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Easter Season · A Ninth Reading Easter Vigil · Year C

Psalm 143

My Soul Thirsts for You

April 16, 2028

Oasis in the Desert (Oase in der Wüste), Alberto Pasini
Oasis in the Desert (Oase in der Wüste), Alberto Pasini, 1856Private collection
Water and palms in the middle of dry country, with travellers stopped at the edge of it.I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails.Alberto PasiniPasini, an Italian who travelled with a French mission to Persia and painted what he saw.Private collectionA private collection.Private collection
Revised Common Lectionary
Old TestamentEzek. 37:1-14Ez 37:1-14
PsalterPs. 143Ps 143

Overview & Insights

“My soul thirsts for you like a parched land.” (Psalm 143:6)

This individual prayer psalm is highly formulaic, that is, it consists of stock phrases repeated elsewhere in the Psalms (v. 3 // 7:5; Lam. 3:6; v. 4 // 77:3; 142:3; vv. 5–6 // 77:2, 5, 12; v. 6 // 63:1; v. 7 // 69:17; 88:4, 14; 102:2; v. 8 // 90:14; in general cf. Pss. 25; 86; further parallels listed in Culley, Oral Formulaic Language , p. 107). Yet it reflects an intimacy with God that is strikingly singular among the psalms.

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Commentary

Psalm 143 CommentaryPs 143 Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik traces the psalmist's exhausted plea and prayer for God's leading spirit.

Psalm 143 CommentariesPs 143 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregates classic commentators on this penitential psalm of a fainting spirit.

Gill's Exposition on Psalm 143Gill's Exposition on Ps 143 StudyLight

John Gill's exposition works through the psalmist's plea for mercy and guidance.

Background & Word Study

Psalm 143 (Hebrew and English)Ps 143 (Hebrew and English) Sefaria

Gives the Hebrew text so readers can see the psalm's parched-land and spirit imagery in the original.

The Church Fathers

Catena on Psalm 143Catena on Ps 143 Catena

Collects patristic comment on this penitential psalm of a fainting, thirsting spirit.

Questions preachers ask

What is Psalm 143?

A prayer of one pursued and faint of spirit, thirsting for God like dry ground and asking to be taught the way he should go, for he lifts up his soul to the Lord.

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