When the Grave Feels Close

Introduction

If you have a Bible—and I hope that you do—go ahead and open it with me to Psalm 143. We’re gonna read this entire psalm together.

And so, if you would…please stand with me as we go to God’s Word this morning.

Psalm 143:1–12 ESV

Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.

[Prayer]

Psalm 143, this is one of the places in Scripture where we see David coming before God not with confidence in himself, but with a deep awareness of his need for mercy.

And as you read this psalm, you quickly begin to realize that David’s overwhelmed. He’s surrounded by enemies. He’s weighed down by guilt. His spirit’s fainting within him. In fact, he describes himself as someone who feels like he’s already been pushed down into the grave.

Maybe you’ve felt something like that before.

There’s seasons in life where the weight of your circumstances presses in so tightly that it feels like the light’s disappearing around you. Seasons where the heart grows heavy… where the soul feels tired… where you begin wonder just how much longer you can keep going.

That’s the place where David finds himself in Psalm 143.

But what makes this psalm so powerful is that it doesn’t stay in despair. It moves somewhere. It begins in darkness, but it ends in hope.

And that movement—from despair to hope—is really the story at the center of the Christian faith.

Because the Bible tells us that humanity’s deepest problem isn’t just suffering or enemies or difficult circumstances. Our deepest problem is sin. And because of sin, the whole world is under the shadow of judgment and death.

But the good news of the gospel is that God didn’t leave us there, right?

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God answered the very cry that David’s praying in this psalm. The mercy David longed for, the life he asked for, the guidance he needed—those things ultimately come to us through the risen Christ.

And so as we walk through Psalm 143 this morning, I want you to notice how David prays in the middle of his despair. Because in many ways his prayer becomes the pattern for every sinner who comes to God looking for mercy and new life.

If you’re taking notes this morning, there’s three things I want you to see in Psalm 143:

Number 1, The Cry for Mercy.

Number 2, The Despair of a Buried Soul.

And then number 3, The Prayer for Resurrection Hope.

And so, with all that in mind, let’s look at this first point together.

I. The Cry for Mercy (vv. 1-2)

We see David’s cry for mercy.

Look back with me at verse 1:

“Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!”

You can hear it right away…this is urgent. David’s not calm…he’s desperate here.

“Hear me…listen to me…answer me…”

What he’s asking for is mercy. Not justice. Mercy.

That matters…because David knows something we all have to come to grips with: if God deals with us on the basis of justice alone, we won’t stand.

That’s verse 2:

“Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.”

No one. Not his enemies…not the nations…not even David himself.

And that’s the consistent message of Scripture.

Romans 3:10 says, “None is righteous, no, not one.”

David’s not exaggerating, he’s agreeing with God and His Word.

And notice, he includes himself: “Your servant…” He’s not comparing himself to others…he’s standing before a holy God.

As John Calvin said, “All who don’t rest in the mercy of God must tremble at His judgment.”

That’s David here. He knows if God judges him by his works, he’s undone.

But look at verse 1 again:

“In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!”

That almost sounds like a contradiction, right? “Don’t judge me in your righteousness… but answer me in your righteousness…”

Here’s what David understands: God’s righteousness isn’t just a threat to sinners…it’s the hope of sinners who come to Him for mercy. Because listen, God’s not only righteous in judgment, He’s righteous in keeping His promises.

David’s not saying, “Answer me because I deserve it.” He’s saying, “Answer me because You’re faithful…because You’re merciful…because that’s who You are.”

His confidence isn’t in himself—it’s in what he knows to be true about God’s character. And that’s the only way anyone comes to God.

Not pointing to your record…not trying to clean yourself up first…Its us coming empty-handed and asking for mercy.

As Martin Luther said, the whole of the Christian life is this: the sinner coming to a God who justifies.

That’s what David’s doing here. And this is where the gospel comes into full view for us. Because the mercy David’s crying out for here…its been fully provided for us in Jesus Christ.

At the cross, God didn’t ignore His righteousness, He satisfied it. And so now, God can be just… and yet still show mercy to sinners.

Which means when we pray like this, we’re not hoping God’ll overlook our sin…We’re trusting that He’s already dealt with it in Christ.

And so here’s a question for us as we walk through this: How do you come to God?…Do you come trying to justify yourself… Or do you come like David aware that you can’t stand in judgment, and asking for mercy? Because that’s not just how the Christian life begins…It’s how it continues, til the day we die.

We never move past this. We live here. Crying out for mercy…And trusting that in Christ, mercy’s exactly what we receive.

II. The Despair of a Buried Soul (vv. 3-6)

Point number two…We see the despair of a buried soul in this Psalm.

Look at verse 3:

“For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.”

David shifts here from confession to description. He begins explaining what life feels like right now. And the language he uses is striking.

“My enemy has pursued my soul…he has crushed my life to the ground…”

In other words, David doesn’t just feel pressured…he feels pressed down.

The picture, its almost burial imagery. Like someone pushed into the dirt…pinned beneath the weight of everything that’s coming against him.

And then he says: “He’s made me sit in darkness like those long dead.”

That’s graveyard language, right? David’s saying, I feel like a man sitting in the dark…like someone who already belongs among the dead.

Verse 4:

“Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.”

His spirit’s fainting. His heart’s overwhelmed.

The word here, it carries the idea of being stunned…or devastated…unable to process what’s happening.

And listen, it’s important to notice something here. David’s a man after God’s own heart…yet he’s describing deep spiritual exhaustion here.

Scripture doesn’t hide the fact that even faithful believers can walk through seasons where the soul feels crushed.

Think about the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19…after the victory on Mount Carmel he collapses under a tree and he asks God to take his life.

Or think about Job sitting in ashes, saying in Job 3 that he wishes he had never been born.

