Psalms — Chapter 142

Loading ESV text...

1A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer. I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift my voice to the LORD for mercy.

2I pour out my complaint before Him; I reveal my trouble to Him.

3Although my spirit grows faint within me, You know my way. Along the path I travel they have hidden a snare for me.

4Look to my right and see; no one attends to me. There is no refuge for me; no one cares for my soul.

5I cry to You, O LORD: “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

6Listen to my cry, for I am brought quite low. Rescue me from my pursuers, for they are too strong for me.

7Free my soul from prison, that I may praise Your name. The righteous will gather around me because of Your goodness to me.

1I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.

2I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.

3When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.

4I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.

5I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.

6Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.

7Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.

1I cry with my voice unto Jehovah; With my voice unto Jehovah do I make supplication.

2I pour out my complaint before him; I show before him my trouble.

3When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, Thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walk Have they hidden a snare for me.

4Look on [my] right hand, and see; For there is no man that knoweth me: Refuge hath failed me; No man careth for my soul.

5I cried unto thee, O Jehovah; I said, Thou art my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.

6Attend unto my cry; For I am brought very low: Deliver me from my persecutors; For they are stronger than I.

7Bring my soul out of prison, That I may give thanks unto thy name: The righteous shall compass me about; For thou wilt deal bountifully with me. Psalm 143 A Psalm of David.

1A well-written song by David, when he was in the cave; a prayer. To the Lord I cry out; to the Lord I plead for mercy.

2I pour out my lament before him; I tell him about my troubles.

3Even when my strength leaves me, you watch my footsteps. In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.

4Look to the right and see. No one cares about me. I have nowhere to run; no one is concerned about my life.

5I cry out to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my shelter, my security in the land of the living.”

6Listen to my cry for help, for I am in serious trouble. Rescue me from those who chase me, for they are stronger than I am.

7Free me from prison that I may give thanks to your name. Because of me the godly will assemble, for you will vindicate me.

1I cry with my voice to Yahweh. With my voice, I ask Yahweh for mercy.

2I pour out my complaint before him. I tell him my troubles.

3When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my route. On the path in which I walk, they have hidden a snare for me.

4Look on my right, and see; for there is no one who is concerned for me. Refuge has fled from me. No one cares for my soul.

5I cried to you, Yahweh. I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

6Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need. deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than me.

7Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name. The righteous will surround me, for you will be good to me.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

This lament records David's prayer from the cave, crying aloud to the LORD and pouring out his complaint before him (vv. 1-2). When his spirit grows faint, he notes that God alone knows his path, even though enemies have hidden a trap along his way (v. 3). Looking around, he finds no one who notices him or cares for his soul, so he calls the LORD his refuge and his portion in the land of the living (vv. 4-5). He asks God to listen to his cry, rescue him from stronger persecutors, and free him from his prison so he can praise God's name among the righteous (vv. 6-7).

Authorship & Background

Author: Multiple authors — primarily David (73 psalms attributed), plus Asaph (12), Sons of Korah (11), Solomon (2), Moses (1), Heman (1), Ethan (1), and anonymous. The Psalter was compiled over approximately 1000 years and served as Israel's hymnal and prayer book. The book is divided into five 'books' (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150), paralleling the five books of Moses.
Classification: Individual Lament / Prayer from the Cave
Attributed Author: David (superscription: "Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave")
Key Themes: Complete isolation, God as sole refuge, pouring out complaints before God, no human help available, prayer from confinement, hope for future praise
Historical Context: Psalm 142 comes from David in a cave — either Adullam (1 Sam 22) or En-gedi (1 Sam 24) while fleeing Saul. It is one of Scripture's most honest prayers of isolation: "No man cared for my soul" (v.4). David has no one — no allies, no escape, no human help. In this total abandonment, God becomes his only refuge. The psalm is a model for prayer when you are completely alone and utterly overwhelmed.
I Poured Out My Complaint Before Him (vv.1-2): I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication. The superscription says a prayer when he was in the cave, which points to Adullam in 1 Samuel 22 or En-gedi in 1 Samuel 24, both times when David was hiding rather than reigning. Voice is insisted on twice, so this is not silent prayer. I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble, where pouring out is the psalter's usual figure for saying everything without arranging it.
Then Thou Knewest My Path (v.3): When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. The claim is that God's knowledge was the one thing still working when the speaker's own sense of direction failed. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me, which is what made the path a question.
No Man Cared for My Soul (v.4): I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. The right hand is where a defender stands, and the verse reports it empty. This is the flattest statement of abandonment in the psalter, and the psalm does not qualify it or hint that friends were there after all.
My Refuge and My Portion in the Land of the Living (v.5): I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. The two words answer verse 4 exactly, since refuge is the thing that failed and portion is the inheritance a man with no land has. In the land of the living means now rather than after death, which is what a man in a cave needs it to mean.
Bring My Soul out of Prison (vv.6-7): Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. The admission of relative weakness is offered as a reason rather than concealed. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name, and the prison is most likely the cave itself, described from inside as confinement rather than shelter. The last line expects company again, the righteous shall compass me about, which answers the empty right hand of verse 4.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Verse-by-verse commentary on this chapter, written for the everyday reader and freely available online.
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Psalm 142 - My Only Refuge
David Guzik

Abide: My Only Refuge - Psalm 142:1-7
David Guzik

Psalm 142 | Prayer from the Cave | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

Articles

  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of Psalms -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • Pouring Out an Honest Complaint (vv.1-2) — David cries aloud to God and pours out his complaint before Him, holding nothing back. Do you let your prayers be that raw and specific, or do you soften them into something more polished than what you're actually feeling?
  • God Knows the Path Even When You Don't (v.3) — When David's spirit is overwhelmed, he trusts that God already knows the way ahead even though David himself can't see it. In your current confusion, are you trying to see the whole path yourself, or resting in the fact that God already does?
  • Total Isolation, "No One Cared" (v.4) — David names the specific pain of looking around and finding no one who takes notice of his soul. Have you ever admitted that same loneliness to God instead of pretending you're fine?
  • God as the Only Refuge Left (v.5) — With no human help in sight, David declares that God alone is his refuge and his portion in the land of the living. When every other support is gone, is God enough for you, or does that feel like a last resort rather than a real answer?
  • Freedom Meant for Praise (vv.6-7) — David asks to be brought out of his trouble so that the righteous can gather around him and hear his testimony. When God delivers you, do you let that deliverance become a public testimony, or do you quietly move on?