Psalm 142 is an individual lament psalm. The psalmist, exhausted and lonely, knows God is the one to whom he can turn. He has been struggling to know what to do, and he knows that God can lead him in the right way (v 3). At a time when there is no person on his side, he knows God is there (vv 4-6).
The psalmist looks forward to a time when his trial is over and he can praise God publicly, supported by other believers (v 7).
Psalm 142 is traditionally associated with the situation when David and his ragtag army were hiding in a cave at En Gedi while King Saul was pursuing them (1 Sam 24). Rabbinic interpretation of the psalm looked for connections with this specific setting.
For example, verse 1 uses parallelism: "With my voice I cry out to the Lord, with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord." The sages asserted that the parallelism suggested David prayed for two things---to not fall into Saul's hands, and for Saul not to fall into his hands. They also said that the "trap" in verse 3 might be the temptation to kill Saul.
The sages were experts at connecting scriptures. In verse 4, the psalmist says,
"Look to the right and see; there is none who takes notice of me."
The rabbis noted that while there was no human who would help David, God was there. They quoted Psalm 109:31:
"For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death."
This connection fits right in with the message of the psalm. God is always there.
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