Christian Art | Prayer With Jesus | Psalms | Prayer For Preservation From Persecutors | King David As A Boy | Audio KJV | Love Revealed By Jesus Christ | King James Audio Bible
Psalm 142 | King James Audio Bible
YouTube: Psalm 142 KJV Audio | King James Audio Bible | Word Aloud
Psalm 142 is a prayer for deliverance and a lamentation attributed to David. This psalm stands out as an individual’s cry for help and recognition of dependence on God for deliverance from distress. The psalm begins with a direct address to the Lord, where the speaker, David, articulates his plea for mercy, stating, ‘I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.’ This repetition emphasizes the earnestness and desperation of his prayer.
The second verse, ‘I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble,’ further delineates the nature of David’s communication with God. It is not merely a request for aid but a detailed presentation of his grievances and the adversity he faces. This expression of vulnerability signifies a profound level of trust in God, where the psalmist feels free to lay bare his anxieties and distress.
In the following verse, David expresses a sense of isolation and danger, ‘When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walk have they privily laid a snare for me.’ This acknowledgment of God’s omniscience, even in moments of personal crisis, reflects a foundational belief in God’s awareness of the believer’s circumstances and challenges. The reference to a snare being laid indicates not just physical danger but also the treachery and deceit from enemies, highlighting the external pressures that exacerbate his sense of despair.
The psalm takes a turn towards expressing a profound sense of loneliness and abandonment in verse four, ‘I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.’ Here, the psalmist confronts the reality of human inadequacy and the failure of earthly supports. This moment of realization propels the psalmist further into reliance on divine assistance, underscoring the theme that when human avenues of support disappear, the only remaining and most reliable refuge is God.
Verse five reiterates this shift in trust, ‘I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.’ By declaring God as his refuge and portion, David acknowledges God’s role as the ultimate protector and provider, affirming his faith in God’s ability to sustain and deliver him from his plight.
The plea for God’s attention is intensified in verse six, ‘Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.’ This verse not only conveys the urgency and severity of David’s situation but also his acknowledgment of his own powerlessness against his adversaries, further justifying his dependence on divine intervention.
The psalm concludes with a petition for liberation and the anticipation of worship and community support upon deliverance, ‘Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.’ This final verse not only serves as a request for personal salvation but also as a vow to publicly celebrate God’s deliverance, anticipating the communal recognition of God’s justice and mercy.
Psalm 142 | King James Audio Bible
I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.
I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walk have they privily laid a snare for me.
I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.
Psalm 142 | King James Audio Bible
- Supplication And Prayer: The psalmist’s direct appeal to God for help and his method of laying out his troubles before the Lord highlight the importance of prayerful supplication in times of distress.
- Divine Awareness: Acknowledgment of God’s omniscience, even in moments of overwhelming spirit, suggesting a belief in God’s intimate awareness of the believer’s path and trials.
- Isolation And Abandonment: Psalm 142 expresses a deep sense of loneliness and the feeling of being forsaken by human companions, underscoring the theme of existential solitude in the face of adversity.
- Dependence on God: The psalmist’s declaration of God as his refuge and portion in the land of the living reflects a profound reliance on divine protection and provision.
- Recognition Of Human Limitations: An acknowledgment of the psalmist’s inability to overcome his adversaries on his own, emphasizing the necessity of divine intervention.
- Plea For Deliverance: A heartfelt request for rescue from persecution and the metaphorical prison of despair, illustrating the yearning for freedom and vindication.
- Anticipation of Divine Justice: The psalmist’s expectation of God’s righteous intervention, believing in eventual deliverance and the restoration of justice.
- Promise of Praise and Community Support: The vow to praise God’s name upon deliverance and the anticipation of being surrounded by the righteous, highlighting the communal aspect of worship and the shared recognition of God’s benevolence.
- Hope and Faith in God: Despite the immediate circumstances of despair and isolation, the psalmist maintains hope and faith in God’s ability to save and provide, underscoring the enduring nature of trust in the divine.
The Gospel verses reflect a time when Christianity has split from Judaism, and also a time after the destruction of Jerusalem. In depictions of Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees, we discover an astonishing claim to transcendence on the part of the burgeoning Christian communities. There is too ambivalence: the Law remains intact in every detail, and yet it is overhauled. The truth of Christ so far surpasses the Pharisaic understanding of the Law, that it may be considered a New Law even as at the same time it is a fulfilment of the Old. We discover through these Gospel verses an astonishing claim on the part of the Christian writers, which is that they are the true recipients of God’s revelation to Moses, and that it is the Pharisees who have got it wrong [ … ]
In these Bible verses, from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives to his people instruction regarding the three traditional works of mercy of the Jews, namely almsgiving, prayer and fasting. A key message is that, when we pray, when we fast and when we give charity, this is not supposed to be because we wish to be seen as pious by other people. Jesus satirizes those hypocrites who wish to be glorified by other people for their fasting, their giving of alms and their prayers. They sound a trumpet in the streets and strike extravagant attitudes in the synagogues. They visibly mortify their bodies and pull dismal expressions. Jesus portrays such hypocrites as ridiculous. Their piety is not to do with their love of God; it is to do with their wish to be seen as ‘pious’ by their fellow man. And such will be their reward [ … ]
The Windhover by Gerard Manley Hopkins is a richly layered poem exploring the beauty of a kestrel in flight, while presenting a complex meditation on spiritual revelation, self-sacrifice, and divine glory. Hopkins dedicates the poem ‘To Christ our Lord’, indicating that the bird’s physical mastery mirrors the divine majesty of Christ [ … ]
