Psalm 143: Doing God's Will

[0:00] Well if we could, this evening with the Lord's help and guidance, if we could turn back to that portion of scripture that we read, the book of Psalms, Psalm 143.

[0:19] The book of Psalms, Psalm 143, and if we take as our text the words of verse 10, I think the words of verse 10 are key to understanding the whole psalm.

[0:39] Where David says, teach me to do your will, for you are my God, let your good spirit lead me on level ground.

[0:50] But particularly the words of the beginning of verse 10, where David says, teach me to do your will. Teach me to do your will.

[1:03] As we know from our study of my favourite psalm, as we know from the study so far, we've seen that the psalms are very personal.

[1:16] We saw that when we looked at Psalm 23, where David confessed, the Lord is my shepherd. And then when we looked at Psalm 27, we noticed that David again confessed, he said, the Lord is my light, the Lord is my salvation.

[1:33] The Lord is my stronghold. And what we saw is that each declaration was a personal confession of faith and assurance in the Lord.

[1:45] But what we see in this psalm, in Psalm 143, is that the psalms are not only personal confessions of faith and assurance. They're also personal expressions of complaint and doubt.

[2:01] And as we know from the title, this is another psalm which has been written by the hand of David. We're not sure when it was written. There's no historical context to it like some of the other psalms which David wrote.

[2:15] But what we can be clear on is that many of the psalms, they are from David's personal experiences. Where they express his personal thoughts and feelings and his deep anxieties.

[2:31] And when you look at all the psalms which David wrote, there are many of them. But when you look at what he put down on paper, we can see that they express his inner thoughts and his deepest feelings.

[2:44] To the point that we could say about the psalms that we have, in a sense, an access into David's journal. Or an access into David's diary.

[2:55] I don't know if you keep a diary. I don't keep one. Maybe I should. But I know that some people, they keep a journal or they keep a diary.

[3:05] In which they record all their thoughts and their feelings. All the things that they encounter on a daily basis. And they've written all these things down that they've gone through in their life.

[3:16] And they've written down how they felt at the time. And maybe what they prayed to the Lord. And even the prayers that they said to the Lord. Because, well, there's nothing wrong with writing out our prayers.

[3:29] Sometimes it makes more sense. And it gives us the opportunity to reflect upon what it is we actually want to say to the Lord. And by considering David's experience, even in this psalm, it probably is a good exercise to write a journal or keep a diary.

[3:46] In order to look back and be reminded of how the Lord helped you through a certain situation in your life. Or how the Lord answered your prayer. Maybe not in the way you wanted him to.

[4:00] Or the way that you ever expected him to. But he answered it according to his will. He answered it according to his will.

[4:12] And that's the theme of Psalm 143. The theme of learning to do God's will. It's the theme of learning to do God's will.

[4:22] Because from the expressions which David uses, we can gather that from what David was going through in his life, it wasn't easy to come to terms with.

[4:33] And he was facing a situation in which he was finding it hard to accept the will of God. And he's struggling with it. He's wrestling with it. And as David tussles with what the Lord has put in his life, he's praying that he would learn to accept it.

[4:50] He's praying that he would learn to do God's will. And so what we see in this intimate and personal prayer of David is that he's praying that the Lord would hear him.

[5:03] And that the Lord would answer him. And that's what David says in verse 1. He says, Hear my prayer, O Lord. Give ear to my pleas for mercy.

[5:13] In your faithfulness, answer me. In your righteousness. And then David says in verse 7, He says, Answer me quickly, O Lord. My spirit fails.

[5:24] Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. And they are actually the two headings I'd like us to use this evening.

[5:35] Where David says in verse 1, Lord, hear me. And he says in verse 7, Lord, answer me. Lord, hear me. And Lord, answer me.

[5:48] And in fact, they're the two headings which David used in his prayer. Because you'll notice at the end of verse 6, that David inserts the word, Selah.

[6:00] And this word neatly splits the psalm in half. There's 12 verses, 6 in the first half, 6 in the second half. And David uses the word, this little word, Selah, in order to indicate to the reader of his personal diary, which is us, he's telling us to stop and pause and reflect upon the first half of the psalm before we go on to the second half of the psalm.

[6:29] And that's what the word Selah means. It means stop and reflect upon what has just been said. And David's saying to us, he's saying to us, reflect upon these words. Think over them.

