Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 143:6

"I spread forth my hands unto thee: My soul [thirsteth] after thee, as a weary land. Selah" — Psalms 143:6 (ASV)

I stretch forth my hands unto thee - In prayer. I have nowhere else to go. See (Psalms 88:9).

My soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land - As land in a time of drought “seems” to thirst for rain. See the notes at (Psalms 63:1). Compare (Psalms 42:1). The word rendered “thirsty” here means properly “weary.” The idea is that of a land which seems to be weary; which has no vigor of growth; and where everything seems to be exhausted. The same word occurs in (Isaiah 32:2): As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.