Devotional Psalm 143:7

Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar;

Psalm 143:7: “Hear me speedily, O’Lord: my spirit failed: hide not they face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.”

Is it just me or do you ever notice that the Lord sometimes waits until that 12^th hour. The movers have the furniture loaded on the truck and are just starting the engine when the Lord comes and says: “Ok, put it back.”   I mean that’s hard on your heart.

Look at Psalms 143:7, I mean this is the guy who said: “I have been young and now I am old and I have never seen the righteous forsaken” ( Psalms 37:25).   Now it appears he is in some sort of race to get deliverance from God and if God doesn’t come through, he will end up in the pits.   Pit is “bor.”  It literally means a pit, or a cistern.   The Zophar describes a “bor” as a heart that is in spiritual poverty.    The “face of God” is a Hebraism for the presence of God.

His spirit (ruach) has failed.  The word fail is “kalah” which is a complete destruction. Is he speaking metaphoric here that his spirit is completely destroyed?   The word spirit, (ruach) is that eternal part of you, it is the part that units with God’s Spirit.  The word ruach is also used to express a sweet smell, that which God delights in.  David is saying that that part of him that God delights in is destroyed.  He can no longer feel God’s pleasure.  This is the devastation that he is feeling.  It is pretty complete.

Note there is a distinction being made here between feeling the pleasure of God and the presence of God.   David’s first concern is that his ability to bring God pleasure is destroyed.  Then he begins to worry about the fact that he does not feel God’s presence.   David has a relationship with God, a love relationship.  Doesn’t a love relationship mean that you are thinking only of the welfare of the other person?

So David is faced with not being able to bring pleasure to God and not feeling His presence and if God doesn’t do something, He will go into spiritual poverty. Wait a minute, isn’t it David who is suppose to do something?   This whole chapter is expressing a period of spiritual desolation on David’s part, he is going through a deep crisis and now he feels like God has abandoned him.  Apparently, David has done everything he needs to do and now he needs for God to “answer” him.

“Answer”  is the word ‘anah.”  It does mean to answer, but in it’s primitive form it means to respond with spiritual discernment and faith and the presence of God.  Note that this is in the imperative form. He is commanding God to give him spiritual discernment and faith.  Somehow the use of that imperative in this way seems wrong.  There is another way to look at this.  You see this word ‘anah” is also used to express the idea of exercising oneself upon another or to ravish a woman.  I mean that in a 15^th century, Shakespearian way.  To gaze with adoration upon the beauty of  a woman.  Perhaps David is looking to God as a wife would look to her husband to admire her beauty. She wants her husband to take pleasure in her.  She spends those hours at the gym, the hairdresser, the make up department so her husband would enjoy her, ravish her.  This brings pleasure to her.  The husband in turn fells his wife’s pleasure and finds pleasure in her finding pleasure in him – sort of circular, you know.

So here is David in the midst of a crisis, trouble all around and all he can think of is whether God still finds him attractive.  You know something, I forget that.  I get myself beat up and I come up to God and say “help me.”  I forget to spend time cleaning myself spiritually, you know “search me O lord, try my ways,”  etc.   I get so hung up on myself, my problems.  I forget that God wants to take pleasure in me.  Maybe I should try to be a good mate, take a spiritual shower, shave, maybe even use a little after shave (how old fashion).   Yet, is not the pleasure in a love relationship taking pleasure in Someone who is taking pleasure in you?

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