... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the
beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Psalm 142:1-7[1]
Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in
the cave.
I cried to the Lord with my voice. I made my
supplication to the Lord with my voice. I poured out my complaint before Him. I showed my trouble before Him.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then
You knew my path. In the way where I
walked they have secretly laid a snare for me.
I looked on [my] right hand, and beheld, [there
was] no man who would know me.
Refuge failed me. No man cared
for my soul. I cried to You, Lord. I said,
“You [are]
my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Attend to my cry: for I am brought very
low. Deliver me from my persecutors: for
they are stronger than I. Bring my soul
from prison,[2] so that I may praise Your name.”
The righteous shall circle about me: for
You shall deal bountifully with me.[3]
[1]
David thinks back upon Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1; 2 Samuel 23:13;
1 Chronicles 11:15); his prayer analyzes the lessons of Adullam.
In the first paragraph David announces his
prayer formally: possibly as a Todah. It
was probably delivered aloud and officially, in public. It is a celebration of victory over his enemies
who plagued him when he was camped at Adullam: either Saul, or later the Philistines.
The report of the content of the prayer
follows: short, sweet, to the point. Lord, I’m over my head. You know the situation. I can’t leave Adullam without being
ambushed. How appropriate for modern
life. Lord,
I’m over my head. You know the
situation. I can’t leave the house, go
to work, church, or the grocery without being ambushed. I can’t even get a drink from the town well.
David surveys the situation looking for a
helping hand, and outside of his little band can’t find anybody willing or
strong enough to drive off his enemy. In
his desperation he turns to God for help.
David is being brutally honest here; he pulls no punches; he spares
himself no dignity. When all else fails,
we turn to God. Is David suggesting that
he and we would be better off, had we turned to God to begin with: this is very
likely the case, in that, David, the man of prayer, is teaching his nation, how
and why to pray. “Lord, Teach us to
pray.”
David finishes his prayer in the present tense. The lessons learned at Adullam have eternal
applications. Wherever David is,
probably at Jerusalem now, in the temple, he encounters discouraging depressing
times; he still has powerful persecutors; he still feels trapped, as he was at
Adullam. He does not ask for deliverance
for personal benefit, but so that he may worship Yahweh. His life is completely fulfilled in the
worship of God, with the congregation worshipping around him. This is the bounty, the love of his
life. Is that the way we feel about
going to church?
[2]
This applies primarily to the prayer of Jesus that He be raised from the dead:
it is a typology taken from the memory of Joseph’s imprisonment (Genesis
39-41). On the other hand, we cannot
avoid making the association with Peter in Acts 12:1-19.
[3] If
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