Psalms 142 (LSB)

Chapter Text

142:1 A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A Prayer. With my voice to Yahweh, I cry aloud; With my voice to Yahweh, I make supplication.

142:2 I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my distress before Him.

142:3 When my spirit was faint within me, You knew my path. In the way where I walk They have hidden a trap for me.

142:4 Look to the right and see; That there is no one who regards me; A way of escape has been destroyed from me; No one cares for my soul.

142:5 I cried out to You, O Yahweh; I said, “You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.

142:6 Give heed to my cry of lamentation, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are too strong for me.

142:7 Bring my soul out of prison, To give thanks to Your name; The righteous will encircle me, For You will deal bountifully with me.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "maskil", "david", "cave", "prayer", "voice", "yahweh", and "aloud". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "maskil", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local LSB text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "Spirit" and "maskil" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "maskil" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.