#894 Confines

With my voice I cry out to the Lord;

with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.

2 I pour out my complaint before him;

I tell my trouble before him.

3 When my spirit faints within me,

you know my way!

In the path where I walk

they have hidden a trap for me.

4 Look to the right and see:

there is none who takes notice of me;

no refuge remains to me;

no one cares for my soul.

5 I cry to you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my refuge,

my portion in the land of the living.”

6 Attend to my cry,

for I am brought very low!

Deliver me from my persecutors,

for they are too strong for me!

7 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. Psalm 142 ESV

A Psalm of instruction by David.

- “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.” (Matthew Henry, cited in Charles Spurgeon)

With my voice I cry out to the Lord - In the garden they walked with God, talked with Him, knew Him face to face. The mouth was made for this, to give utterance, and even in a fallen state, God has through Christ Jesus, His plan before time began, provided a means for those who are afar off to still give praise. The Holy has made Himself known to the unholy, and through His own sacrifice has given me reason to hope, to cry out, to know that I am accepted in Christ. 

With my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord - If the Psalms have taught us anything it is the importance of prayer and the study of God's word. If you are anxious about anything, ask yourself, have I taken this to the Lord in prayer? What does His word say? Am I guilty in this, have I broken His law? I need mercy, that is the bottom line. If I was to go to God on the basis of what He owed me, that would not be mercy.

…13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. 14 For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field;… Psalm 103: 13-15

…12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9: 12-13

I pour out my complaint before Him - Prayer does not let God know what is going on; He is sovereign in every circumstance. This is mercy that we can bring these things to Him, casting all our cares upon Him, recognizing that all things, that's everything, works together for good to those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. When someone would tell me to pray about a matter, when I was an unbeliever, I would tell them I tried that already, it doesn't work. "God, heal me of my epilepsy, if You are real, if prayer counts. God, I prayed for that new Coosa pedal drive kayak, so where is it?" I came to God like He was Santa Claus, with a Christmas list of wants and perceived needs, but also with the expectation of what the answer should be. 

…8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. 10 That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.… 2 Corinthians 12: 8-10

…2 You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures. 4 You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.… James 4: 2-4

When my spirit faints within me, You know my way - Remember, He knows we are frail, and so He will not test us beyond what we are able. Every temptation to fret, to be anxious, to return evil for evil, God has with this provided the means to escape. These trials are drawing us to the reality of complete reliance on Him. Does my faith rest upon God's word or my circumstances? Does my trust depend upon His integrity or my comfort?

No refuge remains to me - You see, God, where else can I go? They lay traps and snares. No one values my life any more than that of the varmint which they would remove at their whim. I hide in the rocks as a badger, in the wastelands as an outcast. 

…17 But Jesus answered them, “To this very day My Father is at His work, and I too am working.” 18 Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. 19 So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does.… John 5: 17-19

I say, You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living - Even in the caves, David was the anointed of God. As the Levites did not have a portion in the dividing of the promised land, so David also recognizes, that like them, the Lord is His portion, just as much in the cave as in the palace. 

57 As they were walking along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” Luke 9: 57-58

…37 They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.… Hebrews 11: 37-39

Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me - Unfortunately, I live in a place during a time when people compete for persecution status, everyone wants to hold out that they are a victim. Their status as victims is so important to them that they are willing to make someone else an actual victim to get what they think they deserve. I don't think the Psalmist is talking about being unfriended of Facebook, or someone disagreeing with him. I have been asked by people to take down my post, site, and even had some harsh things said about me, but I don't count any of that as persecution. This man is being hunted, his life deemed less, and those who have given him aid have also been killed for their kindness. Where else can you go? There are places in this world where people actually suffer for what they believe, and the mob is ready to turn them in for the peace held out by those in power. 

…20 For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.… Matthew 10: 20-22

Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to Your name - This looks nothing like the promise, sounds nothing like the words of Samuel at David's anointing, but set me free from this, O God, knowing that only You can, it is not in me. It never was. What is left for those to do, who have acknowledged that the enemy is too strong, there confinement inescapable by their own means? What is left to do when we are set free, then to acknowledge that we could not do it of our own might, and so we praise God. 

…17 the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written: 18“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”… Luke 4: 17-19

The righteous will surround me - Prayer starts often with struggle, even to pray, but here at the end of it, prayer finds hope.

1 A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people, both now and forevermore.… Psalm 125: 1-2