Psalms 142 (KJV)

Chapter Text

142:1 I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.

142:2 I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.

142:3 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.

142:4 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.

142:5 I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.

142:6 Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.

142:7 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "cried", "lord", "voice", "make", "supplication", and "poured". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "cried", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local KJV text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "Spirit" and "cried" 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 "cried" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.