Psalms – Chapter 143

Old Testament15 Verses

1Blessed be the Lord my God, who teacheth my hands to fight, and my fingers to war.

2My mercy, and my refuge: my support, and my deliverer: My protector, and I have hoped in him: who subdueth my people under me.

3Lord, what is man, that thou art made known to him? or the son of man, that thou makest account of him?

4Man is like to vanity: his days pass away like a shadow.

5Lord, bow down thy heavens and descend: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

6Send forth lightning, and thou shalt scatter them: shoot out thy arrows, and thou shalt trouble them.

7Put forth thy hand from on high, take me out, and deliver me from many waters: from the hand of strange children:

8Whose mouth hath spoken vanity: and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity.

9To thee, O God, I will sing a new canticle: on the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings I will sing praises to thee.

10Who givest salvation to kings: who hast redeemed thy servant David from the malicious sword:

11Deliver me, And rescue me out of the hand of strange children; whose mouth hath spoken vanity: and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity:

12Whose sons are as new plants in their youth: Their daughters decked out, adorned round about after the similitude of a temple:

13Their storehouses full, flowing out of this into that. Their sheep fruitful in young, abounding in their goings forth:

14Their oxen fat. There is no breach of wall, nor passage, nor crying out in their streets.

15They have called the people happy, that hath these things: but happy is that people whose God is the Lord.

Reflection for Today

The message of Psalms Chapter 143 unfolds within the broader narrative of prayer, praise, and the full range of human emotion before God. Catholic theology, drawing on the Psalms are the prayer book of the Church, prayed daily in the Liturgy of the Hours (CIC 2585-2589), sees in this chapter a call to deeper faith. The principle that God invites us to bring all our emotions to Him guides our interpretation.

The Church Fathers, including St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and St. John Chrysostom, devoted themselves to explaining Scripture for the faithful. Their insights, preserved in the Church's Tradition, continue to illuminate our reading. The Catechism reminds us that "the Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerated the Body of the Lord" (CIC 103).

As you engage with this chapter, bring your questions, struggles, and hopes to the text. God's Word addresses the whole person—mind, heart, and will. Through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, we receive the grace to live what we read. May this chapter strengthen your faith and deepen your love for Christ and His Church.

💡Catholic Reflection • Church Teachings

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