Have you ever been in a situation where people close to you stood far off from you? You felt that they should have been there for you, but they were MIA, missing in action. At that point, you probably felt forsaken and possibly even felt helpless. It may have even reduced you to tears. What do you do then? Well, there is a psalm where the psalmist, who happened to be David, had that experience and he wrote for us his experience and what he did when he had it. His experience can be an incitement and encouragement to us. So look with me, if you will, at Psalm 142. As I mentioned a minute ago, this is a Psalm by David, and he is probably running from Saul. Matter of fact, the superscription, which you've heard me say before, those superscriptions are not inspired, but they're very ancient and probably historical, says that this is a contemplation of David, a prayer when he was in the cave. Now, we know from the historical record in 1 Samuel, that when he was fleeing from Saul, he was in a cave on two occasions, on Abdullam and in Gedi. This psalm, many think, was probably written when he was in the cave at Adullam. At that point, Saul had come after him with 3,000 chosen men. It's recorded in 1 Samuel chapter 22. Only a few men were with David, But he had been forsaken by most, everybody, and was being pursued by an enemy who wanted to take his life. So it's not too much to say that at this point, David felt utterly helpless before his enemies, and no one seemed to care for his life. Well, that is a bit of background. Let's look at the psalm itself. The first part of this psalm is David's cry. Look at verse one, I cry out to the Lord with my voice, with my voice to the Lord, I make my supplication. Now I'm calling this first division of the psalm David's cry for the simple reason that verse one says, I cry out to the Lord. But what I want you to notice is this was not a silent prayer that David prayed in his heart. It was an audible prayer. He said it out loud with his voice. One commentator said, he's praying out loud, even if he is alone, the cries and supplication of a forsaken man reverberate throughout the cavern. End of quote. So, David speaks as if he's telling others that he's praying on this occasion, but he prays audibly, probably out of the desire that God would surely hear him. By the way, ever pray out loud? I think throughout my Christian life I have done that on occasion. I usually don't do that, but there are times when I talk to the Lord. When I'm alone, So I'm talking out loud and it's just me and the Lord. Well, that's what's going on in verse one. In verse two, he said, I pour out my complaint before him. I declare before him my trouble. So instead of having a personal pity party or walking around complaining to everyone who would listen, David poured out his complaint to the Lord. like pouring out water of a pitcher. He declared his trouble to the Lord. And this seems to indicate if he poured it out, he's pouring it out completely. So the idea may be here, he's telling the Lord everything. He pours out his complaint before the Lord. Not that he is angry or resentful, but simply he wants to tell the Lord about all of his trouble and his grief. It is comforting for him to know that when his strength is all but gone, the Lord knows what he's going through. One insightful commentator said this, tell God all that is in your heart. as one unloads one's heart, its pleasures and its pain to a dear friend. Tell him your troubles, that he may comfort you. Tell him your joys, that he may sober them. Tell him your longings, that he may purify them. Tell him your dislikes, that he may help you conquer them. Talk to him out of your temptations, that he may shield you from them. Show him the wounds of your heart, that he may heal them. Lay bare your indifferences to good. your depraved taste for evil, your instability. Tell him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity tempts you to be insincere, how pride disgusts you to yourself as well as others." End of quote. I read that because I thought it was pretty comprehensive. He covered just about everything. which really says it. Another put it like this. If you thus pour out your weaknesses, needs, trouble, there will be no lack of what to say. You will never exhaust the subject. It is continually being renewed. People have no secrets from each other, never lack subjects of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back. Neither do they seek for something to say. They talk out of the abundance of their heart, without consideration, just saying what they think. Blessed are those who retain such familiarity, unreserved intercourse with the Lord. Point well, mate. You need to pour out your heart to the Lord regardless of what's in it and all of what's in it. So just pour out your heart to the Lord. I'm calling this David's cry because that's what he called it. The next little subdivision in this psalm I'm going to call David's complaint. It starts in verse three. He says, when my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then you, capital Y, knew my path. In the way in which I walked, they have secretly set a snare for me. Now, keep in mind, this is probably written when David is running from Saul, and he's in a cave with a handful of men, and Saul is after him with 3,000 men. His enemy has secretly set a snare for him, and he feels overwhelmed because of it. He acknowledges that the Lord is aware of the situation. So even when David could not see his way clearly, God knew what course he should take to reach safety. It seemed to the psalmist that the path he took was one that his enemies had booby-trapped, and so he's complaining to the Lord. Someone has said one major factor of his tale of woe is the constant threat of his enemies. They were always setting traps where they thought he would walk. So he addresses the Lord, Lord, you know the way. Apparently under pressure, he had lost sight of his resistance and it would become weakened. His trouble arose from the fact that they had set a trap, a snare by his enemies that could end his life. So I'm suggesting that in verse three, he is complaining. because of the trap that they have set before him. Notice he says, my spirit was overwhelmed within me. You, Lord, know my path and the way in which I've walked, but they secretly set a trap for me, a snare for me. So, he goes on to say in verse four, look on my right hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me. Refuge has failed me. No one cares for my soul. Wow. By the way, as I've pointed out before many times, but you need to be reminded, the word soul here, the Hebrew word means life. So when he says no one cared for my soul, he's saying no one cared for my life. Now, David's guards would normally stand at his right hand. Even though David had a handful of men with him, it was nothing as compared to Saul's army. They had a handful of men versus 3,000. The country did not come to him, nor did anyone apparently care for his