lord. David desired that with the victory over the Philistines a new era of happy and satisfied life would open for the Hebrews.