You Are My Refuge – Psalm 142

I was sick and miserable to the point of feeling very alone, though I had my precious wife and the presence of Jesus with me.  I was brought very low, not by persecutors, but by illness.  But the Lord surrounded me with the prayers of the saints.  He is my refuge!

A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.

With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.  I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.

When my spirit faints within me, you know my way!  In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.  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.

I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”  Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low!  Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me!  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)

There are times when it feels like we are all alone in this world and that no one cares for us, and it is then that we lean entirely on Him.  He knows our way and He is a refuge for our souls.  So we must declare it, as David did, say it out loud until we mean it, “You are my refuge; You are all I need in this world!”  But in our prayer to Him we seek release from the prison of this aloneness and find that the righteous surround us as a bountiful gift from His hand.