Psalms 143:1, David prays for favour in judgment; Psalms 143:3, He complains of his griefs; Psalms 143:5, He strengthens his faith by meditation and prayer; Psalms 143:7, He prays for grace; Psalms 143:9, for deliverance; Psalms 143:10, for sanctification; Psalms 143:12, for destruction of his enemies; The LXX, Vulgate, Ethiopic, and Arabic state that this Psalm was composed by David on the rebellion of his son Absalom; and there are several passages in it which agree remarkably well with that period; for then he had most reason to fear lest God should deal with him according to his sins; which he deprecates with such a deep sense of his unworthiness, that it has hence been numbered among the penitential Psalms, of which it is the last.
In it he prays to God for pardon, Psalms 143:1; acknowledges the impossibility of being saved but by grace, Psalms 143:2; deplores the lamentable effects of sin, Psalms 143:3-4; comforts himself with a retrospect of Godôòùs mercies of old, Psalms 143:5; and prays, in a variety of expressions, for remission of sin, sanctification, and redemption, Psalms 143:6-12.