life. Ever felt that way? Ever felt overwhelmed? David uses that very word. and there wasn't anybody nearby, and so you felt alone and that nobody cared. So forsaken by his friends and pursued by his enemies who sought his life, David feels forsaken and unprotected. Evidently, if David had had a human defender, that person would have been standing at his right hand, but nobody was there. He felt totally abandoned. Without God's help, escape would be impossible. When he looked on his right hand, that is the place of a helper, there was no one there. Everyone seemed to be indifferent to his need. No one cared for his life. It was a haunting cry. No one cared for my soul. a feeling. What a feeling. So he calls on the Lord to look at his right hand where normally somebody would be standing to guard him because he was without refuge and support. There was nobody there. The only hope he had was the Lord. And so he lays out his complaint to the Lord. Now, This is interesting, and if all you did was read the psalm so far, I'm dividing it into sections and calling the first one his cry, and the second is his complaint, the situation he's in. But he doesn't end there. It's interesting. What he does next is he expresses some confidence. Look at verse five. I cried out to you, O Lord. I said, you are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Ah, David took refuge in a cave, but he was aware that the cave was not his refuge. His refuge was the Lord. So when David had prayed to the Lord, he had expressed confidence that the Lord would defend him, that the Lord was his portion or allotment. It's all he had. If there is no refuge on a human level, he can turn to the Lord, that unfailing refuge and blessed portion in the land of the living. Someone has said, when David cried to the Lord, he affirmed his confidence in him. God was his safety, his life, his portion, his allotment. It's all he had. He continues this. In verse six, where he says, attend to my cry, for I am brought very low. Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I. Boy, that's an understatement. If we have the historical background assessed right, there's a handful of men against 3,000, and he says they're stronger than I, you got it. So when it says his persecutors are stronger than he is, he's referring to that imbalance between a handful of men and 3,000 disciplined soldiers. No wonder he's discouraged. He says he was brought low. He feels forsaken. Again, He is really begging God to help him escape from his overpowering enemies. He asked the Lord to come to his rescue because he is at the end of his rope. Those who were out to get him contained the balance. He needs the Lord's help to tip the scales and make it an even fight, so to speak. So he says in verse seven, bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name. The righteous shall surround me for you shall deal bountifully with me. Now, he says, it is not that his body was in jail when he says he was in prison, but his soul, his life is in prison. in reference to the restriction involved in hiding in a cave. So in that sense, he's in prison. But he's confident that the Lord will deliver him. And when he does, he says, I will praise you. So he felt in prison and there was no escape possible if God failed to save him. If God did deliver him, though, he would thank the Lord, and other godly people would join David in his praise because of the Lord's abundant goodness. One commentator said, when the Lord delivered him from the prison of exile and trouble, David would show how thankful he is. Also, the believers would crowd around to congratulate him and join him in thanksgiving because the Lord had been good to him. Those who cannot protect us in our trouble yet participate with us in our triumph. That's the statement I thought was particularly insightful. He's in trouble, they've deserted him, but when he gets victorious, they'll come and praise the Lord with him. So he's in a desperate situation, likened to a prison. but he petitions the Lord to rescue him from his enemies so that he would then praise the Lord's name for what the Lord has done in rescuing him. Also, the righteous, as I've pointed out, would joyfully gather around him and then praise God for his goodness and his answer to prayer. Well, that brings us to the end of this short song. called a psalm, but wow, what deep emotion is here. I would sum it up by saying when you feel forsaken and desperately need help, maybe I should put a little stronger, not just when you feel it, when you are forsaken, Desperately need help. What do you do? Well this psalm tells us you pour out your heart to the Lord You trust him to deliver you and you praise him when he does simple but oh What a great truth So let me repeat it When you are forsaken and desperately need help, what do you do? You pour out your heart to the Lord. So family and friends may forsake you, but your heavenly Father does not. By the way, I told you he was in a cave when this was written. The Lord did deliver him from the hand of Saul. And 1 Samuel chapter 22 reveals how he did it. So the Lord did answer his prayer. But the point here is when God's people feel forsaken by other human allies, they may run to the Lord who is always righteous. God is able to deliver his own even if there are no other helpers. So no matter what the circumstances around you, no matter how you feel, God cares. Pour out your heart to Him. So, let's go through the Psalm and see how David felt. He felt overwhelmed, verse 3. He felt forsaken, verse 4. He felt persecuted, verse 6. And in the midst of that situation, He learned that the Lord was his refuge. Verse five. A king once placed a heavy stone in the roadway. Then he hid and waited to see who would remove it. Many came by, loudly blaming the government for not keeping the highway clear. But none assumed the duty of pushing the offended obstacle out of the way. And last, a poor peasant stopped, rolled the stone into the gutter. To his surprise, he found a purse full of gold embedded in the road directly beneath the spot where the stone stood. A note informed him that it was the king's reward intended for anyone who willingly performed this needed service. The peasant was thus richly repaid for his trouble and inconvenience. And so too, under every trial, the King of kings has hidden a blessing. The obstacle in our paths are placed for a purpose. By them, God tests our faithfulness, turns our attention heavenward, and gives us the opportunity for spiritual reward. There is a hidden blessing under every rock in the road that brought you very low. Then roll the burden on him and find divine blessing. In David's case, he found the Lord was his refuge. That is more valuable than gold under a rock in the road. Father, thank you. that we have you to turn to when we feel overwhelmed, forsaken, and helpless, confident that you were there, that you were there for us because you love us and you care for us. Thank you, Father. In Jesus' name, amen.