About Psalms

Psalms is Israel's hymnbook and prayer book, expressing the full range of human emotion in relationship with God, from deep lament to exuberant praise.

Author: David and othersWritten: c. 1410-450 BCReading time: ~1 minVerses: 7
WorshipPrayerPraiseLamentTrustMessianic Prophecy

King James Version

Psalms 142

7 verses with commentary

You Are My Refuge

1

Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave. I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication. Maschil: or, A Psalm of David, giving instruction

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.</strong> Psalm 142 opens with emphatic declaration of vocal prayer during crisis. The superscription identifies this as "Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave"—likely referring to David hiding from Saul in the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1) or En-gedi (1 Samuel 24:3). This isn't abstr...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(1) **I cried . . .**—See Psalm 3:4, &c.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**31. counted ... righteousness--**"a just and rewardable action." **for--**or, "unto," to the procuring of righteousness, as in Ro 4:2; 10:4. Here it was a particular act, not faith, nor its object Christ; and what was procured was not justifying righteousness, or what was to be rewarded with eternal life; for no one act of man's can be taken for complete obedience. But it was that which God ap...
Read full commentary →
2

I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.</strong> The Hebrew verb <em>shaphak</em> (שָׁפַךְ), translated "poured out," conveys unrestrained emotional expression—literally to pour out like water. David holds nothing back before God, modeling honest prayer that doesn't hide distress behind pious platitudes. The parallel structure—"poured out my complaint" (<em>si...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(2) **I poured out.**—See the same verb used in similar sense, Psalm 42:4; Psalm 62:8; and with the second clause comp. Psalm 107:6.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

32-33. (Compare Nu 20:3-12; De 1:37; 3:26). **went ill with--**literally, "was bad for" **Moses--**His conduct, though under great provocation, was punished by exclusion from Canaan.
3

When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.</strong> This verse moves from vocal prayer to specific description of David's circumstances—overwhelming distress internally and hidden dangers externally. Yet even in this desperate situation, David affirms God's intimate knowledge of his situation.<br><...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(3) **When my spirit.—**Literally, *in the muffling upon me of my spirit. *When my spirit was so wrapped in trouble and gloom, so “muffled round with woe” that I could not see the path before me, was distracted and unable to chose a. line of conduct, *Thou *(emphatic) knewest my path. (Comp. for the same verb Psalm 61:2; Psalm 77:3.)

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

32-33. (Compare Nu 20:3-12; De 1:37; 3:26). **went ill with--**literally, "was bad for" **Moses--**His conduct, though under great provocation, was punished by exclusion from Canaan.
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. I looked: or, Look on the right hand, and see failed: Heb. perished from me cared: Heb. sought after

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>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.</strong> The "right hand" was the position of the defender or advocate in ancient judicial settings (Psalm 109:31, 110:5). David scans for human help and finds none. The verb <em>nakar</em> (נָכַר), "know," means to recognize, acknowledge, or pay regard to—David feels...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(4) **I looked.**—The Authorised Version follows the ancient versions in turning the Hebrew imperatives into historic tenses. But they are easily intelligible if taken rhetorically, and indeed the psalm loses in liveliness by missing them: “On the path by which I must walk they have laid a trap for me; Look to the right and see, Not a friend is in sight. Failed has refuge from me, There is none wh...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

34-39. They not only failed to expel the heathen, as God **commanded--**(Ex 23:32, 33), literally, "said (they should)," but conformed to their idolatries [Psa 106:36], and thus became spiritual adulterers (Psa 73:27).
5

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

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.</strong> After describing his desperate circumstances (v.1-4), David now declares his response—crying to God and affirming two crucial truths about who God is to him: refuge and portion. This represents the turning point from lament to confident trust.<br><br>"I cried unto thee, O LORD" (זָעַקְת...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(5) With this verse comp. Psalm 31:3; Psalm 22:8; Psalm 16:5, &c.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

34-39. They not only failed to expel the heathen, as God **commanded--**(Ex 23:32, 33), literally, "said (they should)," but conformed to their idolatries [Psa 106:36], and thus became spiritual adulterers (Psa 73:27).
6

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

View commentary (2 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.</strong> The imperative <em>haqshivah</em> (הַקְשִׁיבָה), "attend," is an urgent plea for God's attention—literally "prick up your ears." David needs immediate divine intervention, not eventual relief. His "cry" (<em>rinnah</em>, רִנָּה) can mean joyful singing but here denotes an u...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

34-39. They not only failed to expel the heathen, as God **commanded--**(Ex 23:32, 33), literally, "said (they should)," but conformed to their idolatries [Psa 106:36], and thus became spiritual adulterers (Psa 73:27).
7

Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.</strong> This concluding verse of Psalm 142 moves from present confinement to anticipated deliverance, from individual prayer to corporate worship, from desperate petition to confident expectation of God's bountiful dealing. David expresses both the purpos...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(7) **Out of prison.**—This expression, which must certainly be figurative of distress (comp. Psalm 143:11), probably led to the inscription. **Compass me about.—**The Hebrew word here employed is used in a hostile sense in Psalm 22:12; Judges 20:43; Habakkuk 1:4. It is better, therefore, to follow the LXX. and render: “In my case the righteous are waiting Till,” &c This sense “waiting for,” besid...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

34-39. They not only failed to expel the heathen, as God **commanded--**(Ex 23:32, 33), literally, "said (they should)," but conformed to their idolatries [Psa 106:36], and thus became spiritual adulterers (Psa 73:27).

Test Your Knowledge

Psalms 142 QuizTest your knowledge of this chapter
Psalms Book QuizComprehensive quiz for the entire book

Continue Your Study

Read Psalms 143All Psalms ChaptersPsalms 142 QuizComplete Psalms QuizAll Bible QuizzesBible CharactersBible TopicsNave's Topical Bible