Psalms 143:6
in Psalms 143I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I spread forth my hands unto thee: My soul thirsteth after thee, as a weary land. [Selah
KJV
I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
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This verse in Psalms 143
Commentary
11 notes on this verseI stretched out my hands to you. Bound by the enemy, I can do nothing else except do penance, and lift up my hands to you. My soul is as earth without water to you. As earth without water thirsts and seeks the rain, so too my soul longs for and thirsts after you, its God.
This site's exposition
I remember the days of old
on Psalms 143:5-6
The prayer turns to the days of old and to the work of God's hands. Verse 6 spreads the hands out and sets the thirst beside a parched land. Spurgeon read the cracked soil as an open mouth pleading.
This site's exposition
like a parched land
John Gill took the outstretched hands as the posture of prayer at 1 Kings 8:38, open to receive what God gives. Albert Barnes found the Hebrew word for the parched land means weary, ground worn out in a drought. Augustine said the soul can thirst and only God waters it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"I stretched forth," says he, "my hands to You: my soul is as a land without water to You" [Psalm 143:6]. Rain upon me, says he, to bring forth from me good fruit. "For the Lord shall give sweetness, that our land may give her fruit." "I have stretched forth my hands to You; my soul is as a land without water," not to me, but "to You." I can thirst for You, I cannot water myself.
Put two people together; one wants to go to the show, the other to church. They are joined in body, separated by their desires. The first is like the salt water, the second appears as dry land. How can we prove that this land is dry, which signifies people desiring good things? The psalmist says to God, "My soul is like land without water to you." My soul has thirsted for you; it is thirsty, it is dry, it is segregated from the waters of the sea. It must not bother about not yet being segregated in the body; its desire has already made the separation. Some desire God, others desire the world.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
I stretch forth my hands unto thee,.... In prayer, as the Targum adds; for this is a prayer gesture, 1Ki 8:38; both hands were stretched forth, earnestly imploring help, and ready to receive and embrace every blessing bestowed with thankfulness; my soul thirsteth after thee as a thirsty land.
10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. 11 Quicken me, O L ORD , for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. 12 And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v10-12
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I stretch forth my hands unto thee. He was eager for his God. His thoughts of God kindled in him burning desires, and these led to energetic expressions of his inward longings. As a prisoner whose feet are bound extends his hands in supplication when there is hope of liberty, so does David. My soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. As the soil cracks, and yawns, and thus opens its mouth in dumb pleadings, so did the Psalmist's soul break with longings.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
I stretch forth my hands unto thee. He was eager for his God. His thoughts of God kindled in him burning desires, and these led to energetic expressions of his inward longings. As a prisoner whose feet are bound extends his hands in supplication when there is hope of liberty, so does David. My soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. As the soil cracks, and yawns, and thus opens its mouth in dumb pleadings, so did the Psalmist's soul break with longings. No heavenly shower had refreshed him from the sanctuary: banished from the means of grace, his soul felt parched and dry, and he cried out, "My soul to thee"; nothing would content him but the presence of his God. Not alone did he extend his hands, but his heart was stretched out towards the Lord. He was athirst for the Lord. If he could but feel the presence of his God he would no longer be overwhelmed or dwell in darkness; nay, everything would turn to peace and joy. Selah. It was time to pause, for the supplication had risen to agony point. Both harp strings and heart strings were strained, and needed a little rest to get them right again for the second half of the song.
I stretch forth my hands - This is a natural action. All in distress, or under the influence of eager desire, naturally extend their hands and arms, as if to catch at help and obtain succor. As a thirsty land - Parched and burned by the sun, longs for rain, so does my thirsty soul for the living God.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I stretch forth my hands unto thee - In prayer. I have nowhere else to go. See Psa 88:9. My soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land - As land in a time of drought “seems” to thirst for rain. See the notes at Psa 63:1. Compare Psa 42:1. The word rendered “thirsty” here means properly “weary.” The idea is that of a land which seems to be weary; which has no vigor of growth; and where everything seems to be exhausted. The same word occurs in Isa 32:2: “As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פֵּרַ֣שְׂתִּי | perasti | I have spread out | H6566 → | 67 times |
| יָדַ֣י | yadai | hands my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֵלֶ֑יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֓י׀ | nafshi | throat my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| כְּאֶֽרֶץ־ | keeretz- | like a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| עֲיֵפָ֖ה | ʾayefah | exhausted | H5889 → | |
| לְךָ֣ | lekha | [is] to you | ||
| סֶֽלָה׃ | selah | Selah | H5542 → | 74 times |
פֵּרַ֣שְׂתִּיI have spread out
perastiH6566 →67 times
יָדַ֣יhands my
yadaiH3027 →1618 times
אֵלֶ֑יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
נַפְשִׁ֓י׀throat my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
כְּאֶֽרֶץ־like a land
keeretz-H776 →2504 times
עֲיֵפָ֖הexhausted
ʾayefahH5889 →
לְךָ֣[is] to you
lekha
סֶֽלָה׃Selah
selahH5542 →74 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 63:1O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
it leads to
- Psalms 42:1–2
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 84:2
My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
- Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- Psalms 91:2
I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
- Revelation 7:16–17
‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’
- Psalms 42:1–2
Through
Psalms 84:2My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
it leads to
- Isaiah 26:9
My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
- Psalms 63:1–2
O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
- Isaiah 26:9
Through
Job 11:13As for you, if you direct your heart and lift up your hands to Him,
it leads to
- Psalms 88:9
My eyes grow dim with grief. I call to You daily, O LORD; I spread out my hands to You.
- Psalms 88:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on 12 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; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 229S; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jerome, Homily 53, on Psalm 142; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.