[6:41] Ponder what they mean. And learn from my experience of how to do God's will. And it was Alan Harmon. He was a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew.

[6:55] He was in the Free Church College from 1966 to 1974. He was there before John L. Mackay. And he said in his commentary on the psalms that, he said that despite the deep expressions of spiritual struggle, he says, this psalm contains some of the most beautiful language of confident trust in God's mercy.

[7:19] And it's the most beautiful to be found anywhere in the Old Testament. And so let's first of all consider David's beautiful prayer when he pleaded, Lord, hear me.

[7:32] Lord, hear me. Look with me at verse 1. He says, Hear my prayer, O Lord. Give ear to my pleas for mercy. In your faithfulness answer me in your righteousness.

[7:45] Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. For the enemy has pursued my soul. He has crushed my life to the ground. He has made me sit in darkness, like those long dead.

[7:59] It was the early church father, Augustine. Augustine was from about the 4th century.

[8:10] And he said that Psalm 143 is the seventh of seven penitential psalms. Augustine claimed that Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and this Psalm, Psalm 143.

[8:31] He said that they are to be grouped together as penitential psalms. Because they all draw attention to the experience of the believer who is seeking the Lord's forgiveness.

[8:43] Where the believer is penitent because of his or her sin. And they are repentant, either because of their wrongdoing or because of their wrong attitude towards God.

[8:59] Because sometimes we know why things are in our life. And that they're there because of our sin and our mistakes. They're the result of what we have done wrong.

[9:10] Just like it was for David in Psalm 51. He knew that his relationship with the Lord was going through turbulence. And he felt distant from the Lord.

[9:21] He felt that the Lord was miles away from him because of his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and his sin of murder, in murdering Uriah. And in Psalm 51, as you know well, David is praying that his relationship with the Lord would be restored.

[9:40] And that the Lord would create within him a clean heart. And so it's easy to understand why David was repenting in Psalm 51 and seeking, why he was seeking the Lord's forgiveness after he had committed sin, an outward sin.

[9:55] But it's not so easy to understand why David is repenting in Psalm 143. When his wrongdoing, it's not because of adultery or it's not because of murder.

[10:09] His wrongdoing was that he was complaining against God's will. He was complaining against God's will. And this is why Augustine considered this psalm to be one of seven penitential psalms in the Psalter because David is seeking the Lord's forgiveness for complaining about what the Lord has put in his life.

[10:36] And you know, I look at this psalm and I feel that there is a depth to this psalm that I as a young person and a young Christian, I don't understand it yet.

[10:50] Because whatever was going on in David's life, it had caused him to complain against the Lord. It had caused him to question what the Lord was doing and why this particular providence was in his life.

[11:04] We don't know what it was. Maybe it was an illness. Maybe it was the loss of a loved one. Maybe it was difficulties with other people or the Lord's people.

[11:15] Maybe it was a spiritual struggle that he had in his own life. We don't know. But what we do know and what we can understand is that as a Christian struggling with what was in his cup, David was complaining to the Lord.

[11:32] And maybe for you, my friend, you can relate to David's experience. Because when you look at your own life and what has been brought into your experience, maybe you're asking, well, Lord, why?

[11:48] Why this way? Why now? Why does this have to happen in my life just now? And you ask the Lord, well, what are you trying to teach me through this?

[11:59] What's going on? And maybe you reach a dark point in the depths of your mind and your heart and you're asking the Lord, where are you in this? Lord, where are you?

[12:10] Lord, hear me. Hear my cry for help. And like David, even though you complained to the Lord because of your circumstances, you still went to the Lord with them.

[12:25] Even though you're complaining about what the Lord has brought into your experience, it's still the Lord you're going to because to whom else could you go with all these burdens in your life?

[12:36] Who else could you bring your concerns and worries to and cast all your cares upon but the Lord? And that's how David was.

[12:48] He had concerns that were overwhelming him and they were causing him to appeal to God for help and support. And yet, at the same time, even though he had all these concerns, David expresses his confidence in the Lord because he knows the Lord's character.

[13:10] That's what David confesses. He says, Hear my prayer, O Lord. Give ear to my pleas for mercy. In your faithfulness, answer me. In your righteousness, enter not into judgment with your servant for no one living is righteous before you.

[13:27] And so what we see is that the basis of David's plea to the Lord is not upon his character and his righteousness. No one living is righteous before you. His plea is not based upon David's character.

[13:40] It's based upon the Lord's character because David knows that the Lord is righteous and he acknowledges that despite all that he may have been going through in his life, he knows that the Lord is righteous in all that he's doing.

[13:57] And David confesses that even though he feels the way he does and his mind and his heart is in turmoil and he knows that, he still knows that the Lord is faithful to his covenant promises and his covenant people.

[14:10] He knows that the Lord is loving and gracious. He knows that the Lord is merciful and patient with him. He knows that he's faithful and righteous. He knows all these things.

[14:21] He knows them all. But that doesn't change the way he feels about his present situation. Because his present situation, he says in verse 3, the enemy has pursued my soul.

[14:36] He has crushed my life to the ground. He has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore, my spirit faints within me. My heart within me is appalled.

[14:50] It's overwhelmed. And these deep expressions of David's thoughts and feelings, they leave him completely crushed.

[15:01] Where he feels that everything is getting on top of him. To the point that he thinks that he can't cope any longer. it's as if he's going out of his mind with everything that's going on.

[15:15] And he's in this deep darkness where he's being crushed and overwhelmed by what life is throwing at him. To the point that it seems that David wants to give up completely.

[15:28] Even of life itself. Have you ever been there my friend? Have you ever stood where David stood? Where you knew that the Lord was in control of all that was going on in your life and yet it was the hardest thing to accept and come to terms with.

[15:46] Because in the situation which you were facing you thought that things are hopeless. And you're struggling to accept the will of God in your life.

[15:59] Have you been there? Have you stood in David's shoes and gone through the same experience? Well if that is your situation tonight in the thoughts and feelings of your heart and mind I want you to consider what David did next.

[16:20] Because we're told in verse 5 he says I remember the days of old I meditate on all that you've done I ponder the work of your hands I stretch out my hands to you my soul thirsts for you like a parched land Sela.

[16:39] And so what brings the greatest hope into David's dark experience is when he makes his reflections personal and he reflects upon the past in his own life and he reflects upon past victories and past answers to prayer and he reflects upon the fact that the Lord was there to help him and to uphold him and to keep him through every single one of these times.

[17:09] It's my friend it's as if David sits in the darkness of his situation and he pulls out his diary and he begins to read it and he reads his diary and all the entries which he wrote during the years gone by when he recorded what he was going through and how he felt at the time and the way in which the Lord revealed himself to him and spoke to him and it was by looking back at every one of these diary entries that David was enabled to see the Lord's hand upon his life those moments when he was in his youth when the lions were coming as a shepherd in the hills of Israel and yet he was still confessing the Lord is my shepherd and from those moments to the time when he was standing before that great giant Philistine Goliath of Gath and David defeated him not with a sword or a spear but as he said himself only because the Lord God was on his side and the other diary entries where King Saul was constantly trying to kill him pursuing him seeking to take his life away and yet time and time again the Lord protected him the Lord kept him where the Lord even used

[18:34] Saul's son Jonathan to protect David and there were all those times on the front line of battle where David was in the face of death but the Lord kept him the Lord kept him but you know if you look at David's life I would think that the most memorable entry most memorable diary entry in David's diary it would have been the occasion when the Lord made a covenant with him he made a covenant with David and all his descendants because in that covenant recorded for us in 2 Samuel 7 it was there in that covenant that the Lord promised that through David the true king of God's people would come where the Lord said to David when your days are fulfilled and when you lie down with your fathers I will raise up an offspring after you who shall come from your body and I will establish his kingdom he shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever

[19:43] I will be to him a father and he will be to me a son and David knew that the covenant with the Lord was based entirely upon the Lord's character it was based upon his faithfulness and his righteousness because that's what was being displayed to him and so my friend when it's when David looks back and he sees past victories and he he looks back at past promises given to him and past answers to prayer he does so not just to reflect upon the good old days no it was for the intention of moving forward always for the intention of moving forward because the word remember beautiful word the word remember when David says he remembers the days of old it's not only an action of the memory it's also an action of the mind and the heart where David's

