Today’s reading is Psalm 142.
On the Run
Our psalm’s heading not only attributes it to David, but places it in a situational context. This is a “Maskil of David, when he was in the Cave. A Prayer” (ESV). We know of two instances when David was “in the cave.” Perhaps the more famous is in 1 Samuel 24:1-8. In that situation, David and his men were hiding from Saul in a cave in the Engedi wilderness. David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but didn’t take it despite the encouragement from his men to do so. The other is not quite as well known because nothing so dramatic happens, but is the more likely candidate for this psalm. In 1 Samuel 22:1-2, David had initially tried to find protection from Saul by going to Achish king of Gath. When that plan failed, he escaped to the cave in Adullam.
This scenario is the more likely setting of Psalm 142 for two reasons. First, in the psalm, David is alone. He has no one who has come to his aid. In Engedi, he already had a following of supporters. At Adullam, David is alone until his family hears his situation and they come to him along with others to support him. Second, the Engedi setting is not a time of living in the cave, it is simply seeking a hideout. David dwelt in Adullam for some period of time. The Engedi setting simply doesn’t provide the kind of time for writing a psalm as the days, perhaps weeks, of dwelling at Adullam.
Perhaps the greater connection to make, though is with Psalm 57, another psalm attributed to the time when David was in the cave, fleeing Saul. Read these two psalms side by side. Notice the similarities; notice the differences. In both, David asks God for mercy. In both, he calls God his refuge. In both, he discusses the traps the enemies have set for him. But Psalm 57 is far more confident. Psalm 142 has confidence, no doubt. The final line shows David’s faith in God’s deliverance still holds. However, when you read these two psalms side by side you can’t help but see a difference.
I obviously have no idea when precisely David wrote these or in what order. What I want to see is the varying levels of emotion David experienced. Both are attributed to the cave. When David wrote one, he recognized the enemies but was far more expressive and confident in the coming deliverance. In the other, he still believes in the coming deliverance, but he is far more expressive of the traps, persecution, and even bondage from the enemy. Which psalm was written first? Was Psalm 57 written in the early days of David’s cave-dwelling when his confidence was high, but the longer he dwelt in the cave by himself he struggled more and wrote Psalm 142? Was Psalm 142 written in the early days when David was affected by the recent escape from Achish, but with time in the relative safety of hiding in the cave he grew in confidence and wrote Psalm 57? Or maybe Psalm 142 was in the early days while David was alone, but Psalm 57 came as family and supporters started showing up. Was Psalm 57 written in the morning when the light of the shining sun made David’s outlook brighter, but Psalm 142 was written at night when the darkness made David’s mood darker?
I don’t know. But, that’s life, isn’t it? Even in the same circumstance we can be on a roller coaster of emotions, conviction, confidence, doubt, faith. In the morning, we can see all that is bright about the situation and be certain it will work out and by the evening we can be plagued with doubts that have built up over the day. In the morning, we may wake up with struggles and fears, but by the evening a friend has come along and said something that helps spur us on to greater confidence.
The back and forth, the ups and downs don’t mean there is something wrong with us mentally or spiritually. They also don’t mean we are weaklings at faith. It means we’re normal. King David himself, the man after God’s own heart, the man to whom so many wonderful psalms of faith are attributed had the same ebb and flow of emotions and spiritual confidence.
But what David didn’t do was abandon faith. On the days when faith was harder to come by, he still maintained it. We will all have days in which our enemy, his traps, our struggles loom larger than the deliverance that seems way off in the future. But never forget, the deliverance is still coming. Hang on to the Lord. He will surround you with victory at the right time.
Praise the Lord!
Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 142.
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PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family
How does Psalm 142 prompt or improve your praise of God?
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