“Even when my soul is overwhelmed within me”
[Psalm 142]
Dear friends, do you find that you are facing many troubles these days? Life seems to be entangled with various problems and difficulties, much like a thorn bush. Amid worries, anxieties, and stress, many people are suffering from illnesses. That’s why I think of life as a thorn bush, where many different troubles get tangled up, often making our hearts heavy. At such times, we might wonder: "Why is my life like this?" Indeed, it is hard to avoid seeing life as a thorny, tangled mess.
So, why does this happen? When I reflect on this question, I found the answer in Jesus’ Parable of the Sower. The cause is the "temptation of the world, worries, and the deceitfulness of riches" (Matthew 13:22). As we live in this world, we fall into various worldly temptations, sin against God, and then experience more and more entangled, painful struggles. And when we try to untangle them on our own, it only seems to get worse. So, what should we do?
In today’s Psalm 142, we see that David, the psalmist, is surrounded by troubles that are tangled up like a thorn bush. How can we know this? In verse 2, David says: “I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.” The word for “complaint” here is "siak" in Hebrew, which means "bush" (Park Yoon Seon). This “bush” implies that David’s life was not just filled with one or two troubles, but many, entangled like thorns, leaving him in a desperate and envious state (Park Yoon Seon). Why was David so overwhelmed with trouble? The reason was that he was being persecuted by Saul (v. 6, Park Yoon Seon). Saul had hidden traps along David's path to capture him (v. 3). Eventually, King Saul was seeking to take David’s life (1 Samuel 18-24), and David fled to the Cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1). From a human perspective, David’s situation seemed hopeless, unless God intervened (MacArthur). Without God’s intervention, David’s situation seemed completely hopeless. In verse 6, David sums up his desperate condition: “I am brought very low.” In other words, David, due to Saul’s persecution, was in a state of great humiliation and weakness (v. 6, Park Yoon Seon).
Externally, David was hiding in the Cave of Adullam, fleeing from King Saul (v. 7). Internally, his soul was crushed, and he was filled with anguish (vv. 2-3). Amid all this, in verse 4, we see that David felt completely forsaken: “Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge, no one cares for my soul.” No matter how much he looked around, David felt no one was interested in him, helping him, or comforting him. From a human perspective, this seems like a pitiful state. However, this is where we see God’s providence. It appears that God blocked everything around David. Why would God do this? The reason was that God wanted David to pour out his broken and grieving heart to Him alone through prayer. Let’s look at verses 1-2: “I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble.” Even in his humble state, David did not despair. Instead, he openly and fully poured out all his troubles to God in prayer (Park Yoon Seon).
In verse 3, we read: “When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk, people have hidden a snare for me.” In David’s prayer, we can see that he is pouring out his heart to God. He is expressing his feelings, because his soul was crushed. David’s heart was filled with complaints (v. 2), which caused him inner anguish. So, he poured out his heart to God in prayer.
From here, I would like to reflect on three aspects of David’s prayer. Specifically, I want to look at David’s prayer in verses 5-7 and reflect on how we can apply it to our own lives.
First, David's prayer was a prayer that acknowledged God's sovereignty.
Look at Psalm 142, verse 5: “I cry to You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.’” David begins his prayer by proclaiming who God is, with a heart that recognizes His sovereignty. He starts his prayer with the belief that God is “my refuge” and “my portion.” Here, we see that when David looked around him, there was no one to support him, no refuge, and no one to care for his soul (v. 4). In his despair, he turned to God, who alone is the true refuge. When our souls are broken and we feel anguish, can we confidently say that those around us are our refuge? It is dangerous to make people our refuge; it is like building a house on sand. It is fragile and will inevitably collapse. We will fall into even greater misery. We must make God our refuge. Only He, as our refuge, will protect us, comfort our broken hearts, and help us. David didn’t just believe and confess God as his “refuge,” but also as his “portion.” What does “my portion” mean? It means that God is the source of life, and only those who possess Him can truly experience life (Park Yoon Seon). This is why, in hymns, we sometimes sing: "You are my joy, my hope, and the life I have...". We must approach God with our sorrow and our broken hearts, asking Him to be our refuge and eternal life.
Second, David’s prayer was a prayer seeking God's salvation.
Look at Psalm 142, verse 6: “Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.” In this verse, David cries out to God for deliverance from King Saul, who was persecuting him. The reason David cried out like this was because Saul and his men were much stronger than he was. But David, weakened by the persecution, turned to God, the only refuge, seeking His mercy and salvation. Often, when facing trials and difficulties, I am reminded of the gospel song “He Gives Strength When We Are Weak.” The reason is that I have seen God use such situations to make His children realize their weakness. When they acknowledge their weakness, they begin to look to God, and I see His powerful hand with them. When we are weak, and God gives us strength, we see the work of His salvation, and we give thanks for it. Therefore, we need not fear our weakness. Instead, when we are weak, we should see it as an opportunity to long for God’s saving grace. In our weakness, we must depend on His strength and cry out to Him. And when we do, God will deliver us from our weakness.
Lastly, thirdly, David's prayer was a prayer in which he was confident that the Lord would restore him.
Look at Psalm 142:7: “Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name; the righteous shall surround me, for You shall deal bountifully with me.” Although David was hiding in the cave of Adullam to escape King Saul, he believed that God would deliver him from that prison-like cave. In short, he had assurance of salvation. Not only did he have the assurance of salvation, but he also believed that the Lord would deliver him from Saul's hand and would have the righteous surround him. What does this mean? In verse 4 of today’s text, David says that when he looked around, there was no one who knew him, no refuge, and no one who cared for his soul. But by verse 5, David confesses that God is his refuge, and through prayer, he turns to the Lord. By verse 7, David is confident that the righteous will surround him. How is this possible? Because David believed in a God who restores. In Psalm 116:7, the psalmist says: “Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.” Just like David, when our hearts are broken, we must believe in the Lord’s restoration and seek His grace in prayer. As we pour out our grievances before God, we should experience His saving grace and enjoy the peace of God, a peace that the world cannot offer.
This world is filled with many worries and hardships. There are many sinful things, and much that leads to death (hymn 474). The life we live in this world is like a thorny bush, tangled up with various painful things that can break our hearts. There are many times when we feel we have no one to pour out our sorrow to. In such times, we must, like David in today’s psalm, pour out our hearts in prayer to God. But first, we must go forward by proclaiming our faith in God’s sovereignty. God is our “refuge” and our “portion.” We must cry out to God, who is our refuge and our portion, for deliverance. And as we cry out, we must pray with confidence in salvation. Why? Because our God is the God who restores us. Therefore, I hope that both you and I will experience the saving grace of God.
Even when our hearts are broken, let us trust in the Lord who knows our ways and, in our pleading, experience the saving grace of God.
Pastor James Kim’s Share
(Reflecting on the moment of praise and thanksgiving to God who delivered my father-in-law during his first surgery.)