Psalm 143


Psalm 143 is the 143rd psalm of the biblical Book of Psalms in the Masoretic and modern numbering. In the Greek Septuagint version of the bible, and in its Latin translation in the Vulgate/Vulgata Clementina, this psalm is Psalm 142 in a slightly different numbering system.
It is one of the Penitential Psalms.

Uses

Jewish

Verse 2 is found in the repetition of the Amidah during Rosh Hashanah.

[New Testament]

In the tradition, this psalm was selected by St. Benedict of Nursia from 530. According to the rule of St. Benedict, must Psalm 142 is sung as a result of Psalm 51 at the Office for Lauds Saturday. Nowadays, a number of monasteries still preserve this tradition.
Psalm 143 is currently the fourth Thursday prayer at Lauds in the Liturgy of the Hours and every Tuesday night at compline.

Theme

This psalm is a prayer request. The Psalmist's cry is divided into four stages: the psalmist is sorry and is not better than another; it is at an impasse; but he sees that the Lord has saved other men; so he puts his trust in the Lord. The psalm evokes the problem of a prayer request from the sinner, the one that persecutes the enemy. The solid base that helps the psalmist hope in the LORD is his reminiscence of the past, to verse 5: He sees the action of the Lord in his life. Another element comes in: to be adjusted to the will of the Lord, as the psalmist asks in verse 10. Verse 8 goes in the same direction. At the loyalty of the Lord must be unwavering devotion of the Psalmist, that his prayer is answered.