[20:44] David is going to move forward in action he's going to keep going because he knew that the Lord would remain faithful to him and righteous for him in all things he knew that if he moved forward the Lord is not going to change he was going to apply all these past memories past promises past answers to prayer past blessings and he's seeing that well if the Lord helped him through all these times of doubt and trial and heartache and worry then well the Lord is going to help him as he moves forward too my friend have you stood where David stood have you stood where David stood by meditating and reflecting upon the Lord who helped you in the past that by reflecting upon it he gave you help for the present and confidence in the present and hope for the future and your only remedy to your situation maybe then was to say with David

[21:50] I stretch out my hands to you my soul thirst for you like a parched land Selah David had that longing for the Lord to assure him once again of his strength and his comfort and affirm to him his grace and his promises it was one commentator who beautifully put it when we reach out to the Lord it is because he has first reached out to us when we reach out to the Lord it is because he has first reached out to us and that's what David was doing he was seeking the Lord because he knew well there's no one else to go and in seeking the Lord he's trying to accept God's will in his life but it was my coming to the affirmation that he needs the Lord in everything and that he needs the

[22:50] Lord to help him it's then that David becomes more and more earnest in his prayer where he's not only pleading that the Lord would hear him but it changes that he's pleading with the Lord to answer him and that's what we see in the second half of the psalm David's plea changes from Lord hear me to Lord answer me so we'll look at that secondly Lord answer me look at verse 7 answer me quickly O Lord my spirit fails hide not your face from me lest I be like those who go down to the pit let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love for in you I trust make me know the way that I should go for to you I lift up my soul and you know I was just thinking that well the longing David's longing to be heard and receive an answer from the Lord it's like that of a child just like a little child because when

[23:54] I read these expressions of David that he uses I have little Daniel in my mind where Daniel as you know he can't say anything to explain how he feels he can't say anything to explain what he's going through or what he needs but all Daniel does is just lift up his arms and cry for help that's all he does and it seems that that's what David is doing here with his present situation he's crying to the Lord for help and he's longing that the Lord would respond and I love the metrical rendering of this psalm which we'll be singing shortly where David says beautiful words because when

[24:57] David was weak and helpless and struggling to come to terms with the darkness of his situation and knowing that this was the Lord's will in his life David is crying to the Lord because he knew the only person who understood all his complaints and all his moans was the Lord but now David he's longing for the Lord to answer his prayer and make himself known to David he's longing for the Lord to reveal himself to him he he says answer me quickly Lord my spirit fails hide not your face from me lest I be like those who go down to the pit he's longing to see the face of the Lord he's longing because the Lord is he's saying hide not your face from me and that expression the Lord's face it's an expression of favour and blessing we know it well from Psalm 67 the psalmist is pleading with the Lord that through the church of

[26:05] Jesus Christ that many more would come to experience the grace and blessing of the Lord but he says Lord bless and pity us shine on us with thy face that the earth thy way and nations all may know thy saving grace and David's longing that he would experience the Lord's blessing that he would know the Lord's blessing in his life because maybe what he was going through it felt like a curse he felt abandoned he felt lonely he felt that the Lord wasn't there in his dark providence he felt that the Lord was hiding his face from him and David goes even as far as to say that he feels like death and he's longing he's longing to once again experience what you could say the smile of God in his life he's longing to experience the blessing of the Lord upon him but as we move into verses 8 and 9 we see that David is not only longing to see the face of God he's also longing to hear the voice of

[27:12] God he says in verse 8 let me hear let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love for in you I trust make me know the way that I should go for to you I lift up my soul deliver me from my enemies oh Lord I have fled to you for refuge it's a lovely phrase let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love because it draws attention to the darkness of the night which David was going through but in the morning in the morning the light of God's blessing shines in and those sentiments they're repeated throughout the Psalms David confesses in Psalm 30 weeping may for a night endure but joy comes in the morning and in Psalm 130 what David is going through it seems to be expressed so clearly there because the

