Psalm 43:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!

NIV: Vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause against an unfaithful nation. Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked.

NASB: Vindicate me, God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; Save me from the deceitful and unjust person!

CSB: Vindicate me, God, and champion my cause against an unfaithful nation; rescue me from the deceitful and unjust person.

NLT: Declare me innocent, O God! Defend me against these ungodly people. Rescue me from these unjust liars.

KJV: Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

NKJV: Vindicate me, O God, And plead my cause against an ungodly nation; Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!

Because Psalm 43 shares themes—even some exact phrases—with Psalm 42, scholars believe they may have originally been a single work. This segment starts with an appeal for God to deliver righteous justice, in the face of sinful oppression. In an Old Testament context, use of the phrase "ungodly people" suggests Gentiles. Some commentators believe the psalmist was an exile in Babylon; others believe he was an exile in the northern region of the Jordan. Psalm 42:6 weighs heavily in favor of the latter view, because the psalmist says, "I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon."

Whatever his location, the writer longs to return to Jerusalem and asks the Lord to "vindicate" him. The psalmist's situation and plea for vindication may foreshadow righteous Jews in the tribulation. They will be persecuted by unrighteous Gentiles, who are led by an ungodly and unjust man who poses as Israel's messiah. He is portrayed in 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 as "the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God."

Psalm 43:1–4 asks God to come to the psalmist's assistance and defend his cause against the wicked. He expresses faith in the Lord but struggles with the feeling that God has rejected him. He prays for guidance to bring him back to the temple, where he anticipates worshiping God joyfully.

The psalmist prays to be delivered from ungodly people and injustice. He places trust in God, but grapples with feelings of abandonment during his hardships. He prays for God's light and truth to bring him back to Jerusalem, where he will gladly worship the Lord. The psalm concludes with a rhetorical question asked twice in the prior psalm (Psalm 42:5, 11).

Intricately connected in themes and phrases, Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 might have originally been a single song. Many Hebrew manuscripts render the two as one. In Psalm 43 the psalmist asks the Lord to lead him back to Jerusalem, where he could once again joyfully worship Him. This continues to express Psalm 42's concepts of discouragement overcome by purposeful faith in God.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.