Bible Commentaries
Psalms 43

Verses 1-5

The psalmist again opens with an appeal, followed by a vow of faithfulness to Jehovah and His worship.

v. 1. Judge me, O God, vindicating his cause, and plead my cause, as the all-wise advocate against wickedness, against an ungodly nation, a generation of men not in God's favor. O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man, who is full of falsehood and wickedness, devoid of every idea of right and justice.

v. 2. For Thou art the God of my strength, his Refuge and Stronghold by virtue of his trust in Him; why dost Thou cast me off, turning away from him in scorn, as from something loathsome? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Cf Psalms 42:9.

v. 3. O send out Thy light, that of His grace and mercy tending toward the salvation of men, and Thy truth, the faithfulness which keeps His promises without fail; let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy hill, where His Sanctuary had been erected, and to Thy tabernacles, where the Lord dwelled in the midst of His people, letting the light of His essence appear in the revelation of His love in the Messiah, John 1:14.

v. 4. Then will I go unto the altar of God, to the place of His worship, unto God, my exceeding Joy, in whom all the highest delights of the believer are personified; yea, upon the harp will I praise Thee, a small zither-like instrument used in divine worship, O God, my God, the emphasis again being placed upon the personal relation of the believer to his God, his highest Good. The believer having reached this point of assurance, he admonishes himself for the third time:

v. 5. 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. All believers will guard against coming to their place of worship in a mechanical, dead manner, their hearts rather being united with God in the fellowship of true faith, exulting in Him as their greatest delight.