Psalm 43
5 verses · KJVPsalms book hub →
Key verse
O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.
The chapter
Chapter summary
The companion of Psalm 42, completing its triple refrain. 'Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation.' The prayer that became the church's introit: 'Oh send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me: let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy.' And once more: 'Why art thou cast down, O my soul?… hope thou in God.'
Context
Poetry · David, Asaph, Sons of Korah, others · Psalms overview
Where the chapter sits
Psalms 43 falls in Book II: Davidic + Korahite (chapters 42–72). Sons of Korah cluster (42–49); Davidic continuation (51–65, 68–70); Ps 51 as penitential anchor (David + Bathsheba). Doxology at 72:18–20: ''the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.''
Before it: Book I: Davidic core, chapters 1–41. After it: Book III: Asaph and covenant crisis, chapters 73–89.
The whole shape of Psalms→The world behind this chapter
Psalms 43The history
This psalm has no heading of its own and repeats Psalm 42's refrain word for word. A number of Hebrew manuscripts join the two as one psalm, which is the simplest explanation of the shared chorus. The numbering we use follows the manuscripts that separate them.
The rest of the history, and what it meant to them
"Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation" is legal language again, the word means take up my case, act as my advocate at law. The complaint is against a whole people, not one man, which fits a singer living among foreigners.
"O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me." Those two words are the names of the priestly lots, the Urim and Thummim, kept in the high priest's breastpiece, which the older translations render as Lights and Perfections and which Israel used to seek God's decision on a course of action. The singer asks for the guidance itself to come out and walk him home.
The destination is described in stages, the way a pilgrim would actually experience it: to thy holy hill, to thy tabernacles, unto the altar of God. The harp in his hand at the end assumes he is a temple musician who has been out of work.
What it meant to them
For a displaced Israelite the whole prayer aims at one place. He does not ask to be comforted where he is; he asks to be brought to the altar.
And the refrain lands a third time, unchanged: why art thou cast down, O my soul? Hope in God. Israel's songbook let a man repeat himself until he believed it.
Sources cited
- Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David on Psalm 43
- Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions
A. Verses 1 to 5
1. (vv. 1-4)
a.The psalm opens in court language: Vindicate me, O God, plead my case against an ungodly nation. Light and truth are asked as guides to the holy mountain, and to the place where God dwells. The altar and the harp stand at the end.
Psalms 43:1, 2 voicesWhat preachers and commentators have said about these verses, in their own words.
Psalms 43:1
“Judge me, O God. Others are unable to understand my motives, and unwilling to give me a just verdict. My heart is clear as to intent and therefore I bring my case before thee, content that thou wilt impartially weigh my character, and right my wrongs.”
Charles Spurgeon· The Treasury of David, Vol. 2 (1870)Particular (Reformed) Baptist / Five-point Calvinist / 1689 LBCF / 19th-c. evangelical
Psalms 43:1
“There were those that had injured him; against them he is plaintiff, and exhibits his complaint to him who is the avenger of wrong, praying for justice for himself and upon them. Who his enemies were with whom he had this struggle. Here was a sinful body of men, whom he calls an ungodly or unmerciful nation.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Psalms 43:2, 2 voices
Psalms 43:2
“For. Here is argument, which is the very sinew of prayer. If we reasoned more with the Lord we should have more victories in supplication. Thou art the God of my strength. All my strength belongs to thee—I will not, therefore, use it on my own behalf against my personal foes. All my strength comes from thee, I therefore seek help from thee, who art able to bestow it. All my strength is in thee, I leave therefore this task of combating my foes entirely in thy hands. Faith which leaves such things alone is wise faith.”
Charles Spurgeon· The Treasury of David, Vol. 2 (1870)Particular (Reformed) Baptist / Five-point Calvinist / 1689 LBCF / 19th-c. evangelical
Psalms 43:2
“God of my strength--by covenant relation my stronghold (Ps 18:1). cast me off--in scorn. because--or, "in," that is, in such circumstances of oppression.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Psalms 43:3, 3 voices
Psalms 43:3
“O send out thy light and thy truth,.... By light is meant, not the law, as Arama; but rather, as some Jewish (p) interpreters understand it, the Messiah, the sun of righteousness, and light of the world; who is the author of all light, natural, spiritual, and eternal; and whose coming into the world is often signified by being sent into it. The Spirit of God also is the enlightener of men, both at first conversion and afterwards, and is sent down into their hearts as a comforter of them, by being the Spirit of adoption.”
Psalms 43:3
“O send out thy light and thy truth. The joy of thy presence and the faithfulness of thy heart; let both of these be manifest to me. Reveal my true character by thy light, and reward me according to thy truthful promise.”
Charles Spurgeon· The Treasury of David, Vol. 2 (1870)Particular (Reformed) Baptist / Five-point Calvinist / 1689 LBCF / 19th-c. evangelical
Psalms 43:3
“Send out - That is, actually discover them. Truth - Thy favour, or the light of thy countenance, and the truth of thy promises made to me; or the true-light, the illumination of thy spirit, and the direction of thy gracious providence, whereby I may be led in the right way, to thy holy hill. Hill - Of Zion, the place of God's presence and worship.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Psalms 43:4, 2 voices
Psalms 43:4
“Then will I go unto the altar of God. If David might but be favoured with such a deliverance as would permit his return, it would not be his own house or heritage which would be his first resort, but to the altar of God his willing feet should conduct him. His whole heart would go as sacrifice to the altar, he himself counting it his greatest happiness to be permitted to lie as a burnt offering wholly dedicated to the Lord. With what exultation should believers draw near unto Christ, who is the antitype of the altar!”
Charles Spurgeon· The Treasury of David, Vol. 2 (1870)Particular (Reformed) Baptist / Five-point Calvinist / 1689 LBCF / 19th-c. evangelical
Psalms 43:4
“Those that come unto God must come to him as their exceeding joy, not only as their future bliss, but as their present joy, and that not a common, but an exceeding joy, far exceeding all the joys of sense and time. The phrase, in the original, is very emphatic-- unto God the gladness of my joy, or of my triumph.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2. (v. 5)
a.The refrain returns a third time and closes the poem. The soul is questioned, then commanded: put your hope in God. The word yet carries the promise of praise while the trouble still stands, and the psalm ends on my Savior and my God.
Psalms 43:5, 2 voices
Psalms 43:5
“From this it is clear that both psalms have the same meaning. Those using them encourage themselves to have stronger hope, overcome the feeling of discouragement and await the salvation from God that will doubtless be given them.”
Theodoret of Cyrus· written before 458· COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 43:5patristic
Psalms 43:5
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? If God be thine, why this dejection? If he uplifts thee, why art thou so near the ground? The dew of love is falling, O withering heart, revive. And why art thou disquieted within me? What cause is there to break the repose of thy heart? Wherefore indulge unreasonable sorrows, which benefit no one, fret thyself, and dishonour thy God? Why overburden thyself with forebodings? Hope in God, or wait for God. There is need of patience, but there is ground for hope. The Lord cannot but avenge his own elect.”
Charles Spurgeon· The Treasury of David, Vol. 2 (1870)Particular (Reformed) Baptist / Five-point Calvinist / 1689 LBCF / 19th-c. evangelical
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Psalms 43. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765); Matthew Henry and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 43:5.
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