.... I declare before Him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk They have secretly set a snare for me (Psalm 142:2, 3). No one cares for my soul (4d). Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me (v.7). The occasion of this Psalm and its companion (57) is when David fled from Saul to “the cave.” Saul was seeking David's life. Psalm 57 is upbeat full of faith, but here it is as if reality had set in, yet the Psalm ends with hope “You will deal bountifully with me.” It starts with “I cried to the Lord with my voice, with my voice” i.e out loud, his agony so great that silence can no longer contain it. The sense then is of deep anguish, his spirit is overwhelmed, his soul is in prison. Perhaps you too know the sense of being trapped in your thoughts, thoughts that go round and round and round and there is no rest.
It is the almost universal testimony of Christians in trouble that they find hope and solace in the Psalms. David certainly knew the ups and downs of life. He knew what it was to feel alone, abandoned and unappreciated “no one acknowledges me” (4b). The longing for freedom is universal, even if we don't know what it looks like, though we may think we do. And when this is at the sage where we are overwhelmed and brought low, then it feels like we are in prison, even if there are no visible bars. I love the brutal honesty and reality of Scripture. Back in Psalm 57 there is faith and assurance. Here the pendulum has swung and David is in agony. Yet he knows what to do, and we can learn this from him in this.
I see David starting of as Jesus would do later, in that he offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death (verse 1; Hebrews 5:7). Paul in his afflictions would also would cry out with many tears (2 Corinthians 2:4). Sometimes our words might not be terribly edifying (Psalm 137:9), but God is big enough to handle it. David knows that God knows all about his situation (verse 1b), and He knows and declares
“You will deal bountifully with me” (verse 7). In this last verse of the Psalm we see that faith had once again risen in David. Not that he had ever entirely lost it, he just needed to wrestle thought again to peace. We need to follow his example, being real with God, and pressing in, not to his feelings, but rather into the character of the One in whom he put his trust.
Father, Your Word tells us that You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You (Isaiah 26:3). Thank You Lord that we can be real with You, I often see myself beating on Your chest as You hold me in Your embrace. When we are overwhelmed it can be a process to come back to peace, but Your are faithful, and I declare You will deal bountifully with me. When we find ourselves there Lord, please let hope and faith arise in Jesus Name Amen
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