Psalm 143:10 NKJV
Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.
Teach Me to Do Your Will
MY NOTES
“Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.” Psalm 143:10 (NKJV)
Have you ever noticed how precise David is with his words in this psalm? A few verses earlier, he prayed for God to step in and do the supernatural work: “Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness… Cause me to know the way.” But notice how his prayer shifts here in verse 10. He doesn’t pray, “Cause me to do Your will.” He prays, “Teach me to do Your will.”
David understood a profound truth about walking with the Lord: God will do the directing, but He will not do the obeying for us. He provides the map, He illuminates the road, and He holds our hands—but we must actually take the steps. This is a wonderfully practical, childlike prayer of hearty loyalty. David tells the Lord, “I want to be a good student. Teach me to obey You under this heavy affliction, let it cost me what it may.”
David bases this request on an intimate covenant reality: “For You are my God.” He implies that because God has given Himself completely to him, He will surely give him His instruction too. When your heart can sincerely look at the Creator of the universe and say, “You are my God,” your understanding immediately softens to learn from Him, and your will prepares to follow.
Then David leans heavily into the character of his Guide: “Your Spirit is good.”
The Holy Spirit is essentially and perfectly good, and His supreme delight is to produce goodness in us. When we find ourselves in a spiritual emergency, completely at a loss, the Spirit steps in to perform his gentle offices. He whispers behind us, “This is the way, walk in it.” He guides us with His eye and shapes our desires to match His own.
Because the Spirit is good, David trusts Him to lead him into a very specific place: “Lead me in the land of uprightness.”
If you look closely at the language David used, this phrase carries a beautiful double meaning. Literally, it can mean “a land of evenness” or level ground. David was currently trapped in a treacherous, rocky wilderness—a place of hidden caverns, steep cliffs, and dangerous areas where an enemy could ambush him at any moment. He was tired of stumbling in the dark. He was crying out for smooth, level ground where he could walk safely under the open sky without fear.
But spiritually, David was also sighing for the upland meadows of grace. He wanted to be led out of the corrupt environment of his enemies and into the “land of uprightness”—a settled course of holy living, surrounded by the communion of saints, which ultimately points directly toward heaven.
We are often like weak, lame, or dim-sighted children who cannot find the right path, let alone walk it without stumbling. We cannot reach the high country of peace on our own. But the Holy Spirit of God is willing to take us by the hand like a patient father, steering us away from hidden traps, keeping us from wandering, and carrying us safely to our final inheritance. If you are tired of the rocky, treacherous terrain of trying to manage life on your own terms, extend your hand to the Holy Spirit today. He is ready to lead you out of the rocks and onto level ground.
Prayer
Abba, Holy Spirit, I admit that the ground I am walking on right now feels incredibly uneven, rocky, and full of hidden dangers. I am tired of stumbling, and I confess that I don’t know how to navigate this terrain on my own. Because You are my God, I ask You to step in as my Instructor today. Teach me to do Your will, and give me a heart that is eager to obey. Thank You that the Holy Spirit is fundamentally good. I trust Your character and Your heart toward me. Take me by the hand and lead me onto level ground. Quiet the noise around me so that I can hear Your secret whispers directing my steps. Lead me in the path of holiness and bring me safely into Your place of peace. I thank You for this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Key Takeaways
- God Won’t Do the Walking: God will show you the path, but He expects you to actively step out in obedience. True faith requests the strength to do His will, not just to know it.
- The Relationship Directs the Education: Proclaiming Jehovah as “my God” opens the door to His divine teaching. Because you belong to Him, you have direct access to His perfect mind and guidance.
- The Holy Spirit is Completely Good: The third Person of the Trinity is fundamentally kind, gentle, and willing to help those who are completely lost or overwhelmed.
- He Clears a Level Path: When you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, He promises to guide you out of the jagged, rocky places of panic and temptation and into a steady, level place of peace and spiritual stability.
Cross-References (NKJV)
Psalm 27:11
“Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.”
