Psalms 143:12
in Psalms 143And in Your loving devotion, cut off my enemies. Destroy all who afflict me, for I am Your servant.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And in thy lovingkindness cut off mine enemies, And destroy all them that afflict my soul; For I am thy servant.
KJV
And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 143
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd of thy mercy cut off mine enemies,.... Which, though an act of vindictive justice, and terrible righteousness to them, would be an act of grace and mercy to him, who thereby would be delivered from them: or, "for thy grace" (b); for the sake of it, for the honour of it, do this; those being, as Cocceius thinks, despisers of the grace of God; and destroy all them that afflict my soul; by their persecutions, reproaches, and blasphemies.
This site's exposition
For the sake of Your name
on Psalms 143:11-12
The two grounds named are God's own name and His righteousness, and the verb rendered revive is the one for keeping a man alive. Verse 12 asks God to cut off the enemies, to destroy all who afflict the psalmist. Spurgeon read those words as a declaration of the event.
This site's exposition
for I am Your servant
Loving devotion and destruction stand in one line, and Gill explained that the same act is justice to the enemies and mercy to the man. Barnes read for I am Your servant as the reason: the cause is God's. The psalm closes on the title it used in verse 2.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And in your mercy shall bring mine enemies to destruction: and you shall destroy all them that afflict my soul; for I am Your servant" [Psalm 143:12].
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
We may more easily accommodate this psalm to ourselves, in the singing of it, because most of the petitions in it are for spiritual blessings (which we all need at all times), mercy and grace. Complaints and Petitions. 1 Hear my prayer, O L ORD , give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul. He believes that it will be so, and thus prophesies the event; for the words may be read as a declaration, and it is better so to understand them. We could not pray just so with our Christian light; but under Old Testament arrangements the spirit of it was congruous to the law. It is a petition which justice sanctions, but the spirit of love is not at home in presenting it. We, as Christians, turn the petition to spiritual use only.
And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul. He believes that it will be so, and thus prophesies the event; for the words may be read as a declaration, and it is better so to understand them. We could not pray just so with our Christian light; but under Old Testament arrangements the spirit of it was congruous to the law. It is a petition which justice sanctions, but the spirit of love is not at home in presenting it. We, as Christians, turn the petition to spiritual use only. Yet David was of so generous a mind, and dealt so tenderly with Saul, that he could hardly have meant all that his words are made in our version to say. For I am lay servant; and therefore I hope that my Master will protect me in his service, and grant me victory while I fight his battles. It is a warrior's prayer, and smells of the dust and smoke of battle. It was heard, and therefore it was not asking amiss. Still there is a more excellent way.
And of thy mercy - To me and the kingdom. Cut off mine enemies - Who, if they succeed, will destroy the very form of godliness. The steps he has already taken show that even morality shall have no countenance, if Absalom reign. I am thy servant - Whoever is disloyal to me, I will love and serve thee. For a full explanation of this Psalm, as applied to penitents, see the analysis.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And of thy mercy ... - Thy mercy to me; thy mercy to the world. The destruction of the wicked is a favor to the universe; just as the arrest and punishment of a robber or a pirate is a mercy to society, to mankind; just as every prison is a display of “mercy” as well as of “justice” - mercy to society at large; justice to the offenders. And destroy all them that afflict my soul - Cut them off; render them powerless to do mischief. For I am thy servant - Not as a matter of private feeling - not for personal revenge - but because I am in thy service, and it is only by being delivered from these dangers that I can honor thee as I would. It is thine own cause, and I ask that they may be cut off “in order” that the service which I might render thee may be unembarrassed.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּֽבְחַסְדְּךָ֮ | uvechasdekha | and in covenant loyalty your | H2617 → | 247 times |
| תַּצְמִ֪ית | tatzmit | you will destroy | H6789 → | 15 times |
| אֹ֫יְבָ֥י | ʾoyevai | enemies my | H341 → | 282 times |
| וְֽ֭הַאֲבַדְתָּ | vehaavadta | and you will destroy | H6 → | 184 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| צֹרֲרֵ֣י | tzorarei | [the] opposers of | H6887 → | 54 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֑י | nafshi | life my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| כִּ֝֗י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃ | ʾavdekha | [am] servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
וּֽבְחַסְדְּךָ֮and in covenant loyalty your
uvechasdekhaH2617 →247 times
תַּצְמִ֪יתyou will destroy
tatzmitH6789 →15 times
אֹ֫יְבָ֥יenemies my
ʾoyevaiH341 →282 times
וְֽ֭הַאֲבַדְתָּand you will destroy
vehaavadtaH6 →184 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
צֹרֲרֵ֣י[the] opposers of
tzorareiH6887 →54 times
נַפְשִׁ֑יlife my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
כִּ֝֗יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃[am] servant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 116:16Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have broken my bonds.
it leads to
- Psalms 86:16
Turn to me and have mercy; grant Your strength to Your servant; save the son of Your maidservant.
- Psalms 86:16
Through
Psalms 52:5Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
it leads to
- Proverbs 2:22
but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be uprooted.
- Proverbs 2:22
Through
Psalms 119:94I am Yours; save me, for I have sought Your precepts.
it leads to
- Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”
- Acts 27:23–24
For just last night an angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, stood beside me
- Psalms 119:27
Make clear to me the way of Your precepts; then I will meditate on Your wonders.
- Isaiah 64:8–10
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
- Zephaniah 3:17
Through
1 Samuel 26:10David added, “As surely as the LORD lives, the LORD Himself will strike him down; either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.
it leads to
- Romans 12:19
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- Romans 12:19
Through
Psalms 54:5He will reward my enemies with evil. In Your faithfulness, destroy them.
it leads to
- Psalms 89:49
Where, O Lord, is Your loving devotion of old, which You faithfully swore to David?
- Psalms 89:49
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 143; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.