[28:15] Psalmist says I wait for God my soul doth wait my hope is in his word more than they that for morning watch my soul waits for the Lord and that's what David is doing he's waiting for the morning light to shine into his darkness let me hear in the morning your steadfast love David was longing to be reminded about the covenant love of the Lord a love that doesn't change despite our ever changing circumstances because my friend whenever you read in the Bible whenever you're reading at home or in church whenever you read the phrase steadfast love or loving kindness it refers to the love of the Lord which is unchangeable despite all the changing circumstances in our lives whatever they may be and every time we read those words steadfast love or loving kindness we ought to be reminded that there is nothing we can do to make God love us any more than he already does and there is nothing we can do to make him love us any less because God's love is like his character infinite eternal and unchangeable that's what his character is like and that's what his love is like towards us infinite eternal and unchangeable but what became the key to David understanding what he was going through was what he asked in verse 10 teach me to do your will for you are my

[30:09] God let your good spirit lead me on level ground teach me to do your will what a prayer because when David looked at his circumstances and what he was going through he may not have understood why but as he poured out his heart to the Lord in this psalm he came to the realisation that this was the will of God in his life David came to the understanding that this is what the Lord had put in his life and for David and for many of us the will of God in our life is sometimes very hard to come to terms with we know what Paul says all things work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose but sometimes those words don't seem to comfort us because we still wonder why and in this penitential psalm

[31:10] David he has been repenting of his sin the sin of complaint where he's complaining against the will of God in his life and David was repenting he's seeking forgiveness for complaining and moaning against the Lord and what the Lord had put in his cup and yet he's asking the Lord teach me to do your will and you know David's words they're sometimes the hardest words to pray because we know that we should never complain against the Lord we know that we shouldn't question the Lord's will and what the Lord is doing in our life we know that we should be content with our lot and just keep going because heaven will be far greater we know all that and we know that we should all be like the apostle Paul who said that I have learned in whatever situation I'm in to be content I know how to be brought low I know how to abound in any and every circumstance

[32:11] I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger abundance and need and the secret is I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and my friend maybe there were times in your life when you read Paul's words and you said in your heart well that was good for you Paul but it's not so easy for me it's not so easy for me because we know what we ought to be we know that we ought to accept God's will whatever circumstances we are in we know that we have to submit to the fact that God is sovereign and he's ruling over our life and truth be told we'd love to be like Paul we'd love to be like him we'd love to have the contentment that he had we'd love to be content with our lot and with whatever comes our way whether illness or pain or sorrow or even even death into our home but David's words are sometimes the hardest words to pray teach me to do your will teach me to accept your will for my life teach me to be content with your will and acknowledge that you are in control of all things and whatever comes my way whatever comes cause me to see that it's not about me because you are to receive all the glory and you know thinking about this the need to accept

[33:49] God's will for our life whatever is in our cup personally speaking I don't think I realised what I was praying until I really stopped to think about it because when our Lord gave us a pattern for prayer in what we often term as the Lord's prayer we all know it we learnt it when we were young we said it probably every day in school maybe we said it at home but did we actually know what we were asking the Lord because the Lord taught us to pray our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven but did we ever realise what we were saying when we said to the Lord thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven did we realise that in those words we were actually praying what

[34:51] David was praying teach me to do your will even though we didn't know what the Lord's will would be for our life we didn't know what would be in our cup and yet we prayed so that whatever comes our way we will take it to the Lord and we will seek his help and his comfort God God but what is what what is what our wonderful saviour is that he not only taught us how to pray but it's that he also led by example Isaiah prophesied that it was the will of the Lord to crush him it was the father's will that he would bear our sin and die in our place.

[35:43] But in the Garden of Gethsemane, as we were reading in Matthew 26, when Jesus came face to face with the Father's will and he was brought to see what was in his cup, because his cup was the cup of the Father's wrath.

[35:59] It was to be, and it was to be poured out upon him because of our sin. And in those moments of terror at what lay ahead of him at Calvary, we're told that in Luke's Gospel, Jesus sweated great drops of blood.

[36:18] And yet when Jesus prayed, he prayed as David prayed, teach me to do your will. Jesus prayed that he would be submissive to the will of his Father.

[36:30] My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless. And we should be thankful that there was a nevertheless.

[36:44] Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. And my friend, that's the example which Jesus left us. Not as I will, but as you will.

[36:55] Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. But I just want to ask us as we conclude, what was it that made Jesus willing to submit to his Father's will?

[37:15] And what was it that made Paul content with God's will in his life? Well, I think that Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 4, they reveal the key to coming to terms with God's will in our life.

