Psalm 142—key verse, verse 5, I cry to You, O Lord; I say You are my
refuge, my portion in the land of the living. This is David’s prayer for
rescue. The Lord is the sustainer and preserver of David’s life. We place our confidence
in Him for He is the one who preserves us.
Psalm 142 – My only refuge
Psalm 142 is titled A Contemplation of
David. A Prayer when he was in the cave.
The
Hebrew word for Contemplation (maskil) could be better translated as
instruction. “He calls this prayer Maschil, ‘a Psalm of instruction,’ because
of the good lessons he had himself learned in the cave, learned on his knees,
and so learned that he desired to teach others.
The cave
was probably Adullam cave, mentioned in 1 Samuel 22:1, though the caves of En
Gedi (1 Samuel 24:1) are also a possibility. Adullam seems to be the best fit,
which would suggest that Psalms 34 and 57 are also associated with this period
of David’s life.
There are
two notes running side by side throughout the song. The first is that of this
terrible sense of helplessness and hopelessness so far as man is concerned. The
other is that of the determined application of the helpless soul to Jehovah.
David’s trust in God alone.
I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, “You are
my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.
You are my refuge: Among men, David had
no refuge (verse 4). Yet as he cried out to God, David could confidently
proclaim that God was indeed his refuge. The cities of refuge were, in the Old
Testament times, for the protection of an Israelite in special circumstances;
and David found his place of refuge not in a place or in a particular
circumstance, but in the LORD Himself.
I said: If David had not cried he would
not have said; and if the Lord had not been his refuge he would never have been
his portion. The lower step is as needful as the higher.
My portion in the land of the living:
Many times in David’s seasons as a fugitive, he had reason to believe that all
his inheritance in this world was gone. In such times he had the confidence
that God Himself was his portion, his inheritance. David also knew that he
would benefit from this portion in the land of the living, in the here and now,
not only in the age to come.
My portion: To say ‘my portion’ goes as
far beyond this as love goes beyond fear. [The Good News Bible] brings out the
great force of this word by the phrase ‘you
are all I want’.[2]
Collect for Psalm 142: Lord Jesus, hanging on the cross and left
alone by Your disciples, You called on Your Father with a mighty cry as You
gave up Your spirit. Deliver us from the prison of affliction, and by Yourself
our inheritance in the land of the living, where with the Father and the Holy
Spirit You are blessed now and forever. [3]
Collect for
Tuesday of the week of Lent 3: Lord, you call us to your service and
continue your saving work among us. May you love never abandon us. We ask this
through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, one God, forever and ever. Amen [4] 14 March, 2023
[2] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-142
[3] Collect for Psalm 142, For All the Saints A Prayer Book for and By the Church Vol. I © 1994 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
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