Psalm 143 Devotional

Mercy Before Any Verdict

“Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.”Psalm 143:8 (BSB)

David is crushed. An enemy has pursued him, ground his life into the dirt, and left him in darkness like those long dead (143:3). His spirit grows faint and his heart is dismayed (143:4). Yet early on he asks God not to bring him into judgment, because no living person could stand righteous before him (143:2). Paul makes the same point: keeping the law cannot make anyone right before God (Romans 3:20).

So David appeals instead to God's faithfulness, righteousness, and loving devotion (143:1, 8). He remembers God's works and stretches out his hands, his soul thirsting like dry ground (143:5-6). He asks to hear of God's love in the morning and to be shown the way he should walk (143:8). He asks to be taught to do God's will and led by God's good Spirit on level ground (143:10). Even his obedience is something he asks God to give. Mercy comes first, and guidance grows out of it.

To think about: What would it look like to come to God this morning asking first for his mercy, and then for his guidance?