[37:32] Because Paul said, we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen, they're temporal, they're transient.

[37:44] But the things that are unseen, they are eternal. And it was when David was given that perspective, the eternal perspective of God's will in his life, he humbly concluded his prayer.

[38:02] For your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life. In your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble. And in your steadfast love, you will cut off my enemies. And you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul.

[38:16] For I am your servant. David no longer complained against the Lord, as hard as it may have seemed. He no longer questioned what the Lord was doing in his life.

[38:28] Instead, all he asked was that whatever would come his way in life, was that the Lord would get all the glory. For your name's sake, he prays.

[38:40] The beginning of verse 11, for your name's sake, O Lord. And it's interesting, because David's request there, it's the same request he makes in Psalm 23.

[38:54] When, you know the words, when David claimed, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me down to lie. In pastures green he leadeth me. The quiet waters by.

[39:06] My soul he doth restore again. And me to walk doth make. Within the paths of righteousness. E'en for his own name's sake.

[39:16] And so when David prayed in this psalm, Lord hear me, and Lord answer me, he knew that whatever path the good shepherd would put him on in life, even if it was going to be through death's dark veil, he knew that it was not for his glory, but for the sake and glory of the Lord.

[39:42] And were they not the sentiments the psalmist had in our opening psalm this evening? Where the psalmist in Psalm 115 declared what his life song in this world would be.

[39:56] That whatever would come his way, whatever was to be in his cup, whatever he was to be faced with, it is not unto us, Lord, not to us, but do thou glory take unto thy name, e'en for thy truth, and for thy mercy's sake.

[40:14] May the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. Gracious God and loving Heavenly Father, we give thanks to thee that thou are a God who speaks to us, who speaks to us, Lord, not only in the light, but also in the darkness.

[40:35] And we thank thee, Lord, that in every situation thy word is relevant to us. We pray that thou wouldest bless it to our souls, that thou wouldest encourage us on life's journey, that whatever we are experiencing, that thou, Lord, wouldest have a word and season for us, that thou wouldest remind us that, oh, thou art still our shepherd, the one who is leading us, the one who is guiding us, the one who is keeping us.

[41:00] Help us, Lord, we pray thee, or to pray as we have been taught, that thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We pray that thou wouldest keep us, Lord, every day, for we know that we are weak, we are frail, we are those, oh, Lord, who wander and stray.

[41:18] But the wonder of it all is that thou art the God who is watching over us, whose eye is upon us day and night, the God who slumbers not nor sleeps, and who promises to keep our going out and our coming in from this time forth and even forevermore.

[41:35] Bless us in our being together, we pray thee. Remember those tonight who are heavy in heart. We think of the family in Upper Barvis. We pray for them. And, oh, Lord, that thou wouldest comfort those who are mourning.

[41:48] Bind them up, we pray thee, that they would know the peace of God that passes all understanding. Do us good, then, we pray. Cleanse us and keep us. For Jesus' sake.

[41:59] Amen. We shall conclude by singing in that psalm, in Psalm 143. That's the second version of the psalm.

[42:12] Psalm 143, page 439. We're singing from verse 6 down to the verse mark 10.

[42:29] Psalm 143, second version, and verse 6. Down to the end of the verse.

[43:03] verse mark 10 of Psalm 143. To God's praise. Lord, I do stretch my hands to thee, my help alone, for thou well understandst all my complaints and moan.

[43:31] my thirsting soul. My thirsting soul desires and longeth after thee, as mercy can require with rain refreshed to lead.

[43:54] Lord, let my prayer. Lord, let my prayer prevail to answer it makes me.

[44:06] For though my spirit don't fail, I knock thy face in me.

[44:17] lest I be like to those that do in darkness sit.

[44:29] For him the downward goes into the dreadful pit.

[44:41] because I trust in thee, because I trust in thee, O Lord, cause me to hear thy loving kindness breathe when morning doth appear.

[45:03] cause me to know the way where in my path should be.

[45:15] For by my soul on high, I do lift up to thee.

[45:27] From my fears tenderly, in safety to be guide, because I flee to thee, Lord, that thou mist me hide.

[45:50] My God alone art thou, teach me thy righteousness.

[46:01] Thy spirit's truth lead me to the land of uprightness.

[46:13] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen.