Psalms · psalm 142 of 150
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Psalm 142 is a prayer of David when he was in the cave, according to the title. He pours out his complaint before the Lord, admits that his spirit faints and that no one cares for him, and cries: you are my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. He asks to be brought out of prison to praise the Lord's name, and expects the righteous to gather around him.
Psalm 142 is a maskil of David, that is, a psalm of instruction, with the note that he prayed it when he was in the cave. The title does not say which one, and tradition links it with the cave of Adullam or that of En Gedi, episodes of his flight from Saul told in 1 Samuel 22 and 24. It is a psalm of loneliness, honest and brief, that teaches us to pray when no one else seems to be on our side.
The psalm begins with a loud voice: with my voice I cry out to the Lord, with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him, I tell my trouble before him. David's prayer is not a formula; it is a sincere outpouring of the heart before God.
Verses 3 and 4 describe his situation. When his spirit faints within him, the Lord knows his way. In the path where he walked, they have hidden a trap for him. He looks to his right and sees that there is no one who takes notice of him; no refuge remains for him and no one cares for his soul. It is the extreme loneliness of one who has no one.
Verses 5 and 6 are the center: I cry to you, O Lord; I say, you are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. He asks that the Lord attend to his cry because he is brought very low, and rescue him from his persecutors, who are too strong for him. Verse 7 ends with a petition and a promise: bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name; the righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
David pours out his complaint before the Lord and tells him his trouble. Honest prayer does not hide sadness: it puts it before God.
When his spirit faints, the Lord knows his way. Even if David cannot see the way out, God knows where he walks and what traps lie there.
David looks around and no one takes notice of him; there is no refuge and no one cares for his life. It is a picture of the deepest loneliness, which leaves God alone as his destination.
He cries to the Lord and calls him his refuge and his portion in the land of the living. When everything is lacking, God is enough, and his presence is an inheritance no one can take away.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: When he was in the cave. — Psalm 142:1
Answer: He pours it out before the Lord and tells him his trouble. — Psalm 142:2
Answer: A trap hidden for him. — Psalm 142:3
Answer: That no one takes notice of him and he has no refuge. — Psalm 142:4
Answer: His refuge and his portion in the land of the living. — Psalm 142:5
Answer: That he may give thanks to the Lord's name. — Psalm 142:7
Psalm 142 is a prayer for times of loneliness. Many live moments when they feel no one recognizes or cares for them, because of illness, grief, rejection or isolation. In a small group you can acknowledge that reality and pray for those who live it, inviting the community to be present. The church can be part of the answer.
The psalm teaches that we do not need to disguise our distress. We can tell God how we feel and discover that he is a refuge. For Christians, Jesus knew abandonment and loneliness, and promises to be with his own always. Whoever cries to him can expect, like David, that God will bring him out of his prison and that others will rejoice with him.
Psalm 142 ends with the hope that the righteous will surround David when the Lord has dealt bountifully with him. Psalm 143 continues in the same spirit: again a cry from distress, asking for mercy and guidance.
The title does not say. The Bible mentions two caves during David's flight from Saul: that of Adullam, in 1 Samuel 22, where some four hundred men gathered to him, and that of En Gedi, in 1 Samuel 24. Scholars cannot be sure which it is, and the psalm's message does not depend on it.
It is a term in the titles of several psalms, whose exact sense is debated. It may mean a poem of instruction or reflection, or a composition with a special musical setting. Many translations leave it untranslated.
It is an Old Testament expression for present life in this world, in contrast to death. David says the Lord is his portion while he lives, not only afterward. God is his inheritance here and now, and that gives him hope even in the cave.