I love Psalm 142. It’s a great psalm to send to someone in your life who might feel overwhelmed, sad, or discouraged. David wrote these words while hiding in a cave since Saul was trying to murder him. I love this part recorded in 1 Samuel 22 because of David’s unusual ministry in the cave of Adullam. We read that “all those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.”
So I imagine Dave writing this psalm to encourage himself and others who were in distress. This short psalm contains only 7 verses, and I bolded my favorite lines to consider:
I cry aloud to the Lord;
I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.
2 I pour out before him my complaint;
before him I tell my trouble.
3 When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who watch over my way.
In the path where I walk
people have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look and see, there is no one at my right hand;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;
no one cares for my life.
5 I cry to you, Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Listen to my cry,
for I am in desperate need;
rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.
7 Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.
If you feel like David felt–alone, in trouble, overwhelmed, unseen, uncared for, in great need–remember this psalm. And remember that God gave David a great ministry and a place to lead from this very suffering.
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