This Bible Study is is provided by http://www.theseason.org/ and shared with permission from it's author R. Christopherson

This Psalms is a prayer for those times when depression comes.

Psalms 143:1 "Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: In Thy faithfulness answer me, and in Thy righteousness."

Hear my prayer in your covenant engagements by your Word. Those promises guarantee an action on God's part. Answer me through the promises that You have given to me within Your written Word. Do you know the promises that God has made to you within the Scriptures? Learn them and stand on each of them. They are yours to claim, for it is part of your inheritance that you can claim right now.

Psalms 143:2 "And enter not into judgment with Thy servant: For in Thy sight shall no man living be justified."

Even those men that are listed among the living, there is no man that can be justified by and through himself. We all have sinned and come short of the standard that God has placed upon us. We all fall short of that mark, the glory of God. That was not offered at David's time, but it is repentance through Christ that we do have now. So this means repent and have a change in your life and come out of that depressed state of your mind. In other words, stop feeling sorry for yourself, repent and refocus your mind, and seek the help of our Lord. Get up on your feet and stand up and be counted amongst those that have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. Christ is the one that makes the perfection within us, so be sure that you keep Him there in your life.

Psalms 143:3 "For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; He hath smitten my life down to the ground; He hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead."

The enemy, Satan will continue to persecute your soul if your allow it. He will run your life right into the ground, and make you worthless in your own mind, if you allow Satan that right. And at this time in David's live, these wicked ones actually chased David into this dark cave, to where David is having this prayer time with the Father. The cave in our lives today is the cave of depression, and Satan will put his foot down on you, and hold you in that state of depression until you come to the point of ordering him out of your life spiritually.

"As those that have been long dead" is a figure of speech, meaning that you have just given up on life. This then is putting a frame of mind here to where you have sunk all the way to the bottom, and you just can't go any lower. So why is God relating this to us? To make us analyze ourselves, to determine exactly where we are, and then make those correction where we can. Seek His help in those areas where our common sense will not allow us to see our way through, and have the faith in our heavenly Father to trust Him to do those things we can't do for ourselves. Sure this all sounds good, but you still have to practice it in your own life.

Psalms 143:4 "Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; My heart within me is desolate."

My spirit is dazed within me and my heart is filled with depression. Every time you look back at the good old days, and see how things use to be, many times that can make you depressed.

Psalms 143:5 "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Thy works; I muse on the work of Thy hands."

However when you take your mind off your works and meditate on our Heavenly Father's works, you are heading in the right direction. It doesn't hurt to take time now and then and count those blessing that Father has put in your life. Look at the family He's given you, some to the friends that are there to back you up when things are tough, and most of all those many promises in His Word that you can count on when the going really gets tough.

Psalms 143:6 "I stretch forth my hands unto Thee: My soul thirsteth after Thee, as a thirsty land. Selah."

This is the last Selah in the book of Psalms, and it is telling you to stop and think on what has just been said. David has focused our minds on those times when things aren't going well with us, and reminding us that this is the time to stop and meditate on not only what God has done for you, but those promises that are there if you will just trust him and put them into action. So this Selah connects this pray in the state of depression, with our returning to prayer as a constant practice for our lives. You may have gotten away from prayer in your daily life, and it is time to make your bible study and prayer a constant thing in your everyday life, just as you would eat and brush your teeth. This keeps that depression from returning to your life, and it will lift you out of a state of depression. It makes you to stop for a moment and look at reality, at the events going on in and around your life. You look at the consequences of the fact that you must face life head on, and not try to skirt around trouble. You face those things that you can handle, and turn over to the Lord those things that you just can't see through. The only refuge that we need is what God Himself provides for us, so face life head on. Christianity is a reality, and as a Christian, live your life in reality and have victory over it.

Psalms 143:7 "Hear me speedily O Lord: my spirit faileth: Hide not Thy face from me, Lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit."

Our Heavenly Father will never hide His face from you when you are seeking Him. You will never be like those that have given up on life, and allow themselves to fall into the emotional depths that this life can take you to. All Father wants is for your to ask for His help and He will give it.

Psalms 143:8 "Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning; For in Thee do I trust : Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; For I lift up my soul unto Thee."

Do you thirst for God's Word? His "lovingkindness" is His grace. His grace is all of God's gifts and promises given to you at Christ's expense. Notice that David is asking God to "cause me to know the way wherein I should walk." For I give myself unto thee, Father. When you give yourself to the Father, and in repentance in Jesus name, turn your life into Father's hand, He will cause you to know the way you should go by His Spirit, as you study His Word. He will show you the paths you are to take as you learn to lean on His Word, and trust in Him for your strength. God knows how to make your path smooth far more than you do. He can change men's minds, and more those things that seem so impossible for you at the moment.

Psalms 143:9 "Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto Thee to hide me."

The cave is the wrong place to run with the going gets tough, but we are to run to the protection of our Lord. Stay out of the darkness where Satan and his crowd hang out, but run to the Father for protection.

Psalms 143:10 "Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness."

If you want God's blessings, then learn to do God's Will that He has for your life. God's Will is His Word, and ask God to teach you His plan so you can fit into that plan. Know what God expects of you, then do it. Christians are not afraid of problems, but seek to over come them. God will lead you in those places that He wants you to be of service for Him, and as you study His Word, His Spirit will give you the words that you are to say to be of service to Him. Sometimes it is right to plant seeds of truth and some-times it is not.

Psalms 143:11 "Quicken me, O Lord, for Thy name's sake: For Thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble."

Make me alive Lord, even though I don't deserve it, make me alive in the land of the living. Make me alive for Your name's sake. It is important that you are aware of His name, for the entire Psalm of 145 deals with His name.

Psalms 143:12 "And Thy mercy cut off mine enemies, And destroy all them that afflict my soul: For I am Thy servant."

When you are a servant of God, they you study His Word and do the thing instructed in His Word. If you are following the traditions of men, you are a servant of men and not of God. God dwells where His word is taught, and if His Word is not being taught, they you are in a Bethaven, and house of nothing. At Christ's return they will all be cut of, and those things that are of this world age will be done away with. If you are a servant of the Living God, they you will study to be obedient to His entire Word, and not pick and choose what only pleases you.