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. I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. 

Psalm 142:4-5 

David needed a greater refuge than the cave could afford him. He was hiding from Saul, the king, who was pursuing him in jealousy and fear of his potential for becoming king. As a person of wisdom, David was doing the sensible thing, which was to physically find refuge in the cave. As a person of faith, he was appealing to God and pouring out his heart to his Shepherd. While the cave was his earthly refuge, Christ was his true refuge. David was feeling isolated and friendless. He remarked that there were those who sought to entrap him, while others distanced themselves from him. He felt this so keenly he remarked, ‘No one cares for my soul.’ He follows that statement with, ‘I cried to You, O LORD: I said, You are my refuge. My portion in the land of the living.’ When everyone and everything else fails us, we still have Christ. He was David’s refuge and He is ours. We may feel abandoned, isolated, hated, and shunned, yet, Christ is still our portion in the land of the living. He still hears us when no one else will listen. He still claims us when all others shun us. He has been the portion of His people in all generations. Because He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever, He will be to us, what He was to David, Our Refuge; Our Portion in the land of the living. 

Our Gracious Master and our God, 
we rejoice that You are our friend 
when we have no one else. 
We praise You that in You we find refuge. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

I cry out to the Lord with my voice; with my voice to the LORD I make my supplication. 

Psalm 142:1

David’s life was full of adventure, to say the least. He became the darling of Israel when he defeated Goliath. His popularity provoked the jealousy of Saul, the king, who was also his father-in-law. Saul attempted to kill him on two occasions by throwing a javelin at him. Eventually, David had to flee, becoming a fugitive in the wilderness. Around him gathered many who were discontented with Saul or felt disenfranchised in some way. At a certain point they took refuge in the cave of Adullum. It was there he penned the psalm from which our text derives. He begins with an anguished cry. Here is a distraught soul who hopes in God. He cries out pathetically to the only one who can do him good. He is in distress of soul and God is his confidant. We may find ourselves in deep distress of soul. Although our outward circumstances may not match David’s, we may find that whatever they are, they have brought us to the place where we cry out to God as the One Who we believe will hear our complaint. Christ demonstrates He is willing to hear the anguished outcry of His beleaguered people. Throughout the days of the Old Testament in the Christophanies, where He appeared in pre-incarnate form, it was often in response to anguished prayer. If He heard the cry of His people then, we have hope He will hear us now. We have trusted in Christ and lean upon Him as our Confidant when we cry out in anguish.  

Our Gracious, Loving Savior, 
we rejoice that Your ears are open to our cry. 
We praise You that You have 
heard the prayer of Your people, in all generations.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name; the righteous shall surround me,  
for You shall deal bountifully with me. 

Psalm 142:7 

David had abundant hope in the character of God and in how He would act on David’s behalf. The last sentence of Psalm 142 is an expression of confident hope. David knew his God, had evangelical hope in Christ, and expressed certainty about how God would fulfill His promises to him. Years before, God had instructed Samuel, the prophet, to anoint David as the next king of Israel. This would be the role God intended him to play in His providential plan. When David cried out from the cave, that destiny had not yet come to be. Thus, David had faith in God and the certain hope He would fulfill His promises. David was sure God would deal bountifully with him. Having given him Christ as his Shepherd, He would, without fail, give him all the other things He had promised. It is even so with us. Paul says, ‘He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?’ Having given us Christ, Who is Our Shepherd, as surely as He was David’s, He will deal bountifully with us in every other way. He will not withhold from us anything that is good for us. He has promised to do what is good for us in every way. This is true, even though we may not understand what He is doing or why He is doing it much of the time. Because our faith is in Christ, our hope is in the fact that He will deal bountifully with us. 

Our Wise and Glorious God, 
we rejoice that You do all things well. 
We praise You that You deal bountifully  
with us in every way. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name; the righteous shall surround me,  
for You shall deal bountifully with me. 

Psalm 142:7 

David’s hope was in Christ. Therefore he said, ‘The righteous shall surround me.’ An examination of the remarks David made in this Psalm lead us quickly to the fact that his hope was in Christ, his Shepherd. The New Testament identifies Christ as the Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd. Because as the Good Shepherd, Christ gathers His sheep, saves His sheep, leads His sheep and secures His sheep, they arrive together at one fold. These are those whom Christ has redeemed. They are righteous because He has purchased their redemption with His Own blood. These He gathers together from every kingdom, nation, tongue, and tribe. They are the great multitude which no one can number that John describes in Revelation. They surround the throne. David had faith in Christ and hope in His deliverance both from the cave and from the evil persecutors who surrounded him. His was beyond that, an eternal hope that he would be among those who would be gathered ‘in the house of the Lord forever.’ There the righteous would surround him. David’s Shepherd is our Shepherd; his hope, our hope; his people, our people. No matter how dire our situation may be today, Christ will not fail us. He delivered David, has delivered others, and will deliver us as well. The righteous shall surround us.  

O Great Shepherd of the Sheep, 
we rejoice that You are gathering Your flock unto You. 
We praise You that there will be one fold,
and one Shepherd.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning