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Psalm 142 Bible study: You are my refuge
In Psalm 142, the refuge that "has fled" (142:4) and the refuge the psalmist names in the LORD, "You are my refuge" (142:5), are two different Hebrew words, manos and machseh, one verse apart. And the cry of 142:1 comes back in 142:5 in the same Hebrew verb.
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“I cried to you, LORD. I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.””
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In Psalm 142, the psalmist says "You are my refuge" in the verse right after "Refuge has fled from me".”
Is that in Psalm 142, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
With my voice, twice
The title is "A contemplation by David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer" (142:1), and it says no more than that. Then the psalm begins: "I cry with my voice to the LORD. With my voice, I ask the LORD for mercy" (142:1) (tap cry, mercy). In Hebrew the two lines open with the same words, my voice to the LORD, and each ends with its own verb: first I cry, then I ask … for mercy. The next verse says what the cry holds: "I pour out my complaint before him. I tell him my troubles" (142:2) (tap complaint). In Hebrew before him comes twice, once in each line; the WEB gives the second as I tell him. And the verb of I cry comes back in the middle of the psalm: "I cried to you, LORD" (142:5). The Psalms have it five times, twice in this psalm.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 142
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 142 is waiting in Favor
- You knew my route
- Refuge has fled. You are my refuge
- My soul, twice
- Two psalms from a cave
- The land of the living
- 7 questions as you read
- 14 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it
מַחְסֶהmachsehsay makh-SEH
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "refuge, shelter". Strong's: "a shelter (literally or figuratively)", "from 2620", the verb chasah, take refuge. "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living" (142:5). One verse before, "Refuge has fled from me" (142:4), with another word, manos. Psalm 91 has the same Hebrew word with my, as here: "He is my refuge and my fortress" (Psalm 91:2). The Psalms have it 12 times in Hebrew.
For your group
Psalm 142 Bible study questions
- 1"I pour out my complaint before him. I tell him my troubles" (142:2). What would it look like for you to tell God your troubles plainly this week, in your own words?
- 2"Look on my right, and see; for there is no one who is concerned for me" (142:4). Who around you might feel that way right now, and what could you do to be beside them?
- 3"The righteous will surround me" (142:7). Who has been around you when you came through something hard, and who could you gather around this week?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 142 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home