The Word Made Fresh
1Give me victory, God!
Defend my cause against an ungodly foe!
They are liars and lawbreakers. Save me!
2You are the God in whom I seek shelter –
Why have you turned away from me?
Why must I move about so carefully,
surrounded by my enemies?
3Let your light and your truth be my guide
Leading me to your sacred hill and your house.
4Then I will approach the altar of my God in whom I rejoice,
and I will laud you with harp strings, my God.
5 Why am I so dispirited, and why so anxious?
I put my hope in God,
and I shall again praise God who is my hope.
Commentary
1-2: Psalm 43 has no superscription, leading some to conclude that it originally was part of Psalm 42, but somehow became separated from it. Psalm 42 and Psalms 44-49 are each attributed to the Korahites, and we have to wonder why Psalm 43 is not. Nevertheless, the first verses seem to be referring to a different kind of trouble than we found in Psalm 42; here he is beset by enemies who are ungodly, deceitful, and unjust.
3-4: On the other hand, these two verses seem to echo the wish expressed in 42:4.
5: And the concluding lines are identical to 42:5, 11. Try reading Psalms 42 and 43 together and see what you think.
Takeaway
Although the Psalms are from a different time in a world much different from ours, we can still find in them themes to use in our own prayers: the insistent urging for God to alter our circumstances; the always positive expectation that God can and will light our path and lighten our load; and the complete surrender of our situation into God’s hands.