Teach me to do your will
Psalms 143:10
“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”
Psalms 143:10 NIV
Psalm 143 was composed by David during one of his bad times; his many enemies were the cause of these troubles, so he went to his traditional helper — God.
This is one of the Penitential Psalms, seven psalms written as songs of confession and humility before the Lord. Earlier in the psalm (verse 2), David makes a point about the unrighteousness of mankind, pleading to the Lord “Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you.” In the early Christian church, the Penitential Psalms were sung on Ash Wednesday.
David knows that he needs to do God’s good will, not just talk about it. He shows his reliance on the loving God to teach him how to do His will. David is also cognizant that he needs to do God’s will, not have God do the heavy lifting for him! The great Charles Haddon Spurgeon said:
“The psalmist does not say, ‘Lord, help me to talk about thy will,’ though it is a very proper thing to talk about, and a very profitable thing to hear about. But still doing is better than talking.”1
In his commentary, Spurgeon also describes in which manner the believer should do the will of God — thoughtfully, immediately, cheerfully, constantly, universally, spiritually, and intensely.
Following the plea to learn to do God’s will, David links God’s teaching work with the presence of His Spirit. From Spurgeon:
“Moreover the Lord has a way of teaching us by his own Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks in secret whispers to those who are able to hear him. It is not every professing Christian that has the visitations of the Spirit of God in personal monitions, but there are saints who hear a voice behind them saying, ‘This is the way, walk ye in it.’ God guides us with his eye as well as by his word.”
Going back for a moment to David’s comment “For You are my God”, we see that David expected the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to teach His willing servants to do His will. God’s Spirit is good and always there to teach us. We who live in the post-Pentecost New Covenant era should know this even more than David did. To quote David Guzik of Enduring Word, “A believer has no reason to fail to yield to the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit.”
When the Holy Spirit wants to teach us to do God’s will, be sure to listen to His Words.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Lord, teach me to always keep in mind how You have been good to me all of my life, for You are loving and faithful. Lead me onto level ground so I may always pass safely through the seasons of my life. Guide me so that I may always say and do those things that are pleasing to You, and may my life glorify Your holy name. I pray this in the name of your Son and my Savior, Jesus. AMEN.
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The Treasury of David: Volume 3" (Psalms 111-150) (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1988)