Isaiah 30:21
“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
‘This is the way, walk in it,’
Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.”
Romans 8:14
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Things to Think About:
- Learning to Do: Look back at your prayer life this past week. Have you been asking God to fix things for you, or have you been asking Him to teach you how to do His will in the middle of your circumstances? How can you make your prayers more practical and obedience-focused?
- Locating the Rocks: Describe the areas of your life right now that feel the most uneven, rocky, or unsafe (e.g., a tense relationship, an unstable job situation, a chaotic schedule). What would “level ground” look like in that specific situation?
- Listening for the Whisper: Read Isaiah 30:21. When was the last time you felt a gentle, internal prompting from the Holy Spirit showing you the right path to take? Write about that experience, and list 1 or 2 ways you can intentionally quiet your daily routines to hear His voice more clearly this week.
Proverb for Today
A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled. Proverbs 18:20 NKJV
Daily Scripture
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:10-13 NKJV
Closing
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV
Grace be with you. Amen.
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Summary of Commentaries:
In Psalm 143:10, David models a childlike, practical faith by asking God to teach him how to obey, recognizing that God won’t do the walking for him. Commentators highlight that because our covenant God and His Spirit are completely good, we can trust His gentle, inner whispers. He acts as a reliable guide, taking us by the hand to lead us out of life’s rocky, dangerous terrain and onto a smooth, level path of spiritual peace.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“Teach me to do thy will.” How childlike—”teach me”! How practical “Teach me to do”! How undivided in obedience—”to do thy will”! To do all of it, let it be what it may. This is the best form of instruction, for its source is God, its object is holiness, its spirit is that of hearty loyalty. The man is hidden in the Lord, and spends his peaceful life in learning the will of his Preserver. A heart cannot long be desolate, which is thus docile.
“For thou art my God.” Who else can teach me as thou canst? Who else will care to do it but my God> Thou hast give me thyself, thou wilt surely give me thy teaching. If I have thee, may I not ask to have thy perfect mind? When the heart can sincerely call Jehovah “my God,” the understanding is ready to learn of him, the will is prepared to obey him, the whole man is eager to please him.
Thy spirit is good. God is all spirit and all good. His essence is goodness, kindness, holiness: it is his nature to do good, and what greater good can he do to us than to hear such a prayer as that which follows—“Lead me into the land of uprightness?” David would fain be among the godly, in a land of another sort from that which had cast him out. He sighed for the upland meadows of grace, the table-lands of peace, the fertile plains of communion. He could not reach them of himself; he must be led there. God, who is good, can best conduct us to the goodly land. There is no inheritance like a portion in the land of promise, the land of precept, the land of perfectness. He who teaches us must put us into leading-strings, and guide and conduct us to his own dwelling-place in the country of holiness. The way is long, and steep and he who goes without a divine leader will faint on the journey; but with Jehovah to lead it is delightful to follow, and there is neither stumbling nor wandering.
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Enduring Word
Teach me to do Your will: David could say, “Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness” and “Cause me to know the way in which I should walk” (Psalm 143:8). Yet he did not say, “Cause me to do Your will.” In all his reliance upon God, he knew that God would not obey for him. Rather, the loving God would teach David to do His will. He would lead David in the land of uprightness. (Guzik)
i. “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.” (Spurgeon)
ii. Spurgeon also described how the believer should do the will of God: thoughtfully, immediately, cheerfully, constantly, universally, spiritually, and intensely.
iii. The next line, Your Spirit is good, connects this teaching work of God with the presence of His Spirit. “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.” (Spurgeon)
For You are my God: It was appropriate for David to expect God to teach him. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will teach the willing servant to do His will, a demonstration of the goodness of God’s Spirit. (Guzik)
i. We should know what David knew – that Your Spirit is good. We should know it even more than David did, in light of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that is part of the New Covenant. A believer has no reason to fail to yield to the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit.
ii. John Trapp noted this from Cyril of Alexandria (A.D. 378-444): “Cyril gathereth from this text, that the good Spirit is God, because none is good but God.”
