THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: God's Nurture Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith

CXLII: Trusting God When No Human Help Is Available

(Psalm 142:1-7)

I. Introduction

A. Sometimes the trials of life provide the believer with no sympathizer, no one to help him even among people or fellow believers, what can deeply discourage him, tempting him to cease even trying to live by faith in God.

B. David faced such a time when he was running from Saul, when others in Israel were repeatedly trying to inform Saul as to where he was hiding so Saul might find and destroy him. Psalm 142:1-7 was written at such a time, and it teaches us of our need to trust in God when no human help is available (as follows):

II. Trusting God When No Human Help Is Available, Psalm 142:1-7.

A. The introductory notes comprise the first verse in the Hebrew text (Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 1097), so we stay with the numbering system of the English Bible for clarity with this lesson.

B. We then translate Psalm 142:1-7 as follows:

1. "I cry aloud unto Jawheh, I cry to Jahweh for mercy," Psalm 142:1.

2. "I pour out my complaint before His face, before His face I tell my trouble," Psalm 142:2.

3. "When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You (emph. pron.) Who knows my way; in the pathway of life where I walk men have hidden a snare for me," Psalm 142:3.

4. "Look to the right ("the post of the protector," cf. J. A. Alexander, Psalms, 1975, p. 547) and there is no one who is concerned for me. (Any) refuge for me vanishes; there is no one who cares for my life principle," Psalm 142:4.

5. "I cry unto You, O Jahweh; I say, 'You are my Refuge, my Allotted Tract of Inheritance in the land of the physically living,'" Psalm 142:5.

6. "Pay attention to my ringing cry because I am very low and thus insignificant (dalal, Ibid., p. 1098; H. A.
W., Theo. Wrdbk. of the O. T., 1980, v. I, p. 190); rescue me from those who pursue me because they are too strong for me," Psalm 142:6.

7. "Set my life principle free from my dungeon that I may praise Your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because You have dealt adequately for me," Psalm 142:7.

C. We note significant observations regarding this psalm (as follows):

1. The introductory notes of this psalm comprise the first verse, and thus actually belong to the inspired text, so we note them here as follows: "A maskil of David when he was in the cave. A prayer."

2. As such, David formed this psalm while waiting in the cave, trapped by Saul who was seeking him with Israel's army to kill him, cf. 1 Samuel 24:1-3. This event followed several episodes in which people in Israel had repeatedly reported to Saul where to find and capture David so that David and his men had had to flee repeatedly from Saul, cf. 1 Samuel 23:1-12, 13-29.

3. From the human viewpoint, David knew it was just a matter of time before Saul caught him, so in Psalm 142, David claimed that without God's help, he was too insignificant even in the eyes of many in Israel to obtain the support he needed to be rescued from harm from Saul, Psalm 142:4, 6.

4. Nevertheless, with God's help, the righteous would surround David, recognizing God had delivered him so that they would want to be with him and follow his leadership as a man who was blessed of the Lord, v. 7.

5. In the setting where God was beginning to shift Israel's people from following after Saul to following after David as God's chosen king, this psalm teaches that leadership influence with others in God's program is solely the product of divine intervention: without God's intervention, human leaders cannot influence; with it, they can only lead and have the united following of God's righteous people, Psalm 142:6, 7. In other words, there is a great contrast in the welfare of those leaders who are not blessed of God and in those leaders who are blessed of the Lord, for leadership effectiveness in God's program is a matter of God's doing, and His work alone.

Lesson: When David faced life-threatening destruction from Saul and there was no willing human helper to save him, he relied on God not only to deliver him, but to reverse his lot in life and give him many righteous supporters.

Application: (1) May we trust God ESPECIALLY if we lack any human supporters willing and able to deliver us. (2) May we rely on God to supply us with willing and able, righteous supporters, especially if God calls us to lead.