1 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him. 2And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
Psalm 142
Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave. 1 I cried unto the Lord with my voice; with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication. 2 I poured out my complaint before Him; I shewed before Him my trouble. 3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then Thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. 4 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. 5 I cried unto Thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. 6Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. 7 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.
Meditation
The heading that accompanies Psalm 142 indicates that David wrote it during his time of refuge, when he was in the cave. We believe this to be the cave of Adullam. It is described as a prayer. Its opening is particularly poignant. A very literal translation reflecting the structure of the psalm might read:
My voice, unto Jehovah, I cry.
My voice, unto Jehovah, I supplicate.
I pour out, before Him, my complaint
My trouble, before Him, I show.
In fleeing Saul, David turned to the king of Gath, only to find that there could be no refuge with him. Cast out of his presence, David is alone and without human resource. The world is not a refuge for the Christian; God would not have us lean upon its leaders or institutions for help, particularly when it comes to matters of faith. David found, as he does at other times in his life, that the world’s assistance comes at a price, the compromise of faith. With no protection in Gath there was only One to whom David could turn, and that One already knew his path — “thou knewest my path” (vs. 3). Enemies may secretly lay snares for us (vs. 3), but the Lord sees it all.
David looked on his right hand but no man would know him; no man cared for his soul. There was no way for him to flee (vs. 4). How little we like to be found in such circumstances. At this time there was no great deliverance, just a cave and the Lord. “Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living” (vs. 5). We may find ourselves in similar circumstances. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “all they which are in Asia be turned away from me” (2 Tim. 1:15). When he stood before Caesar at the time of his second imprisonment, he relates, “no man stood with me, but all men forsook me” (2 Tim. 4:16). Though people will fail us, God will never let us down. The Apostle goes on to say, “the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me” (2 Tim. 4:17). Sometimes the Lord provides us with nothing more than a sense of His presence in a quiet place, a moment of solitude in a world of turmoil. Could we ask for anything more?
David is very low (vs. 6). His persecutors are stronger than he. The Lord alone can release the imprisoned soul that it might once again praise God. His confidence is expressed at the last: “the righteous shall compass me about; for Thou shalt deal bountifully with me” (vs. 7). David’s hope was well founded; his brethren and his father’s house upon hearing of David’s plight went down to him. In all, 400 men joined him in that cave. It would appear that David resorted to the cave of Adullam at other times as well, and on at least one of those occasions, we find three of his mighty men there with him (2 Sam. 23:13).
Another group could be found gathered to David in that cave. They were in distress, they were in debt, and they had embittered spirits; they were without resource and in the depths of despair, and with whom do they find their refuge? They join themselves to a rejected David, the anointed one. Does this not remind us of our precious Saviour? Does not this scene also remind us of someone else? Only when we have reached the end of ourselves, when we came to ourselves (Luke 15:1717And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! (Luke 15:17)), it was then that a rejected Saviour drew us to Himself.
The Five Refuges of Scripture
Five different Hebrew words are rendered “refuge” in the King James translation, two of which appear in this psalm. The number five conveys the thought of weakness. We have five digits on each hand and foot; David chose five smooth stones (1 Sam. 17:40); Paul would rather have spoken five words with his understanding, than ten thousand words in a foreign language (1 Cor. 14:19).
In verse four of our present psalm we read, “refuge failed me.” This could have been translated, “a way to flee eluded me,” for the word derives from the verb “to flee.” The world affords us no refuge; to whom can we flee? We join with Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
A different word is used in verse five: “thou art my refuge.” It also appears in the first verse of Psalm 46, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psa. 46:1). It means a place of hope and trust and is translated this way elsewhere. Well might we recall the lines of the hymn, “My hope on nothing less is built than Jesus, and the blood He spilt.”
The third word is also found in Psalm 46, “the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psa. 46:7). This word is frequently translated “defense” or “high tower” which most suitably describes the place of safety spoken of. In Psalm 59 it is used with the first word we considered: “Thou [God] hast been my defence [refuge] and refuge [a way to flee] in the day of my trouble” (Psa. 59:16). What better place to flee than to a high tower, and who is higher than God? “From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I” (Psa. 61:2).
The fourth refuge is found in Deuteronomy 33, “the eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut. 33:27). Here, the word means a den or dwelling place; Moses could pray, “Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations” (Psa. 90:1). Conversely, in this world we have “no certain dwellingplace” (1 Cor. 4:11).
The fifth and final word is used in Numbers 35; here we find the cities of refuge, or asylum, that the children of Israel were to appoint. These cities are alluded to in Hebrews, chapter six, where a number of these thoughts come together — a way to flee; an asylum; a place of hope and trust — “who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast” (Heb. 6:18-1918That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; (Hebrews 6:18‑19)). Incidentally, this is the only instance where we find “refuge” in the King James translation of the New Testament.