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Albert Barnes
Teach me to do thy will … – To do that which will be agreeable or pleasing to thee; which will meet with thy approbation. That is, teach me in the present emergency to do that which thou wilt approve; which will be wise; which will be best adapted to secure my deliverance and my safety.
Thy spirit is good – The spirit which guides those who trust in thee; the spirit with which “thou” dost guide people. That spirit is wise, prudent, judicious, reliable. It will not lead astray. Grant me “that” spirit, and I shall be certain that I am going in the right path. There is no certain evidence that the psalmist here refers distinctively to the Holy Spirit, considered as the Third Person of the Trinity; but the prayer is one for guidance from on high in the day of darkness and trouble. It is an acknowledgment of dependence on God for direction, and the expression of confidence that under the divine guidance he would not go astray.
Lead me into the land of uprightness – Or rather here, “land of evenness;” level ground; ground where I may walk without the dangers to which I am exposed where I am now, in a place of ambuscades, caverns, rocks, where I may be assailed at any moment without the power of seeing my enemy, or of defending myself. See this use of the word in the following places where it is rendered “plain,” meaning a level country, Deuteronomy 3:10; Deuteronomy 4:43; Joshua 13:9, Joshua 13:16-17, Joshua 13:21; 1 Kings 20:23, 1 Kings 20:25; Psalms 27:11; Jeremiah 21:13; Jeremiah 48:8, Jeremiah 48:21; Zechariah 4:7. He desired to be led, as it were, into a “level” country where he might be safe. It is not a prayer, as would seem from our translation, to be so guided that he might lead an upright life. Such a prayer is proper, but it is not the prayer offered here.
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John Gill
Teach me to do thy will,…. Revealed in the word, which saints desire a greater knowledge of in order to do it, and in which they delight; and also are desirous of being taught, and to practice submission to the will of God under afflictions; which was now the case of the psalmist;
for thou [art] my God; his covenant God; and from whom all his afflictions came in a covenant way, and therefore desires to be instructed by him in them; see Jeremiah 31:18;
thy Spirit [is] good; thy holy good Spirit, as the Targum; the Spirit of thy holiness, as the Arabic version: the Holy Spirit of God is meant, the third Person in the Trinity; who is “good” essentially, being of the same nature and essence with the Father and Son, with God, who is only good; and effectively is the author of the good work of grace upon the heart, and of the several particular graces there implanted, and who performs many good offices to the saints;
lead me into the land of uprightness; or, “let thy good Spirit lead me into the land of uprightness”: either into a right land, as the Targum, where honesty prevails, and honest and upright men live; or, “through a plain way”, easy to be found, in which he should not err, and where would be no occasion of stumbling; or, “through the way of life,” as the Syriac version; the way to eternal life, to heaven and happiness; the land where only truly righteous and upright persons dwell: such will be the new heavens and the new earth, as well as the ultimate state of glory, 2 Peter 3:13; and to this the Spirit of God is the leader and guide of his people, Psalm 48:14.
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Matthew Henry
Lead me into the land of uprightness, into the communion of saints, that pleasant land of the upright, or into a settled course of holy living, which will lead to heaven, that land of uprightness where holiness will be in perfection, and he that is holy shall be holy still. We should desire to be led and kept safe, to heaven, not only because it is a land of blessedness, but because it is a land of uprightness; it is the perfection of grace. We cannot find the way that will bring us to that land unless God show us, nor go in that way unless he take us by the hand and lead us, as we lead those that are weak, or lame, or timorous, or dim-sighted; so necessary is the grace of God, not only to put us into the good way, but to keep us and carry us on in it. The plea is, “Thy Spirit is good, and able to make me good,” good and willing to help those that are at a loss. Those that have the Lord for their God have His Spirit for their guide, and it is both their character and their privilege that they are led by the Spirit.
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