Psalms 142

Psalms 142THEME: The beginning of David’s sufferingNotice that this is a maschil psalm; that is, a psalm of instruction. It is a psalm from which you and I can learn something. This, again, is a great prayer of David. Where was he when he prayed this prayer? The inspired text gives this inscription: “Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave.”

Psalms 142:1

We are not told which cave he was hiding in at this time. The cave of En-gedi is mentioned in 1 Samuel 24. I passed by En-gedi when I was in that land. They have made a new road down by the Dead Sea which goes all the way from Jericho up to Masada. It is very interesting country. The road has opened up that area to tourists. When I saw En-gedi I realized that it would be a very good place in which to hide. Also there is the cave of Adullam, which is the cave where David went to hide the first time he left Israel to escape from King Saul. Both of these caves are known. My guess is that he was in Adullam when he wrote this psalm. We know that it was at this time that “…every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him …” (1Sa_22:2). About four hundred men came to him at this time. Now notice his prayer at this time:

Psalms 142:2

In other words, David laid out before God everything that was in his heart and life. That is the way you and I should pray. This idea that we should “pray around” something, or rationalize in our prayers, or pray “all around Robin Hood’s barn,” is wrong. We ought to get right down to the nitty-gritty and tell God everything in our lives. David said, “I shewed before him my trouble.” My friend, you can tell Him about your temptations; you can tell Him about everything. Years ago Fenelon wrote a wonderful thing along this line, which he has entitled “Tell God”: Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one’s heart, its pleasures and its pains, to a dear friend. Tell Him your troubles, that He may comfort you; tell Him your joys, that He may sober them; tell Him your longings, that He may purify them; tell Him your dislikes, that He may help you to conquer them; talk to Him of your temptations, that He may shield you from them; show Him the wounds of your heart, that He may heal them; lay bare your indifference to good, your depraved tastes for evil, your instability. Tell Him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity tempts you to be insincere, how pride disguises you to yourself as to others. If you thus pour out all your weaknesses, needs, troubles, there will be no lack of what to say. You will never exhaust the subject. It is continually being renewed. People who have no secrets from each other never want subjects of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back; neither do they seek for something to say. They talk out of the abundance of the heart, without consideration, just what they think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved intercourse with God. My friend, David had that marvelous relationship with Almighty God, and he told God all that was in his heart. Notice that David said, “I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.” David, as a young man, was anointed king of Israel. In the court of King Saul, that mad king threw a javelin at David, trying to pin David to the wall, but he missed, and David had to flee for his life. He complained that he was hunted like a partridge. It was open season on him all of the time, and he had to keep running. Out of that situation this young man lifts his heart and cries out to God.

Psalms 142:3

They tried to trap David. David looked to the Lord for help, and God guided him.

Psalms 142:4

This was David’s situation when he first left the court of Saul, but afterward, as we have seen, four hundred men joined him. He knew God was responsible for this support.

Psalms 142:5

There are two things we ought to note. He hid in the caveif he had not hidden, Saul would have killed him. But, you may say, he was trusting the Lord. Yes, he was trusting the Lord, but the Lord expected him to use good old sanctified common sense.