Or even the apostle Paul who says in 2 Corinthians 1 that he was “so utterly burdened beyond his strength that he despaired of life itself.”

The Bible’s honest about this kind of stuff. Faith doesn’t mean you never feel crushed. Faith means you know where to turn when you are.

And that’s what David does in verse 5.

Look at it with me again:

“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.”

Can you guys see the shift. David moves from what he feels…to what he remembers. When the present feels overwhelming, he deliberately looks back at God’s past faithfulness.

“I remember the days of old…”

He starts recalling all the ways God’s delivered His people before. He meditates on God’s works. He ponders the work of God’s hands. In other words, David’s preaching truth to his own soul.

The Puritan William Bridge once said, “It’s the duty of a believer to argue down his unbelief.”

And that’s exactly what David’s doing here. His circumstances are shouting despair… But he answers back by remembering who God is and what God’s done.

And then look at verse 6 again:

“I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.”

And so now the image changes. Earlier he felt buried in darkness. Now he describes himself as a desert longing for rain.

“My soul thirsts for you…”

Not just for relief. Not just for safety. For God Himself.

As Augustine of Hippo famously said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

That’s what David realizes in the middle of his despair. What his soul ultimately needs…its not merely changed circumstances. It’s the presence of God.

And for us, this is where the hope of the gospel becomes even clearer.

Because the God David longed for…he’s drawn near to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

And think about this: the darkness that David describes here…Jesus actually entered it.

At the cross, Christ stepped into the deepest darkness sin could produce. He experienced the abandonment… the suffering… even death itself. And then three days later, God raised Him from the grave. Which means this: for those who belong to Christ, despair’s never the final chapter. The grave itself, its been defeated.

And so when our souls feel crushed…when the darkness feels heavy…when our spirits faint within us…We do what David did…We remember…We meditate…We stretch out our hands to God…like dry ground waiting for rain. Because the same God who delivered His people in the past…the same God who raised Jesus from the dead…He’s the same God who still hears the cries of His people today.

Amen?

III. The Prayer for Resurrection Hope (vv. 7-12)

Point number 3…We see David’s prayer for resurrection hope.

Look at verse 7 with me:

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit.”

You can feel the urgency again, right?

“My spirit fails…”

David’s not just tired, he’s at the end of himself. And then he says, “Hide not your face from me…” Because listen, for David, the worst thing isn’t the enemy. It’s not the pressure he’s facing. It’s not even death. It’s the thought that God might turn His face away.

“Lest I be like those who go down to the pit…”

That’s death language again. David’s saying, “Lord, if You don’t answer me…if You don’t draw near to me…I’m as good as gone.”

But then look at verse 8, because there’s a shift:

“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust.”

Do you see that? Night…to morning. Darkness…to light. Despair…to hope.

“Let me hear in the morning…”

In other words, David’s expecting that the darkness isn’t permanent. He’s looking for a new day. And what he wants to hear is “your steadfast love”…that covenant, unchanging love of God.

Why? “For in you I trust.”

That’s the foundation under everything he’s praying. Not his strength…not his situation…his trust in God.

And then he says: “Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

And so now he’s asking for guidance. Not just deliverance…but direction.

“Lord, show me the way…”

And don’t miss that, because when you’re in seasons like this, clarity matters.

David’s not saying, “Get me out and let me do whatever I want.”

He’s saying, “Lead me.”

Verse 9:

“Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge.”

That’s a beautiful phrase: “I have fled to you…”

God’s not just his help…He’s his hiding place.

As the Reformers loved to say, God’s our refuge not because we’re strong, but because we’re weak enough to run to Him.

And then verse 10:

“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!”

Again guidance. “Teach me…lead me…” David doesn’t just want out of the valley…he wants to walk rightly with God through that valley.

And notice that phrase: “your good Spirit…”

Even here, you get a glimpse of the Spirit’s work…guiding, and leading, and sustaining the believer.

And then verse 11:

“For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!”

Do you hear what he’s appealing to? Not his name…God’s name. “Do this for Your glory…for Your reputation…for who You are…”

That’s mature faith.

And then finally verse 12:

“And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies…for I am your servant.”

Notice the confidence there: “you will…”

He started this psalm desperate…now he’s ending it with confidence. Not because his situation’s changed, but because his focus has.

And listen, when you step back and when look at this whole section, here’s what David’s really praying for: Life out of death. Light out of darkness. A new morning after a long night. In other words…resurrection.

He doesn’t use that word…but that’s the shape of his prayer. “Bring me out of the pit…restore my life…let me hear of your love in the morning…”

And here’s where this lands for us…Because what David’s longing for…we’ve seen fulfilled, fully in Jesus Christ.

Think about it: Jesus entered the darkness. He went into the grave, the same pit that David feared. And for a moment, it looked like darkness had won. But on the third day…morning came. The stone was rolled away. And Christ walked out of the grave alive.

That’s resurrection.

And that changes everything for us. Because now, for those who are in Christ, the pattern of this psalm becomes the pattern of our lives.

Yes, there’ll be seasons of darkness. Yes, there’ll be moments where your spirit feels like it’s failing. But that’s not the end of your story.

Because in Christ, morning is coming.

As John Calvin once said, “We’re never so cast down that God can’t raise us again.”

That’s the hope of the gospel. That’s what we celebrate as we move toward Resurrection Sunday.

Not just that Jesus rose…But that in Him, we will too.

Closing

And so when you find yourself in darkness…Pray like David. Cry out for mercy. Ask God to lead you. Run to Him as your refuge.

And hold on to this: The God who raised Christ from the dead…He’s still bringing life out of death. Which means no matter how deep the pit might feel…No matter how long the night seems…For the believer in Christ…Morning’s coming.

Amen?

Let’s pray!