Psalms 142

A lonely cry for help answered by trust in God alone.

Psalms 142 - My Refuge in the Land of the Living

Psalm 142 records a raw, personal complaint, poured out before God at a moment when "refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul." It follows the guarded, watchful prayer of Psalms 141 with an even more isolated cry for help.


Maschil of David; a prayer when he was in the cave. I cried to the LORD with my voice; with my voice to the LORD I made my supplication.

\\142:1\\Maschil of David; a prayer when he was in the cave. I cried to the LORD with my voice; with my voice to the LORD I made my supplication.

\\142:2\\I poured out my complaint before him; I showed before him my trouble.

\\142:3\\When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way in which I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.

\\142:4\\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.

\\142:5\\I cried to thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.

\\142:6\\Attend to my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.

\\142:7\\Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall encompass me; for thou wilt deal bountifully with me.

Despite the loneliness, the psalmist calls the LORD "my refuge and my portion in the land of the living" and asks to be brought "out of prison" to praise God's name, a trust in weakness echoed in <a href="/bible/wbt/romans/chapter-8/26">Romans 8:26</a>. Browse related chapters on the <a href="/bible/wbt/psalms">Psalms overview</a> or continue to <a href="/bible/wbt/psalms/chapter-143">Psalms 143</a>.