Psalm 143: 1 Summary And Analysis

Although it may not be as complicated as anxiety, or as frustrating as envy, relief is a key emotion that plays an essential role in the development of life stories. For instance, when hearing the news that a loved one survived a terrible car wreck, or finding out that a difficult class was passed, the instant gratification and relief experienced during those moments is typically short, but intensely important. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, relief is the “removal or lightening of something oppressive, painful, or distressing.” Relief is that happy sigh experienced when something negative is no longer threatening. According to Lazarus & Lazarus (1994), relief “always begins with the frustration of a goal, resulting temporarily
In Psalm 143:1, David foresees relief as a consequence of prayer to God, and that it will be accompanied by God’s faithfulness and righteousness. In the earlier passage, relief was directly asked for in the context of distress. In this passage, relief was implied in the context of faithfulness and righteousness. Thus, even though the circumstances in both passages are similar, with David being distressed by enemies with the need for the Lord to hear him and provide mercy, they both provide different interpretations of relief. In Psalm 4:1 David construes relief as a possible future event, whereas in Psalm 143:1, David construes relief as an expected outcome. In this, the importance of construal becomes evident. His appraisal of each event may be similar, but the appraisal of relief varies in each passage, which leads to some hypothesis that the Psalm 143:1 presents a more optimistic outlook on relief, with possible past circumstances and events having an influence on David’s construal of